Tag: DIY fireplace

Christmas Cardboard Fireplace & Gingerbread Christmas Tree

We don’t have a fireplace in our house, so I wanted to see if I could make a cardboard fireplace for Christmas this year. We placed our Charlie Brown Christmas tree on the fireplace and were able to take pictures of the baby girls in front of it too.

Cardboard Fireplace

I wrapped 5 diaper boxes with brown packing paper and glued them together. Then I wrapped 3 giant pizza boxes and glued them to the top of the boxes for the ledge.

Next I put red and black paint on a paper plate and used a damp sponge to make painted “bricks” all over the boxes.

I got a flat piece of cardboard and painted the back of it black and then I painted red, orange, and yellow flames. Then I placed it in the opening of the fireplace and taped it in place.

I put some pine garland on the top of the fireplace with some Christmas decorations. I also placed our Charlie Brown Christmas Tree on the top of the fireplace too.

Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

I went out to the yard and found a pine branch that looked how I wanted. I nailed two by fours together and straightened out a wire coat hanger to attach trough the two by four stand. I attached the tree branch to this coat hanger wire to help it stand up. Then I placed a single red, round ornament bulb on the top of the branch and wrapped a thin blue swaddling cloth around the bottom of the tree as Linus’s blanket.

Gingerbread Christmas Tree

Gingerbread Ingredients:

  • 4 cups flour
  • ¾ Cup melted butter
  • ¾ Cup sugar
  • ½ Cup Molasses
  • ½ Cup water
  • 1 tsp Baking Soda
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1 TBS Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1 egg

Gingerbread Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients.
  2. Once dough begins to form, dust generously with flour.
  3. Cover dough with plastic and chill for 4 hours.
  4. Dust surface with flour and roll out dough to ¼ inch thick.
  5. Use the star Christmas Tree cookie cutter set and place pieces on sprayed cookie sheet.
  6. Bake 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes

Assembly:

Place the largest start on the bottom and then add the next largest on top. Hold it in place with a bit of butter cream. Continue stacking the tree with smaller and smaller stars until you get to the last one. Place the last star upright. Dye the butter cream green and place a bit on each arm of each star. Lastly add the Christmas Light Candies.

Butter Cream Ingredients:

  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 cup Crisco
  • 4 cups powdered sugar (2 lbs)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 1 tablespoon milk (if thick)

Butter Cream Directions:

  1. Cream together the butter and Crisco with a mixer.
  2. Slowly add in 1 cup of powdered sugar at a time.
  3. Add the vanilla, if it seems too thick you can add a bit of milk.

Christmas Day Snacks

Fruit Dip Wreath

I used fruits to make it look like a green wreath with berries and a bow.

Fruit dip is made with one package of cream cheese with one jar of marshmallow cream!

Vegi Tray Wreath

I used vegetables to make it look like a green wreath with berries and a bow.

Vegi ranch is made with one tub of sour cream with one Ranch packet for the vegetables.

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