Nordic Christmas Tree from a Coffee Cup Tree

There I was at the Goodwill Outlet (aka, “The Bins”), staring at a coffee cup tree. It was on top of the pile, likely tossed there by someone who scoffed at its missing arm. But me? I grabbed it…broken treasures are my favorite finds. And this coffee mug holder for a Christmas project. My plan? To transform it into a Nordic Christmas tree for a fun, minimalist change of pace.

Making Christmas trees from unexpected thrift store finds is a favorite holiday past time of mine, after all. Remember this wine rack that I repurposed?

But back tot he coffee mug tree. As I mentally disassembled it in my head, though, I realized that I could get TWO holiday projects from it…but let’s get to Project #1 first.

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Upcycling a Coffee Cup Tree

First, I needed to disassemble my coffee cup tree. I was planning on creating two Christmas projects from it, after all.

Thankfully, it was fairly simple to take apart. The arms were glued in and over time, the glue had become brittle.

So, with little effort, I was able to remove each arm from the stand/base, and set them aside for Project #2 (which you can find here on the blog!).

I was left with a flat base with a tall center spindle that had three sets of perpendicular set holes that went all the way through. With the arms of the coffee cup holder removed, I could now transform it into a Nordic Christmas tree.

My plan was to slide wooden dowels into each set of pre-drilled holes. But, I decided I wanted a fourth hole because there was plenty of room near the base (not for a coffee mug, mind you…but certainly for a dowel!).

So, we drilled an extra hole near the bottom of the coffee cup tree.

The holes were *relatively* even (meaning a dowel could slip through straight across and not look uneven/wonky). Nevertheless, I went ahead and used a round file to clean them up ever so slightly.

Next, I gathered some wooden dowels to transform into tree “branches” for the Nordic Christmas tree.

Transforming into a Nordic Christmas Tree

With four sets of holes, we determined that the four “branches” should be 6”, 8”, 10”, and 12” in lengths. So, we cut down the wooden dowels as such.

After sanding the edges, I slipped them through the holes of the coffee cup tree and glued them in place.

Next, it was time to paint my Scandinavian Christmas tree!

I found a mossy green spray paint that seemed like the perfect cool green.

Once that dried, I hand-painted the base of the mug tree and a tiny part of the spindle in a dark brown to replicate a Christmas tree trunk.

NOW my Nordic Christmas tree was all done and ready to be decorated!

I gathered some ornaments that I thought would look good on my coffee cup tree, including rustic brass bells (similar to these from Pottery Barn!) and clear mercury glass ornaments.

Nordic Christmas Tree from a Coffee Cup Tree

I loved the combination of neutral colors against the mossy green color of the Nordic Christmas tree.

You could easily personalize this idea to your holiday tastes. In fact, I think I’ll be on the hunt for another coffee cup tree and spray paint the whole thing silver like a vintage aluminum tree. Then I’ll hang some of my small vintage Shiny-Brites on it!

If you enjoyed this upcycling idea for a tabletop Christmas tree, then you may also get a kick out of my version of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree, too!

Craft on!

S

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