Christmas Ornament Stand in a Vintage Wooden Crate

If you ever find yourself in our house during the month of December, you’ll quickly realize that I love anything “Vintage Christmas”- from Shiny Brite ornaments, to Putz houses, to old sleighbells on cracked leather straps- we enjoy a little bit of everything from Christmases past. And making a project to display some of my vintage ornaments- a Christmas ornament stand – has been on my radar for a while. 

For a few years now, I’ve been passively looking for the perfect vintage soda crate. I wanted to upcycle a vintage wooden crate to display some of my Shiny Brites, which are usually relegated to fill bowls and jars. This post contains affiliate links for your crafting convenience.

Boxes stacked for dramatic effect!

Very recently, I found the perfect vintage wooden crate crate- now, it’s not as old as some of the crates I’ve admired (there’s a “77” stamped inside, which makes it just two years younger than me!), BUT, it’s designed for 1-liter bottles. So the openings are large enough for plump ornaments…plus it’s red…AND the RC could stand for either Royal Crown or Retro Christmas. SOLD!

RC = Retro Christmas!

I then purchased some small brass cup hooks– other than the shiny gold color, they were perfect (i.e., I needed the screw end to be short, as to not poke through the narrow dividers of the vintage wooden crate).

These will do…after a quick, vintage-y makeover!

I did a quick-and-dirty spray paint job to tone down the brassiness using an antique bronze paint.

There! A little less brassy.

And then I just set to work- screwing in a tiny cup hook in each opening of my vintage wooden crate. Now, I could have spent time measuring and marking, ensuring each hook was in the very center…but I was way too excited and guesstimated the center in each of the 12 openings. I used a small craft hammer and small pliers, as well.

Easier to say than do…the cubbies don’t give you much room to push these suckers in.

When all 12 hooks were attached, I grabbed my beloved ornaments to hang in each cubby-hole. And then… ta-da! I finally had my Christmas ornament stand inside a vintage wooden crate. Perfect to top a bookcase or the mantle this coming holiday season!

I love it!

Wouldn’t this Christmas ornament stand in a vintage wooden crate be a safer way to display your precious Shiny Brites than on a tree, ESPECIALLY if you have a cat??

Retro Christmas cola crate!

And heck, you could even store your old ornaments in the vintage wooden crate for the other 11 months of the year. And if you swing by this Christmas, you’ll certainly see my Christmas Cola Crate somewhere in the house. And be sure to check out my other Christmas projects for festive repurposing inspiration!

Craft on!

S

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