Building Your Own Christmas Eve Crate!

It seems to be a tradition for some people to give gifts on Christmas Eve!  In doing a poll on Facebook, the most common gifts consisted of pajamas for the family, slippers, movies, popcorn, and maybe another form of treats/candy for a movie night!  I don’t do the movie and treats, but we do give pajamas!  The kiddos look forward to it every year.  Even with my grown children who have moved out still expect it 🙂

I created a box of my own to coral all these goodies in and I want to show you how to make one of your own!  I also made it reversible so you can display pillows or blankets in it when it’s not time for gift giving.

You’re going to need to know how to use a table or miter saw and an electric sander.  Pretty simple workshop tools to learn to use if you are just starting out.  THIS is the miter box that I use and LOVE!  You can click the photo below and it will take to straight to Amazon so you can see all the details of it.

You’re going to need to cut (7) 1×4’s at 18″ each and (4) at 9 1/2″ each.  I use pine for most of my projects because of the low cost and versatility of wood.  You will also need (4) 2×2’s cut at 8″ for the inside corners of the box.

After all of the cutting, it’s just a matter of building.  This is a really simple project, so don’t let it overwhelm you!  You will build the outside edges first.  I use an air nailer as well as some wood glue so that it’s sturdy.  You can get by with just using one or the other though.  The front and back will each consist of two 18″ boards with a 1/4 space between the two.  The bottom will be formed with (3) of the 18″ boards with a 1/4 space between each.  The side board will be formed the same way with the same spacing.  The small 2×2’s is what will form the edges on the inside.  It bascially gets nailed and glued at every location that needs to be attached.  Lay it all out and nail away 🙂

 

Once it’s all nailed together you can use wood putty to seal all of the nail holes.  Once dry, sand and paint!

Next up, I used my Silhouette to create the stencil I will use for the design.  As I said previously, I created two designs so it is versatile to use all holiday season!  The Silhouette makes painting letters easy!!  I weeded out the letters and the left the negative vinyl for my stencil.  Cut apart your pieces and using transfer tape, apply the stencil to your crate.  If you are familiar with using vinyl, I use 631 for stenciling.

 

Using acrylic craft paint, fill in the letters with the color of your choice.  Satin paint is what I used for all of this project.  Satin just means it gives it a slight sheen so it’s not flat looking but it’s not glossy!  It’s just the right sheen for crafting home decor!  Once the paint is dry, you will remove all of the excess vinyl.  This is the fun part because you are seeing your creation come to life!

 

To dress up at a little, I took a gold 2″ bell I had from THIS PROJECT along with some leftover glitter ribbon and attached it to the top of the box to hang over the front with a bow tied around it!

When it’s all done, you’re ready to display pillows/blankets or Christmas presents in it!

Now pat yourself on the back for a job well done!  Sit down and sip a cup of this hot chocolate  or munch on these Cinnamon Caramel Muffins for all your hard work!

What are some traditions that you share on Christmas Eve?  Do you give your family pajamas to wear for movie night?

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