A Children’s Felt Christmas Tree is the perfect kid’s Christmas activity for all the small people in your life (and your sanity also!) Give your kids a tree that’s up to them to decorate as they please, hopefully leaving your real tree alone too!
EDITED TO ADD: You may now find the patterns and free cut files for this project here! Patterns for tracing and cutting as well as SVG files for use with Cricut and Silhouette Machines!
HERE IS WHAT’S IN THIS POST
- Felt Christmas Tree Supplies
- How to Make a Children’s Felt Christmas Tree
- Best Tips
- FAQ’s – best felt to use, what to make it stick better, etc.
My kids have mostly been pretty good at leaving the ornaments alone on our tree. I put all the keepsake/breakable ones up on top and all of their ornaments and the plastic ones on the bottom!
OK back to the felt tree! This project is so easy and really your options for decorations are endless! Use anything you have on hand too! Great for those scraps!
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Supplies Needed for DIY Felt Christmas Tree:
- Green Felt (36″ square for this pattern) Find it at Michaels or on Amazon Here
- Colored Felt for Ornaments (find it on Amazon here)
- Scissors (Amazon Here)
- Double Sided Poster Tape , 3M command strips or these Scotch removable squares work great too! )
- Hot Glue Gun with glue sticks (Amazon Here) *this is optional. To keep ornament decorations permanent or leave loose to mix and match!
- chalk or marker
Make shopping easier and find the complete cart for this project at Michaels here. Don’t forget to use a coupon! You can also find the supplies in my Amazon storefront here.
{{Funny side story: When Michael was young, our tree was in the corner of our living room in MN and shielded by the arm of the sofa and the hearth of the fireplace so he was pretty good at leaving it be. Well with Ryan, it was just plain out in the open right in front of our huge living room windows in our house in Joplin. So Ryan was more of a challenge to keep away. I told him that he couldn’t touch the ornaments but he COULD wave at them, blow them kisses, tell them hello, give them thumbs up or tell them they were pretty! So you would walk into the room and he’d be standing there, crouched down saying “I wuv you!” or waving at them…so stinking cute! }}
How to Make a Felt Christmas Tree
Time needed: 30 minutes
Create a Children’s Felt Christmas Tree that is fun and safe for little ones to decorate and redecorate as much as they want! Providing a place for them to touch, they will hopefully leave your real tree alone!
- Create your Felt Tree
First, fold the green felt square in half and use some chalk to draw the shape of a tree making sure the folded edge is in the center of your drawn tree. I realized it needed to be much wider to hold ornaments for TWO boys so I made it wider. This will be the back of the tree so don’t worry if you need to draw it a few times.
- Cut out the felt tree
While the felt is still folded, cut through both layers of felt along the lines you drew in step 1. Unfold to display your felt Christmas tree base.
- Create Felt Ornaments
Next, I started cutting ornaments. I used a drinking glass to form a circle and then free-handed a star and “pointy ornament”! You can make shapes also. Get as creative as you want or keep it as simple as you need! This project is for everyone!
You may now find traceable patterns along with SVG designs to cut these on your Cricut or Silhouette here.
- Cut Christmas Tree Lights from felt
Cut Light shapes that the kids can use as Christmas Tree lights or as pointy ornaments (as my son calls them)
- Create Felt Presents for under the Tree
I cut some rectangles and squares as presents and also made bows and some “ribbons” to add to the packages. For the ribbon, I simply cut strips and hot glued them together to fit the packages.
- Cut Felt Gift Tags
I cut some felt gift tags to adorn the packages! You could add names to these with some iron-on!
- Hang Children’s Felt Christmas Tree
I recommend using the 3M command strips (strips only, no hooks) or double-sided POSTER tape to hang the felt Christmas tree base. This makes it easy to remove when you need to pack up Christmas. I attach the strips to the back of the felt tree and then apply to the wall. Then you can stick the ornaments, lights and packages however your child wants because the felt sticks to felt!
TIPS FOR MAKING A FELT CHRISTMAS TREE FOR TODDLERS
- Make your packages the same size square (different colors) and same size rectangle (in different colors) so that you can make several colors of ribbons and bows and they fit all the appropriate packages!
- Hang the tree so that the base of the tree is near your floor or base boards so little ones have no problems reaching anything.
- Cut more ornaments and decorations than you think you will need! Sometimes the peices go missing because of that static cling! I am certain they are all hanging out with all the missing socks from the dryer ;-)
FAQ’s for Felt Christmas Tree
Craft Felt. There are 4 types of felt you may encounter. Craft felt, Eco-Friendly Felt, Blended Wool, and Wool felt. Craft felt is100% synthetic, man-made felt. Craft felt is mainly acrylic, polyester, rayon, or a rayon blend. It tends to be “hairier” therefore works the best when you want to adhere to another felt piece using only static friction!
There is no wrong way! Once the base tree is hung on the wall, simply add the felt pieces wherever you would like them to go. You can easily take them off and rearrange them as much as you want! This is a perfect activity for young ones to keep them occupied and away from your real Christmas tree!
Good ‘ole static cling! In addition, if you choose the craft felt like mentioned above, the fibers from the felt also help hang onto the fibers from the other piece of felt!
Sometimes even craft felt can be incredibly smooth. Take a hairbrush or clean scrub brush and “brush” it a few times to allow some of those fibers to come out of the weave of the felt. If that doesn’t work you can always use small velcro pieces (the hook half not the loop half) or some double-sided tape. 
Yes! You can find printable patterns that you can cut and trace onto the felt as well as SVG files if you would prefer to use a cutting machine.
You can find the free patterns for the children’s felt tree here.
I made this cute Santa Bin a few years back and it works so well to hold the pieces. You can use a ziploc bag, basket or anything you have on hand. I like to keep it near the tree! 
This is up to you and your child! A recommendation would be children 1-5. However my 7 year old would still enjoy making a tree creation! Just keep in mind if you are making small felt pieces that they may be a choking hazard to young ones. Keep an eye on playtime if so.
They mix and match and have a great time! Michael used all the gift bows as tree tip decorations and it looked really cute and then he used all the polka dots for the presents! I love their creativity! They also set up their Little People Nativity under their felt tree too! SO CUTE!
You can also use this as a great learning opportunity also on colors and shapes, depending on how you cut your ornaments! Never miss an opportunity to let them learn!
Want some more Christmas projects that the kids can get involved with? This ADORABLE Thumbprint String of Christmas Lights Frame is a favorite and also check out all my ornaments as well!
Find my Felt Jack-o-Lantern Felt Activity here! Perfect for Halloween fun!
Comments & Reviews
Jeannie says
Do they really stick together that well, without falling? I would have thought you glued the decorations to the ornaments…. I would love to do this for my daughter… and yours is by far the cutest I’ve seen! Thanks for any feedback!
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Thanks so much Jeannie! Yes they stick great. It doesn’t take much and they are so light that there is not much to weigh them down! I do like to make sure I use the felt that is kind of “fuzzy” Not the stiff felt that is pretty smooth on the surface!
Karen says
Where do you get the poster tape? It won’t peel paint off the wall? How much and where did you put the tape for mounting on the wall?
Cheryl Spangenberg says
You can find poster tape anywhere tape is sold pretty much. I have picked it up at Walmart, Office Max as well as my local Dollar Tree! It has not peeled anything off of my walls so far! I just put the tape sporadically around the tree. No particular placements.
pamv985 says
How many command strips and what size?
Cheryl Spangenberg says
I used double sided poster tape. You can use command strips as well. Quantity and size depend on the size of your tree. I would put one at the top and then maybe every other branch? Just enough to keep the tree on the wall as the kids play with it.
Kim Pressnell says
Love this! I have a special needs granddaughter who loves decorating the tree, so I`m making this for her. I know she’ll love it.
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Thanks Kim! That will be perfect! I hope she loves it!
Carissa D says
Thanks for your great tutorial, I used it to make my own version. I think it turned out great, you can see it on my blog at http://faithandfeltobsession.blogspot.com.au/2016/10/wall-christmas-tree.html
Cheers!
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Carissa it looks great! I love yours!
Nikki Palmer says
I love this idea!! We don’t have a craft store near me so I will be ordering online. I found a green roll of felt that is 72″ x 1 yd. Is that big enough?
I have also seen a suggestion of gluing the tree to a larger piece of white felt to give more room for presents underneath. Do you suggest that?
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Thanks Nikki! That roll is plenty! That will make your base of your tree 1 yard wide and that is perfect! My hesitation about adding the white is that it gets heavy and when it gets heavy it gets harder to keep up on the wall. You can always try it and report back! I’d love to see a finished picture too! You can email it to me or share it on my Facebook Page!
Lydia says
How thick if the felt?
I am trying to make one for Christmas as my son is 13 months.
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Hi Lydia, Mine is regular craft felt! There is stiff felt and soft and it’s the soft type.
Joy says
My fed does not stick together ! WHY?
Cheryl Spangenberg says
I’m not sure Joy. Some felts are less fabric-like and more plastic-like if that makes sense. I would rub a hairbrush over the felt to get it a bit more fuzzy and also make some static cling.
Jackie says
What do you put on the ornaments to make them stick to the felt? Double sided tape as well?
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Hi Jackie, the felt sticks to the felt. No additional adhesive needed.
Carol Vissers says
Hi Jackie, First may I say a humungous thankyou for your post. My name is Carol, and I’m from Australia, I saw a fab felt tree from etsy on FB, flashing lights and all, so I set about creating my own, my conundrum was how to make it rigid on the wall, pondered sewing pockets to hold removable bamboo rods, putting a lining on the back, and now today you have provided the perfect solution, double sided tape. Never gave it a thought. Now I just have to figure out how best to attach the $3.00 battery operated lights. Also, do you think they might be too heavy? Thank you once again. I look forward to your reply.
Cheryl Spangenberg says
Hi Carol, I think if you use a good amount of tape or 3M command strips the lights will hold just fine! You can also use “fairy lights” which are small led lights on a simply lightweight wire “cord” and those would be even lighter in weight!