Choosing a fake Christmas tree over the real deal is no longer a faux pas — now it's a way to show off your crafty side. And, this Christmas, people are building DIY trees our inner bookworms love.
Below are eight book tree ideas ranked hard to easy. Then, once you've collected your inspiration, watch the video below to get the step-by-step instructions for building your own.
Difficulty Level: Hard
If you want to attempt to build a massive Christmas tree out of books—like this nine-foot version at the University of San Francisco's Gleeson Library—you're going to need a lot of books and something in the centre (like a table) to stabilise it so it doesn't get knocked over.
Difficulty Level: Hard
While this book tree at the Houston Public Library is smaller, the topper requires some serious crafting skills.
Difficulty Level: Medium
You only need a dozen books to make this topsy-turvy book tree, but it requires drilling through the centre of the books and attaching them to a dowel to stabilise it.
Difficulty Level: Medium
Don't have hours to spend searching for books with matching green spines? Use this photo as your inspiration and turn the pages towards the outside of your tree for a consistent look.
Difficulty Level: Easy
Stack rows of books against a wall in a tree-like shape if you're worried about stability and decorate with a pom-pom garland and a star topper.
Difficulty Level: Easy
For a cute tabletop book tree, stack 12 to 14 open books on top of each other and top with a cute paper star. (Note: this version could potentially damage the books' spines so best to use cheap used books here, not your favourites).
Difficulty Level: Easiest
This book tree is really easy to make. Just take all of your books with
green covers and stack them on your bookshelf from largest to smallest and top
with a star.
Difficulty Level: Easiest
Here's a book tree that even the laziest of us can pull off. All you need to do is rearrange your piles of magazines and books ever so slightly into a tree-like shape
on your bookshelf.
How it's done...
From Country Living US.
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Lyndsey Matthews is the Destination News Editor for AFAR; previously she was a Lifestyle Editor across all of Hearst Digital Media's brands, and a digital editor at Martha Stewart Weddings and Travel + Leisure.
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