How To Make A Styrofoam Cone Christmas Tree With Glitter Ball Ornaments

December 15, 2023

Today I'm sharing how to make a Christmas tree using a styrofoam cone and some mini glitter ball Christmas ornaments. I remember seeing this type of Christmas decoration when I was a child and it brings back nostalgic memories for me. So I just had to make it, right?


It was inexpensive, fairly easy to make, and I love how it turned out! Read on for the details!

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Bonne Maman mini jam jar Christmas tree

You can make a DIY Christmas tree out of SO many different things, but I'm all for the easy and the inexpensive ones. I recently created a Christmas tree out of 15 mini Bonne Maman jam jars! And while that was fun to create and turned out fabulous, today I have another DIY Christmas tree to share.

This one was made using a styrofoam floral cone and some (mostly) Dollar Tree ornaments.   

mini glitter ornaments in boxes glue gun styrofoam cone



SUPPLIES FOR DIY STYROFOAM CONE CHRISTMAS TREE WITH GLITTER BALL ORNAMENTS

styrofoam cone (I used an 8" tall green floral styrofoam cone from Wal-Mart; some Dollar Tree stores carry them)

mini ornaments (I used 4 boxes of 16 small glitter ball ornaments each from Dollar Tree, plus part of one box of My Little Christmas pink mini ornaments from Hobby Lobby for $3.50)

hot glue gun

glue sticks

mini glitter Christmas garland (Dollar Tree)

mini tree topper - optional (I used a mini star ornament from the Hobby Lobby ornament set. I'd link to some mini star toppers on Amazon but as of this writing, so close to Christmas, the prices are incredibly high. I recommend Hobby Lobby sales or Dollar Tree Christmas craft supplies.)  

velvet ribbon - optional (I got a great deal on pink velvet Christmas ribbon at Aldi. The Amazon ribbon I link to is gorgeous and I love it! I've gotten it in other colors and have used it in other Christmas decorating.)


HOW TO MAKE A STYROFOAM CONE CHRISTMAS TREE WITH GLITTER BALL ORNAMENTS  

1. Remove all the ornament caps. Save for another day.  

rose gold pink and gold mini Christmas ornaments

2. Set out all your ornaments in front of you and decide on a pattern. You don't have to be precise in your planning, but it's good to have somewhat of an idea as to where you'll want to place which ornament, i.e., do you want to create a color pattern (blue, green; blue, green) or just glue them on willy nilly and see how it all turns out? 

Maybe you have a size preference, like starting on the bottom with larger ornaments and using smaller ones as you move up the tree. 

rose gold Christmas ball ornament

I decided to glue on all shiny rose gold ornaments across the bottom of the cone, and then alternate rose gold shiny and rose gold glitter ornaments (pretty much every other) in circles around the cone until I reached the top.

3. Start hot gluing the ornaments according to your pattern plan. Just push the ornament into the foam first to make an indent. Then put hot glue on the ornament as well as inside the indentation on the foam before you fuse them together. I found that holding the ornament in place for about 60 seconds assured me of strong adhesion.   

4. Once you reach the top it's time to add the mini tree topper. Honestly, you could put one last ornament straight down into the top of the tree (assuming its the right size) and call it a day. I might have done that if I hadn't had such a cute star ornament that worked so well as a tree topper.

5. Assuming you have gaps, or bald spots, between the ornaments (and you will), you can use a sparkly mini garland to fill in all the gaps.

Note #1: My styrofoam cone was green. In hindsight I wish I had painted it pink (or at least white) before adding the ornaments so that the bald spots wouldn't be as noticeable. However, the glitter garland did a great job filling in the spots. 

6. Now (and this is optional) you can tie a thin velvet ribbon around the very top of the tree and let it drape down loosely for an elegant effect.

NOTE #2: I was surprised how many ornaments it took to cover that 8" styrofoam cone! The 4 boxes of 16 ornaments (64 total) from Dollar Tree was not enough. I had to go out and find more mini ornaments to match them (which I was so happy to have found at Hobby Lobby). So be sure to have enough ornaments before you start the project! 

rose gold ornament tree on vintage gold mirror silver glitter gift box

My initial display of this elegant styrofoam cone Christmas tree is set up on a vintage gold mirror to add to the glam vibe. I added a silver glitter Christmas gift box next to it for contrast.

two pink ornament Christmas trees

Then I played around with the display a bit and added a vintage-inspired pink bottle brush tree that has similar ornaments, complementing my tree perfectly. 

elegant DIY rose gold ornament tree pink velvet nutcracker bottle brush tree

And finally I added a pink velvet nutcracker (Wal-Mart) for the win! What's not to love?

glitter pink gold mini ornaments DIY tree

I really had fun with this project. It's not every day that I decorate for Christmas in pinks and rose golds. You can see where I got my inspiration for this styrofoam cone Christmas tree in my post How To Create A Romantic Christmas Mantel.

If you like this type of tree, but don't want to make one yourself, you can always buy one instead:

Costylean 16 Inch Christmas Ball Tree 

16 Inch Small Tabletop Tree With Shatterproof Ornaments

Well that's it for today, friends!
I hope you enjoyed reading about 
How To Make A Styrofoam Cone Christmas Tree 
With Glitter Ball Ornaments 
and that I've inspired you in some way!

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Leave a Comment!

My thrift store addiction said...

Kathleen, this is gorgeous! Of course, you know I LOVE the colors. I did not see any velvet nutcrackers at our Walmart, but now I will be on the lookout!