Turn Leftover Pistachio Shells Into A Stunning Mini Christmas Tree

I love shopping for Christmas decorations, but you have to admit, it can get a little out of hand year after year.

Every year, there are new shiny decorations and trends that, although admittedly adorable, we don’t really need. After a season of admiration, they inevitably end up in boxes stacked high in my garage, waiting for a brief encore the following year.

Let’s be honest—what once felt fresh and exciting can quickly feel overdone.

While I’m not going to tell you to stop buying cute Christmas décor altogether, I do want to suggest an alternative that leads to far less waste and less stress on your holiday budget.

There are so many ways to make your own holiday décor from scratch, using items from around your home or garden. In this craft, I’ve used something you’ve probably thrown away many times without a second thought—pistachio shells. But there are also hundreds of other crafts to try, using everything from pine cones to orange slices.

Natural Christmas decorations save money and allow you to be creative at the same time. Even if you don’t consider yourself a crafty person, these pistachio Christmas trees are super easy to make in just one afternoon.

Finding Pistachio Shells

If you haven’t considered using pistachio shells in crafts before, you probably don’t have any lying around. Luckily, the easy (and delicious) solution is to simply buy a new bag and use your shells once you’ve eaten all the pistachios.

When you’re buying pistachios, it goes without saying that you should look for ones with shells attached. Look for a large pack as you’ll need plenty of shells to complete the Christmas trees. If you’re planning on making a few trees, buy in bulk or ask friends and family to start collecting for you in advance.

Hosting a holiday-themed movie night with a pistachio snack bar is an excellent way to gather shells quickly. Set out bowls of pistachios, watch a holiday classic, and save all the shells for your craft project.

For those who aren’t fans of pistachios, or don’t want to finish an entire bulk pack over the holidays, you can also buy the shells online on their own. You can find shells specifically packaged and cleaned for crafting purposes. They aren’t much cheaper than buying pistachios whole, but you’ll have a lot less prep to do.

Preparing the Shells

Before you start crafting with your shells, it’s important to clean them. Not just because you don’t want to work with oily, salty shells, but also because they will glue far better when they are cleaned.

Gather all your shells in a bowl and rinse them with warm, soapy water. Filter out any pieces that are broken and clean any extra bits of pistachio off. The more uniform and clean the shells are, the better your Christmas trees will look.

When you’re done, leave the shells to dry completely before you start crafting.

What You’ll Need

The main thing you need to complete this craft is, you guessed it, the pistachio shells. These will form the ‘branches’ or foliage of your Christmas tree, adding texture and color. The amount of pistachios you need will depend on how large you want the tree to be.

Next, you’ll need a piece of paper or card that’s easy to form into a cone. Choose the size of your paper based on the size of the tree. You can also use foam cones (such as these) that come in the shape of Christmas trees. I’ve chosen foam cones, but I’ve left instructions for the paper cones in the steps below if you can’t find them.

The third item is a hot glue gun (and glue sticks) to attach the pistachios to the cone. The texture of the shells sticks quite well so you don’t need to use much glue per piece. If you’re working with younger kids you can use a different adhesive, but they likely won’t stick as quickly or as well, adding to the time it takes to finish.

You can also add optional decorations to heighten the Christmas look. Fake snow is a good choice for dusting afterwards, or a small ornament to top the Christmas tree. If you want to change the color, you can also spray paint the tree once it dries, or leave it natural with only a light coat of paint on the ends for more depth.

Making the Christmas Trees

There aren’t many steps to complete this project, but it does take some time and patience. The more careful you are at the start, the tidier and more finished the tree will look. Have all your shells nearby and plug in your glue gun to get started.

1. Grab your piece of paper and draw a semicircle from one corner to one edge, with the longest distance at the adjacent corner.
2. Cut along the circle line and roll the paper corner to corner to create the cone shape. Glue along the line to hold the shape in place or staple the pieces together at the base.
3. Starting from the bottom, glue the shell pieces to the cone with the rounded side down. It’s easiest to add a section of glue and stick multiple shells rather than gluing each shell one by one.
4. Continue gluing the shells in rows around the cone, slightly overlapping each row. Use four pieces when you reach the end to create the top of the tree.
5. Once the tree has completely dried, glue on any ornaments and dust with fake snow or paint the ends.

Using Your Christmas Trees

One tree looks great on its own, but these look even cuter when grouped together. Make a few trees of different sizes to create a mini Christmas tree display on your shelves or countertops. Avoid areas where they may get knocked over to keep the shells intact.

This year, why not trade a shopping spree for an afternoon of crafting? Whether you’re crafting solo or enlisting a group for help, these trees are bound to become a new holiday tradition.

Another Mini Christmas Tree Idea…

Got any foam cones left? Gather up some pine cones and make these rustic mini Christmas trees.