DIY Holiday Express | Christmas Train Lawn Decoration

Christmas is right around the corner and nothing makes this season complete quite like decorating your home for the holidays, both inside and out! Instead of just putting up some lights around your house this year, try out this easy-to-make decoration for your lawn that looks juts like a Christmas train. Whether you're bringing back the feeling of past childhood Christmases or thinking about take a trip to the North Pole to visit Santa, this adorable holiday express train will set the stage for an unforgettable holiday season. And the best part is that this holiday train set will barely cost you a thing to make! Just grab some wooden crates and paint, and you're ready to transform your home into the most festive one on your block. All aboard!

You'll Need:

  • 11 wooden crates
  • hot glue gun
  • red & white acrylic paint
  • drill
  • 9 wooden dowels
  • 18 flower pot saucers 
  • white spray paint
  • 8 thin wooden strips
  • saw
  • cardboard tube
  • 3 white plastic flower pots 
  • 12 screw hooks
  • 6 chains

Here's How:

1. For the body of the train, you'll need 2 crates each for the 3 train cars and 5 crates for the engine. For the train cars, use a hot glue gun to glue 2 crates on top of each other, both facing upwards. Paint the train cars and all of the additional wooden crates red. Let the red paint dry, then decorate 1 of the train cars with white snowflakes.

2. Drill 4 holes for the wheels in each train car, 2 near the front opposite one another and 2 in the back. Insert a wooden dowel through each set of holes opposite one another. Spray paint the flower pot saucers white and drill a hole in the center of each one. Place 1 flower pot saucer on each of the 4 ends of the wooden dowels and glue them in place using the hot glue gun.

3. For the engine, glue 2 wooden crates on top of one other, this time gluing the top crate upside down so that you create a closed box.

4. Paint the thin wooden strips white and cut them into 8 equally sized pieces. Place the box you made out of wooden crates on its side so that one of its shorter edges is the base, then saw a square out of the box close to the top. Cut out an equally sized square on the opposite side. Glue 4 of the wooden strips around each of the squares you cut out to make the window frames.

5. Glue 2 of the wooden crates on top of each other, making another box, and decorate the box with white snowflakes. Attach the box with the white snowflakes to the upright box with the windows using the hot glue gun.

6. Drill 3 holes on each side of the engine for the wheels, insert wooden dowels through the holes opposite one another, and attach the white flower pot saucers to the ends of the wooden dowels using a hot glue gun.

7. Paint a cardboard tube white and glue it to the hood of the engine using the hot glue gun. Stack 3 white plastic flower pots on top of one another and glue them to the hood, making sure they're positioned closer to the box with the windows than the cardboard tube is.

8. Saw off the bottom of the last crate and place it upside down on top of the conductor's car to make a roof.

9. Screw 2 screw hooks to the back of each car except for the caboose, and screw 2 screw hooks into the front of each car except for the engine. Connect the screw hooks with chains.

10. Place the Christmas train in your front yard and fill the train cars with decorations, winter plants, and other seasonal items.

This great DIY Christmas decoration is sure to put a smile on the face of anyone who sees it, young and old. It's a great way to make your house really stand out this year. Next stop, the North Pole!

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