How To Make a Faux Vintage Aluminum Christmas Tree (Dollar Tree Hack)

Want to add a touch of retro vintage style to your holiday decor? Fake it till you make it with this adorable vintage tinsel tree idea. I’ll show you how to easily make a faux vintage aluminum Christmas tree for under $10.00 with Dollar Tree supplies.

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Vintage Aluminum Christmas Trees

When I was a little girl, my aunt had an aluminum Christmas tree, and I was always fascinated by it. It was filled with adorable shiny Brite ornaments and had a light that turned, changing the tree’s color every few seconds.

Are Aluminum Christmas Trees Vintage?

Yes, most aluminum Christmas trees are vintage. They were first manufactured commercially around 1955 and were popular through the 1960s and early ’70s.

I’ve always wanted to find a vintage silver tree like my aunt’s. However, I’ve not had any luck. The ones I’ve seen are way out of my price range. You can now find reproductions, but they are still pricey. Therefore, I decided to make one for our guest bedroom. Here’s what I did.

How To Make A Faux Vintage Tinsel Tree

My first stop was Dollar Tree, and I found everything I needed to make a faux vintage tinsel tree. Here are the supplies I purchased.

Dollar Tree Supplies

• 1 – Small Christmas Tree
• 3 – Strands of Silver tinsel garland

I also used a small amount of silver tinsel ribbon over the top of the Dollar Tree garland.

Prepare Tree

I purchased a white tree from Dollar Tree, but you could use an inexpensive thrifted tree if you find one. Keep in mind that you will be removing the tree needles, so you want a tree that isn’t too full. I also decided the white would be easier to cover than a green tree.

The first step is to remove all the needles from the tree. The Dollar Tree needles are plastic and easy to cut with scissors. Trim each branch as close to the wire as possible. Place the tree in a container to catch all the needles.

Prepare the Silver Tinsel Garland

You will not believe how hard it was to find a silver tinsel garland that looked retro. Most are oversized and don’t look authentic. However, Dollar Tree had a garland I liked, except for the addition of metallic Chrismtas bulbs. I decided I could still make this garland work, so here’s what I did.

Remove all the metallic Christmas bulbs from the garland by pulling them off. It’s so easy; they pull away easily. Once all the bulbs are removed, you can begin to assemble your faux vintage Aluminum Christmas tree.

Add Silver Tinsel To Christmas Tree

Now, you are ready to add the silver tinsel to the Christmas tree. Begin at the bottom lower branches and wrap the tinsel from the tree trunk outward along the branch. The best part about recycling a tree is that the branches’ bristles help grab the tinsel and hold it in place.

Once you reach the end of a branch, turn the tinsel and wrap it back around the tree trunk. Once you reach the trunk, move to the next branch and repeat. Continue to repeat as you move up the tree. If you reach an area with a lot of the tree trunk exposed, wrap the tinsel around it to cover it.

Three strands of the garland covered the tree. To tighten the first garland, I also wrapped a small amount of silver tinsel ribbon around the upper branches.

The vintage-inspired silver tinsel tree looks adorable. Let’s see how to finish it.

Add Faux Vintage Aluminum Christmas Tree To Container

I decided to add the faux vintage aluminum Christmas tree to a small ironstone tureen. I cut the base with pruning sheers to allow the stand to fit in the tureen. Then I add some cotton poly-fill around the tree base.

How To Decorate DIY Silver Tree

I am currently making some really cute ornaments to add to the DIY Silver tree. However, I wanted to show you how the tree looks decorated, so I added a few of my other vintage ornaments and one with festive bright babbles.

I plan to use the tree as our guest bedroom and can’t wait for you to see the DIY ornaments I’m making for the pink-themed bedroom.

Related Articles

Here are some other fun DIY projects that you will enjoy.

• How To Add Fake Snow To Christmas Tree
• How To Make Large Christmas Ornaments with Dollar Tree

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Thank you for stopping by. Please check back next week for an update on the faux vintage Christmas Tree decorations.

Have the best day!