Homemade Pop-Up Christmas Tree Card (with Free Printable Template)

Christmas is an exciting time of year, but it can also be incredibly stressful. Between shopping for gifts, wrapping the gifts, and finding time to fit in all the holiday parties, it’s easy to forget little details.

And the most common thing I forget? Christmas cards to accompany my gifts.

This normally isn’t a problem, as stores are full of Christmas cards, but I usually seem to forget late the night before I’m supposed to bring gifts to a party and don’t have time to make it to the store.

Rather than show up without a card, I’ve started creating my own Christmas cards. Now, I know homemade can sometimes have a negative connotation, with some people associating the word with cheap. But it doesn’t have to.

That’s why I started making these pop-up Christmas tree cards. They are super cute, easy to make, and stand out from the store-bought holiday cards. And you can make them for much less than it costs to buy multiple Christmas cards.

If the thought of creating a pop-up card is daunting, put your mind to rest. You can download a free downloadable template and follow these step-by-step instructions to help make this a breeze.

How to make a homemade pop-up Christmas tree card

For starters, gather all your supplies:

• 1 sheet 12”x12” white cardstock
• 1 sheet 12”x12” green cardstock
• 1 sheet 8.5”x11” white cardstock
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Double-sided tape

Pop-up card instructions

1. Download the free pop-up Christmas tree card template, at the end of this post and print it out on the sheet of 8.5”x11” white cardstock. Be sure to print at size.
2. Cut out the template square, then cut out the outlined rectangles. This will be your template.
   
3. Take the white sheet of 12”-square cardstock and cut it in half. Then fold each strip in half again, forming two 6”x6” cards.
   
4. Do the same thing with the green sheet of 12”-square cardstock.
5. Trim down each side of the green squares (except the side with the fold) by 0.25”. This will give you a rectangle measuring 5.75” wide by 5.5” tall.
   
6. Place the template over one of the green squares, with the cut-out rectangles lining up against the folded edge of the green square.
7. Take a pencil and trace the cut-out rectangles onto the green card.
   
8. Use your scissors to cut from the folded edge to the drawn back-edge of the lines you drew from the stencil. Do not completely cut out these rectangles on the green card.
9. Once you’ve made all the cuts, gently bend the cut strips to form a crease. Then bend back.
   
10. Open up the green card and gently pull the folded strips inward, forming the pop-out Christmas tree. You’ll have to carefully crease the mid-line.
    
11. Close the card again and gently press to lock in your center creases.
12. With the green card closed, place strips of double-sided tape around the outer edges of the card. Insert inside the folded white card and press to adhere the tape on the green card to the white card.

And there you have it! A homemade pop-up Christmas tree card. The whole process takes less than 10 minutes.

Once the card is created, you can add extra features as desired. There’s plenty of space inside the card next to the pop-up tree where you can write a note. Stickers or cut-out decorations (I love to use my Cricut to make these cut-out decorations) add a nice finishing touch. I use this darling JOY from Cricut’s library of images for this card!

These cards are fun to make with kids and are sure to be appreciated by those you give them to.

Ready to get started on your own pop-up card? Subscribe to download the free template and get started!