Jesus/Crucifix Christmas Tree Topper

Would you like to show the "Christmas Spirit" by making a Christmas Tree topper that truly expresses how most of America sees this most jolly of holidays!

Well look no further than the "Crucifix Christmas Tree" Tree Topper!  We're all for capitalism in America and pretty much all of our holidays are surrounded by shopping of some sort: Everything from the millions of pounds in candy we buy our children on Easter and Halloween to such bombardments like "President's Day Sale!" or "Fourth of July Blow Out!" But the mother of them all is Christmas!

Inspired by some Christmas wrapping paper we can across many years ago, my wife made me a mini-ornament a couple of years back...

This year we decided to final make the real thing!

Enjoy!

Now let's get started!!!

Items:

- Crucifix
- Styrofoam Cone (as a base)
- Cloth (to cover Cone)
- Sparkly Pipe Cleaners (as garland) - Not Pictured
- Star Ornament
- Mini Ornaments
- Mini Presents (various sizes)
- Christmas Light Necklace
- Christmas Ornament Hooks - Not Pictured

Tools:

- Hot Glue Gun
- A few Glue Sticks
- Wire Cutters
- Needle Nose Pliers (to bend hooks)
- Something to cut in to cone base (like an Awl and/or small open ended saw)

- Cut the tip of the cone off so you have a large flat base, but leave enough room so that when the crucifix is fully inserted it doesn't poke out of the bottom

- Measure how far down you should cut in to the cone so that Jesus' feet will rest on the edge of the finished base.  Be sure to leave enough thickness in the front of the cone to support the crucifix, but also try not to put it all the way in the center, as the tip of the Christmas tree will need room to come up from bottom of the base enough to support it on the tree.

- Measure how far in the tip of the Christmas tree will come in to the base and if the tip is angled try to take that in to account in your cutting so that tree topper isn't too front or back heavy (don't want it bending the tree top).

- Cut a hole using a small open-ended saw, an awl or the like, so that the hole is slightly smaller than the crucifix (this way it will be a tight fit when inserted).

- Cut the other hole (at an angle if need be) from the bottom up, for the tree tip to go in to.

- Cut your cloth so that it will easily fit around your styrofoam base

- Using a mix of bent Christmas Ornament Hooks and hot glue, secure the cloth to the styrofoam base. (NOTE: Hot Glue can melt styrofoam, so use the glue sparingly and try to cool it fast)

- As you secure the cloth, made sure to cut holes in the cloth at both the top and bottom of the base!

- Once the base is complete, insert the Crucifix and the tree topper starts to take shape...

Garland:

- I started by cutting a green sparkly pipe cleaner to fit around his crown of thorns and then hot glued it in place (a Christmas Wreath, if you will).

- Next I wrapped some white sparkly pipe cleaner around the cross and Jesus as garland.

- And the last step with sparkly pipe cleaner was to hot glue some around the edge of top and bottom of the base (adds a bit of Christmas color in there).

Lights:

- We were lucky, as we found a Christmas Light Necklace that actually lights up and the wires were actually a complete loop (so one end was just a knot attached inside the battery pack).  I undid the knot and then it was as easy as lighting a Christmas Tree to get them all looped around the cross and Jesus.  Just to make sure, I hot glued it in a few spots so it would stay in place.

Presents:

- First I removed all of the loops (for hanging) from the mini Christmas presents ornaments.  Then I took Christmas Ornament Hooks and straightened them out a bit, so one end went in to the presents and the other in to the base (with a little hot glue on some to keep them in place).

Ornaments:

I was going to hand mini ornaments from the nails in Jesus' hands, but my wife said that was a bit tacky, so instead I took some of the ornaments and hot glued them to the top of the cross.

And the final touch...  A Star Tree Topper for our Crucifix Christmas Tree Topper!

Here are a few photos of the final product...

It now sits proudly on top of our Christmas Tree!!!

Next year, Flying Spaghetti Monster Christmas Tree Topper!!!