For 2025, we decided to make a few updates to our front yard Christmas light display. Each year we try to add something new, and this time we focused on creating a fresh look for the yard while also improving one of our existing inflatables.

One of the biggest additions was a set of DIY wooden light trees. The idea came from a pattern I found online and was simple but effective: using 2x4s cut at various angles to create the outline of a tree, then stringing lights between the two sides. The cuts involved a mix of 45-degree and 22.5-degree angles, which made my miter saw incredibly handy for this project.

Once the frames were assembled, I stained them using materials I already had on hand. The bottom section was finished with leftover brown deck stain from sealing the deck earlier in the fall. For the green portion, I had a custom outdoor deck stain mixed at Home Depot. It’s an Olympic tintable base in a color called Forest Green, and I had it made as a sample — just enough for this project.

For lighting, I kept things simple. The larger tree uses a string of 100 green bulbs, while the smaller tree uses a string of 50 white lights. I built the larger tree first, starting with a 27-inch bottom piece. The three rows above it measure 14, 16, and 18 inches long. To create the smaller tree, I simply reduced each of those measurements by two inches. The lights are attached to the back using deck screws that I saved when helping my neighbor build a pergola many years ago.

To secure the trees in the yard, I used steel rebar that I had found in a piece of wood retaining wall in our yard after moving here in 2023. I drilled holes in the bottom of each frame, pounded the rebar into the ground, and then slid the trees over the top. This worked extremely well — they stayed solidly in place all season. When it came time to take them down, the ground was already frozen, but the trees lifted right off the rebar without any trouble. I’ll remove the rebar once the ground thaws in the spring.

Overall, we’re very happy with how everything turned out. The lighted trees added a nice finishing touch to the front yard and blended perfectly with the rest of our Christmas display. If you’d like to see what I did to upgrade one of our inflatables, click here.