Looking for a creative and eco-friendly Christmas tree alternative? Consider repurposing an old rake into a unique and festive custom Christmas tree alternative of your own!
This rake Christmas tree is perfect to display indoors or out, making it the perfect rustic Christmas decor piece easily customized to suit your own home!
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Whenever Christmas rolls around, in these parts it’s time to come up with another non traditional Christmas tree of sorts!
I’m a huge fan of a good solid Christmas tree alternative, which really means, it’s something a little out of the ordinary.
Here’s a few fav Christmas tree alternatives that have been recent hits each time the festive season rolls around…
Other popular DIY Christmas trees:
However, I have a different kind of DIY Christmas tree sign today… using an upcycled vintage rake head!
I don’t even remember where I landed this rusty vintage rake. Having loads of rusty junk collections I display in my garden area gives me lots of trinkets to choose from, and this old rake head was part of that stash.
But since the rake head mimicked a tree shape, I thought it would make a super cute metal Christmas tree for the holiday season for those who love a rustic or industrial touch. It’s also perfect for small spaces, and fully weatherproof, so you can use it indoors or out!
While I didn’t invent rake Christmas trees by any means, I did want to give this idea a shot to see what came of it!
And it’s safe to say, I love how it turned out! Plus, you can easily customize the look depending what components you use. I encourage you to not buy a thing, and work with what you have!
So if a non traditional tree inspires you this holiday season, here’s what I did:
Upcycled rake Christmas tree alternative
Supplies I used:
Old metal rake head
Reclaimed wood boards for the backdrop
Fusion Mineral Paint in Ash and Casement (get 10% off these links)
Small Christmas ornaments in tarnished silver, copper and gold tones
Thick branch for tree trunk
Tools used:
Bosch Variable Speed orbital sander
Prepping the wood base
1. Hold a chosen rake head up against some reclaimed wood boards to ensure it fits. Cut boards to the desired length using a miter saw, then lightly sand.
My board measurements:
- Three: 5.5″ wide x 40″ long
- Two supports: 3.25″w x 16.25″long
- Overall sign board size: 16.25″ wide x 40″ tall
2. Cut and sand two smaller boards as supports, measured to the width of the backer boards. Position the support boards near the top and bottom of the main boards.
Dry-fitting the rake Christmas tree components
3. Dry-fit all the desire components on your boards to ensure they fit.
In addition to the old antique rake head, I also added a thick branch as a tree truck, tucked inside a small metal bucket to create the Christmas tree base. Make sure you also add a star, which I forgot in this step, but did later.
And as much as I do like the random reclaimed wood look as-is, (I’m such an old wood grainaholic) I ultimately decided to dress up the boards a little, which you’ll see soon!
Assembling the reclaimed wood planks
3. Screw the support boards near the top and bottom of the longer planks.
Pre-drilling tip:
Reclaimed wood can be brittle. So a little trick I like to use so the wood doesn’t split is to partially screw in the screws, remove, then screw until secured. That motion creates a pre-drilled pilot hole effect so the wood doesn’t split.
Painting the boards in a deep tone
4. Paint all the boards in Fusion’s Ash.
I desired to create a night sky effect for the tree, so Ash is a great choice! It’s deep, yet not quite solid black. A warm black if you will. Plus, Fusion goes on with a matte finish which chimed in beautifully with all these rusty metal components.
5. Position all the tree components into place.
Screwing the tree components onto the boards
6. Using black screws with wider heads, secure the screws around the rake head so it stays in place.
7. Attach the star.
I used a metal star hook, however you can also try cutting a burlap star, stencil an image or use a star christmas ornament.
Attaching the bucket as a tree base
8. Hot glue the branch inside the metal bucket, then attach the bucket to the boards.
My bucket had a small lip so I could hook it onto a nail head. You can also attach a bucket with hot glue, screw through it or use heavy duty double sided tape or velcro.
Hot gluing Christmas ornaments to the rake head
9. Arrange some small Christmas ornaments on the rake head, then hot glue them into place.
To chime in with the metal bucket and rusty rake, I chose Christmas ornaments with a tarnished finish in copper, silver, frost and gold. I love the muted yet neutral tones which chime in so well with that rusty rake head!
Filling the tree bucket with pinecones
10. Position against a wall, then fill up the bucket with anything you wish!
View Chevron Christmas tree with wood scrap presents HERE
I filled this metal bucket with small pinecones, which I love! However you could also use spanish moss, faux snow, burlap fabric, evergreen branches (greenery), rocks, mini wood block presents like I made on THIS CHEVRON TREE SIGN, etc!
Painting snowflake dots on the backdrop
11. To create a snowy sky, dip a brush handle into Fusion’s Casement white paint, then randomly stamp the handle onto the background around the tree.
The effect adds just the right amount of a subtle snowfall so the tree still takes center stage! Yet adds so much.
You could also use this snowfall stencil called Mini Snow Flurry.
The completed rake Christmas tree alternative
And the final result is a super cool industrial rustic rake Christmas tree that is perfect for indoor Christmas wall decor or for a Christmas front porch!
I love how all the 3d components make it really interesting to take in!
And the bucket is so fun to fill! I used different sized pine cones with a couple with white paint on them to mimic snow.
The aged gold, copper and silver Christmas ornaments are the perfect touch, chiming in well with all the different metal tones. They really help pull the entire metal rake Christmas tree together so well!
And while this little rusty rake Christmas tree is perfect on a front porch…
This artificial tree is also perfect indoors even for tight spaces like a hallway, thanks to the vertical shape!
Then position a few ornaments and smaller faux Christmas trees around the base and you’ll have a wonderful display fit for a Christmas mantel, wall, or wherever you wish! For larger spaces, team it up with garland, more baubles and trim nearby for a larger scale visual feast!
I think what I love most about this kind of rake Christmas tree is that no two will ever look alike. It all depends what rake you use, and what ornaments and accessories you use.
Whether full or a minimalist look, it’s offers plenty of festive spirit for those who love a repurposed vibe, wouldn’t you say? At the very least, it’ll give your guests something fun to talk about…
Real trees are nice. But we all know, this upcycled rake Christmas tree alternative is the one that will last! Think you may give a rake Christmas tree a go this year?
Other unique Christmas tree alternative projects:
Unique 3D seedling Christmas trees with faux branches
Scrap wood Christmas trees in present bases
Mini wood Christmas trees with pallet bases
Visit all our Christmas projects on one page HERE!
Customizable Upcycled Rake Christmas Tree Alternative
Supplies:
Instructions:
- Hold a metal rake head against some boards to ensure it fits.
- Cut background boards, along with 2 support boards, measuring the width of your base. My wood boards measure: 3 - 5.5"wide x 40" long / 2 - 3.25"w x 16.25" long / Overall size: 16.25" wide x 40" tall.
- Position the support boards near the top and bottom of the baseboards, then assemble with screws.
- Paint all the boards in Fusion's Ash.
- Dry fit the rake, branch, bucket and star on the boards, then attach each piece with screws or glue.
- Hot glue ornaments onto the rake.
- Using the wood handle of a small paint brush, dip in Casement (white paint), then dot the sky around the tree to resemble a snowfall in a night sky.
- Display your Christmas tree alternative indoors or out!
Notes
Visit all Funky Junk’s Christmas 2025 to-date below!
Very clever!
Thanks Nancy! It was super fun to pull together!
Whenever I think about throwing something away, my first thought is “what would Donna do with this?” Love the rake head Christmas tree and the other Christmas boards. I’m a antique, rustic, salvage type person so thank you for all the ideas and inspiration.
Haha, well I’m glad to have inspired from afar! And being a fellow collector, I’m certain you get this one big time… maybe I should put a few more ideas together like the olden days when that’s all I did…