Mini Trees

Q. What is a Mini Tree?

A. A Mini Tree is a small tree usually no more than 3 or 4 feet in height. Some Mini trees are as short as 18 inches. They are usually round or triangular in shape, like a short pyramid or upside down cone wrapped with Christmas lights.

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Q. How do you make a Mini Tree?

A. There are several ways to make a Mini Tree. The Frame of the Mini Tree can be made from tomato plant support cages, floral easels, metal rods or even wire mesh. The choice of material is only limited to your imagination. There is no right or wrong way to make a Mini Tree. In this article we will utilize the tomato cage version of the Mini Tree.

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In this tutorial we will be using the Tomato cage method. Gather your materials, supplies and tools. 1. Two tomato cages per Mini Tree. 2. 1 set of 100 mini lights. 3. 1 set of 50 mini lights. 4. Sharpie marker. 5. Black electrical tape. 6. Black 4" zipties 7. Wire cutters 8. Bolt cutters or hacksaw

Lets start building! First we will need to decide on the size of the mini tree. I like to use the 2nd largest ring of the cage as the base of the tree. So just flip the cage upside down, step back and take a look at the overall shape. Decide how large or small of a tree you would like.

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I used a 24 inch tree so I had to cut down the cage to size. I left the bottom ring as a standard and cut the upper 2 rings in the center of each section between the vertical supports with the bolt cutters. This will leave you with 3 horizontal section from each of the upper rings. You will need to do this for both cages, make them match.

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Now you need to decide the height of the tree. If you want a 24" tree mark the vertical supports at 24" and 26". Cut them with the bolt cutters at the 26" mark.

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Now make a small bend at the 24" mark so when the supports are pulled together them will line up nice and straight.

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Now stack the 2 cages one on top of the other.

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Use 2 zipties to hold the 6 vertical supports together at the top 2 inches.

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Use the black electrical tape to wrap the 2" vertical section of the supports to cover the zipties, give extra strength and round over the sharp top edges.

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Now return your attention to the middle rings. In my case I had to form the rings into smaller diameter circles to get the look of the tree just right. Use more zipties to secure each of the rings into the proper diameter to meet the look you are after.

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Now once the tree is in a nice overall form you are read to start on the lights. I made a mark with the Sharpie every inch going up the vertical supports. I started wrapping the lights from the bottom, just go around the tree following the marks you made. As 1 full wrap is completed move the string up to the next mark. Just keep wrapping the lights around and using a ziptie every so often to secure the lights.

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This will leave 1 inch of space between the wraps and thus allow the lights in the back half of the tree to be seen from the front. Using this method you will get about 80-90 percent of the effect of have twice the amount of lights on the tree. On my 24 inch tree 150 lights was just right. If you do a taller tree you may need 200 or more lights depending on how tall your Mini tree will be.

Good Luck and Merry Christmas!