DIY Nightmare Before Christmas Tree

Bring spooky cheer to your home with this easy DIY Nightmare Before Christmas tree—full of handmade Jack Skellington ornaments, bold black-and-white details, and plenty of festive fun!

This Nightmare Before Christmas tree is the perfect addition to your holiday decor! We created a few unique do-it-yourself Jack Skellington ornaments to make this epic Halloween/Christmas movie-themed tree really stand out this holiday season.

If you’ve ever wished for Halloween to crash Christmas in the most delightfully chaotic way, this DIY Nightmare Before Christmas tree is about to make your spooky little dreams come true. We’re talking Jack Skellington in all his creepy-cute glory, black and white everything, and enough handmade charm to give Santa a run for his candy canes.

Last year, I decided to purchase a pencil Christmas tree just for the fun of creating themed trees for the holidays, in addition to putting up our hand-crafted Christmas tree. Did you see the awesome Chewbacca-themed tree that we created last year?! So good!

You guys, how awesome is this Nightmare Before Christmas tree?! Jack is basically the Pumpkin King of our house at this point.

For even more Nightmare Before Christmas ideas, take a look at this list of easy Jack Skellington crafts.

Too busy to make this right away? Pin it for later! Pin this post to your favorite board on Pinterest and it will be there when you’re ready!

The Jack Skellington theme was born out of my love for everything Jack and the Nightmare Before Christmas Halloween film!

What is The Nightmare Before Christmas?

• This 1993 movie is perfect for the Christmas season or Halloween celebrations, with many people unsure which it suits best.
• Jack Skellington is the main character from The Nightmare Before Christmas, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town.
• He discovers Christmas Town and decides that he wants to become Santa Claus, complete with a real beating heart and Christmas tree.
• The Christmas Jack Skellington goes through a bunch of crazy shenanigans with the citizens of Halloween Town.
• Trick-or-treators return to Jack the Easter Bunny and Sandy Claws, while the movie ends with a final showdown with the Oogie Boogie man.
• Disney creator Tim Burton made this Halloween movie, along with other iconic ones like James and the Giant Peach and Sleepy Hollow.
• Jack most often wore a bat bow-tie and real fabric tuxedo with white stripes in this classic movie.

As you can see, we already have mad love for Jack. Some of my favorite Nightmare Before Christmas craft ideas include this Jack Skellington door printable, DIY Jack Skellington piggy bank, and this Jack Skellington pumpkin T-shirt.

How to Make a DIY Nightmare Before Christmas Tree

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Supplies

• Black & white wired ribbon
• Ribbon picks
• Wooden blank ornaments
• Acrylic paint
• Twine
• Jack Skellington ornaments

Instructions

1. Start by gathering supplies—most of mine came from Michaels, Walmart, and Dollarama.

The black-and-white wired ribbon, ornament blanks, and chalkboard signs were found at Michaels. Chevron paper, black ribbon, black floral wire, a white paper lantern, black felt, and paint are from Dollarama.

The Jack ornaments were found at Walmart. See the supply list of similar items.

2. Attach floral wire to the black-and-white striped ribbon to make attaching it to the tree easier.

Make DIY Ribbon Picks

3. Ribbon picks are easy to create with ribbon and floral wire. Check out my ribbon pick tutorial to learn how to make your own!

Cut pieces of ribbon and attach floral wire to the back. I used both striped ribbon and black ribbon to create decorative picks.

These add amazing texture and interest to a Christmas tree and make your tree look professionally styled.

Make DIY Nightmare Before Christmas Decorations

4. Now create a variety of black-and-white themed ornaments.

I made black-and-white chevron ornaments to add more pattern and interest to the tree.

First, cut out black-white-chevron paper in the shape of the ornament blank.

Use decoupage to stick the paper to the blank ornament and add twine loops for hanging.

Making these chevron ornaments has really helped to tie the whole tree together. You could also make some simple Jack ornaments with snap lids and paint.

I had a few extra white wooden blank ornaments from Michaels, so decided to make these cute DIY Jack Skellington ornaments too.

Design a Tree Topper

5. Next, make a custom tree topper using a white paper lantern and black felt.

Cut out Jack’s signature facial features from black felt.

Glue the felt onto the paper lantern using a hot glue gun.

Use black floral wire or pipe cleaners to secure the Jack Skellington tree topper to the top of the tree.

Decorate the Tree

6. Gather all of the ribbon and ornaments and decorate the tree. I like to start with the ribbon, then the picks, then larger ornaments, before finally hanging the rest of the ornaments.

Toss in as many store-bought Jack Skellington ornaments and homemade Nightmare Before Christmas decorations as you want.

And now for a ton of photos of just how epic this tree turned out, because it’s not every day that you see a Nightmare Before Christmas tree! It’s perfect for any Nightmare Before Christmas fan.

This Jack Skellington ornament from Walmart was the perfect finishing touch! It’s quickly become one of my most beloved character ornaments.

Tips and Tricks

• For more Nightmare Before Christmas DIY decorations, pick up clear ornaments and fill them with black glitter, white feathers, or creepy-cute mini skulls.
• Wrap black floral wire around your ribbon rolls before cutting—it gives them more structure when shaping them into picks.
• Use chevron scrapbook paper as an easy way to add patterns to blank ornaments—just decoupage and done!
• Print out Jack Skellington face templates for easy tracing onto felt or foam.
• Secure your tree topper with pipe cleaners if floral wire feels too flimsy.

Tree Variations

• Go bold with a black Christmas tree instead of a traditional green one.
• Buy character figurines at the thrift store to use as ornaments.
• Use black and white Christmas ornaments.
• Add black branches for a slight variation.
• Find Halloween Town buildings to place in the tree.
• Change the bulbs to soft purple lights.
• Add a cemetery hill moon tree topper instead of this DIY one.
• Swap in red accents for a pop of Santa-style contrast.
• Use Halloween decorations like pumpkins.
• Find a small tree to use instead of a large one.
• Add a Santa hat to create a Santa Jack.
• Look for more ornaments in the Disney Store or at Hot Topic.
• Use Halloween decorations like mini pumpkins, bats, and spiders.
• Create a Dark of the Moon holiday tree for a dark holiday celebration!

Don’t be surprised if you see a few white and black glass ornaments hanging from this Halloween tree as well.

Our Crafting Essentials

• We love using these Apple Barrel acrylic paints to add bright color to all of our projects.
• These paint brushes are ideal for most craft surfaces and a great price!
• This art supplies kit is our favorite because it has everything we needed to get started.
• This rolling storage cart helps to keep our craft supplies organized.

If your inner Jack Skellington is screaming “THIS IS HALLOWEEN!” but your calendar says it’s time for jingle bells, this DIY Nightmare Before Christmas tree is your perfect mash-up. Jack would totally approve!

If you love this DIY Nightmare Before Christmas tree as much as we do, please help us share it on Facebook and Pinterest so that others can enjoy it too!

Hello, I’m Heather!

I'm an active mom of twin boys who is always looking for opportunities to inspire creativity through fun crafts, do-it-yourself projects and delicious recipes. This blog has been an integral part of supporting my little family and I am so grateful to have you become a part of our journey! Let's create together... Read more...