Today's theme for the 12 Days of Christmas is Christmas Trees and to be honest, my living room tree has no color scheme, no decor theme, and is an eclectic mix of mismatched ornaments. So instead of photos of that tree, I'm sharing two DIY Sparkly Red Burlap Ribbon Tabletop Christmas Trees and a tutorial on how easy they are to make.

Red Burlap Ribbon Tabletop Christmas Trees

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12 Days of Christmas recap

DIY Gift Ideas - Upcycled Basket Holiday Hostess Gift
DIY Christmas Countdown - Christmas Countdown Santa Cottage
DIY Kid's Crafts - Easy Snowflake Craft To Make With Your Grandkids
Holiday Party Food - Spicy Cheese Ball For The Holidays
DIY Ornament Ideas - Three Unique Recycled Sweater Ornaments
Holiday Decor Ideas - Milk and Cookies Tray For Santa
Christmas In A Jar - Retro North Pole Christmas Diorama
Pretty Gift Wrapping Ideas - Eco-Friendly Holiday Gift Wrap and DIY Name Tags
Christmas Trees - Sparkly Red Burlap Tabletop Christmas Trees (You Are Here)
Something Sweet - Family Holiday Favorite Walnut Strudel Cookies
Stockings - Unique High Heel Christmas Stocking For A Fashionista

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The one on the left is a little more rustic with a brush of gold and the one on the right is glitter and sparkle. I'm displaying them in separate parts of the house, hence them having different toppers and only one being lighted.

At 3-feet tall, they would make a beautiful statement piece paired together on a fireplace mantel, dining room sideboard, or an entry flanking a door. For symmetry add lights to both and have matching tree toppers.


A shout out to Burlap Fabric for supplying the ribbon to make the Christmas Trees. The project inspiration, use of the burlap ribbon, and all opinions in this post are 100% my own.


This is a great craft to do while watching Hallmark Christmas movies. Once you get a rhythm going, they are quite easy to make.

How To Make Burlap Ribbon Tabletop Trees

What you will need to make the burlap ribbon trees

I've included affiliate links for your convenience so you can see what products I used or recommend to make these burlap Christmas trees. See my full disclosure policy.

Materials list based per tree.

• Dollar Store Paper Towel Holder
• 1/2" - 3/4" Diameter Wooden Dowel
• 2-inch Wired Red Burlap Ribbon (approximately 3 spools of 10-yard ribbon per tree) 
• Gold Glitterific Acrylic Paint (1 bottle per tree)
• Galvanized Holiday Bucket
• Gold Christmas Pick (tree topper alternates)
• Rustic Christmas Pick (tree topper alternates)
• Micro LED Lights 
• Regular and Small Detail Sewing Scissors
• Art Brush 
• Drill (to attach new wooden dowel)
• Mitre Saw (to cut wooden dowel)
• Subscription to the Hallmark Movie Channel (optional)

Step 1 - Replace paper towel holder dowel

The dowel on the wood paper towel holder is much too short for the tree. You will need to replace it with a taller dowel cut 3-feet long. Use the original screw that came with the paper towel holder to attach the new dowel.

Drill a small hole on the top of the dowel in the center for inserting a tree topper. More about that in another step.

Note: If you plan on inserting the tree inside a small galvanized pail like I did, you may need to trim the diameter of the paper towel base to fit using a jigsaw.

Step 2 - Cut the burlap ribbon

(based per tree)
Cut 12 strips of ribbon in lengths of 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, and 22-inches (as pictured below).

Step 3 - Tie the burlap ribbon

Starting at the bottom with the 22-inch strips of burlap (above the top of the galvanized bucket) simply tie the ribbon onto the wooden dowel and scrunch the ties so they are side by side. Before tieing the next ribbon see the next step below. Trust me, you'll regret it if you don't.

Step 4 - Fray the burlap ribbon

Burlap ribbon is prone to fraying so instead of fighting it, embrace the fraying by fraying the ends even more. It will also add some texture to the tree.

Be forewarned - this is the messiest and most time-consuming part of making the tree. A drop cloth of some kind and a Hallmark Christmas movie will be your best friend!

Fray Tip 1:

It is much easier to fray the ends of each ribbon first before moving onto tieing the next ribbon. Ask me how I know. 

Fray Tip 2:

With small sewing scissors simply cut a few rows of the horizontal weave where it is attached on both sides of the wire wrapped strands and pull down to remove them. I wasn't consistent in the amount of fraying on each ribbon.

Back to tieing the ribbon...

Tie the next 22-inch strip above the previous one with the knot facing directly beside the previous knot. Tie, fray, repeat until you've used all the 22-inch ribbon.

Move onto the 20-inch ribbon the same way, then the 18-inch, and so on until you've run out of ribbon.

Step 5 - Make the trees sparkle

To add some sparkle to the tree I painted the tips with gold glitter paint.



Starting at the bottom place a piece of paper or foil under the ribbon and with a small paintbrush paint the gold glitter onto the tips of the branch. Move onto the next branch and so on. You will have to replace the paper or foil a few times throughout this process.

Step 6 - Add a pretty tree topper

Trim your Christmas picks to the right height for your tree topper. Dab a little glue onto the stem and insert it into the predrilled hole on the top of the dowel (pictured below).

Step 7 - Fluff the tree branches

Fluff, curl, bend the wired burlap ribbon branches to your liking to get a full and nicely shaped tree.

Step 8 - Light the tree

This step is optional. String micro LED lights around the tree in a whimsical manner - no need to be fussy.

You'll notice I only strung lights on the tree with the gold glittered poinsettia topper. I used different Christmas picks for each tree as well. That's because I don't plan on displaying the trees together. If I was, I definitely would use the same picks and string lights on both trees.


If you have any questions about these burlap ribbon tabletop trees, please leave them in the comment section below or press the Contact Me button at the top of the blog to drop me an email. I love hearing from you!



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Scroll down for many more Christmas Tree decor ideas you can use this holiday season!