How to make a space-saving Christmas tree

This space-saving Christmas tree is the perfect Christmas decor idea if you're struggling to fit in a full-sized tree this year.

Many of us find ourselves short on floor space, so this wall-mounted alternative Christmas tree idea is the perfect solution. Made from real foliage, you'll still get the lush look, feel and scent of a proper fir tree.

This Christmas tree idea is also just the thing if you have naughty pets who like to scale your beautifully decorated spruce. We're not promising your curious cat or excitable pup won't end up in the branches, but at least the whole thing won't come crashing down!

How to make a space-saving Christmas tree

There's nothing more satisfying than creating your own DIY Christmas decor, so get stuck into this pre-festive project.

What you'll need

• Staple gun (try Guild nail and staple gun from Argos)
• Shears
• Saw
• Wood
• Foliage (real or faux)
• Command Strips from Amazon
• Lights and decorations

1. Saw the wood

'Use a saw to cut the wood into five pieces. These should measure 1m, 80cm, 60cm, 40cm and 20cm in length.' The team at christmastrees.co.uk used pinewood battens measuring 6cm in width.

2. Attach Command Strips

Attach the Command Strips to one side of the wooden battens. 'Don't peel off the paper from the side that will be added to the wall at this stage.'

The two longer pieces of wood will require six pairs of Command strips each. 'We’ve used two multi-packs, each containing eight pairs of large and four pairs of medium strips.'

3. Cut the foliage

Use the shears to cut the foliage from the branches into smaller pieces.

'We’ve used Noble Fir foliage, which you can usually find from a florist. You could also use Nordmann Fir, or even find an undesirable real Christmas tree and cut that up.'

Of course, you can use faux foliage pieces, from dismantling a garland such as this green Christmas garland from Amazon. You could even use lengths of tinsel, to create a kitsch version of this fairy light Christmas tree. Dunelm's bushy green tinsel is a great way to get the look on a budget, or for something brighter try this rainbow stripe tinsel from John Lewis. 

4. Staple the foliage to the wood

Staple the foliage onto the pieces of wood using a staple gun. Continue until it is fully covered on one side. Repeat for each piece of wood.

5. Arrange your tree on the floor

Lay out your tree on the floor to check you're happy with it. If there are areas looking a littler thin, then add more foliage. Prune back any areas that don't look symmetrical.

'This is the time to also get an idea of spacing. Work out how much space you'd like between the 'branches'. Ours is 15cm between each row.'

6. Attach your tree to the wall

Remove the backs of the Command Strips on the reverse side of the wooden battens. Attach to the wall. Start with the largest branch at the bottom. Use a spirit level to make sure they're straight and space them out evenly. Nobody wants a wonky tree!

7. Decorate your space-saving Christmas tree

Now comes the fun part! Wind fairy lights along the branches. We used battery powered wire lights with 100 LEDs from Amazon measuring 5 metres in length.

Add fun hanging decorations from the branches. If they're handmade, then even better! This may even be the start of a new family Christmas tree trend.

Mark Rofe, owner of christmastrees.co.uk says, 'We love Christmas trees, but understand that not everyone has the room for one. So we’ve created this guide for people that still want the look, touch, feel and smell of a real tree, without compromising on living space.

'The great thing about the space saving tree is that you can make it using foliage from an undesired Christmas tree, one that is wonky, unsymmetrical, that has gaps, or is otherwise considered ‘ugly’ and transform it into a beautiful wall mounted tree.'