A good Minecraft Christmas tree is a spruce log trunk with rings of spruce leaves that get wider and narrower as they go up, like a real fir. The plan below is 13 blocks tall and needs 11 spruce logs, 185 spruce leaves and 1 glowstone for the star. It works the same in Java and Bedrock. After the plan: how to light it, a small and a giant version, and presents.
Rate11 logs, 185 leaves, 1 glowstone
XP level13 blocks tall, 9 wide
Build timeJava and Bedrock
DifficultyBeginner
What you need
You do not need to worry about the leaves decaying: leaves placed by a player never decay, even far from a log.
Build it layer by layer
The plan shows each layer from above, starting at the ground. The brown square is the trunk, green squares are leaves.
- Layers 1 and 2: trunk only. Place two spruce logs on top of each other. That bit of bare trunk under the tree is what makes it read as a tree and not a cone.
- Layer 3: the widest ring, 9 blocks across with rounded corners (60 leaves). Build from the trunk outwards, row by row.
- Layers 4 to 9: alternate between a wide ring and a narrow cross. Layer 4 is a ring of 36, layer 5 a cross of 12, layer 6 another 36, layer 7 a cross of 12, layer 8 a 3x3 square (8 around the trunk), layer 9 a cross of 12. The in-and-out rhythm gives the tree its layered fir look.
- Layers 10 and 11: small crosses of 4 leaves around the last two logs.
- Layer 12: a single leaf on top of the trunk.
- Layer 13: the star.
The easiest way to keep each layer centred is to build the whole trunk first, up to layer 11, and then add the leaves around it.
Lights that stay on the tree
The obvious idea, hanging lanterns from the leaves, does not work, at least in Java: in the game's code, leaves have no "support" surface, so a lantern will not hang from them and a torch will not stick to them. These work instead:
- Swap leaves for light blocks. Replace a leaf at the tip of each ring with glowstone, a sea lantern, a shroomlight or a froglight. Mix them for coloured lights: shroomlight is orange, the froglights come in yellow, green and purple.
- Lanterns on chains. Place an iron chain under the edge of a ring, then hang a lantern from the chain. Chains can be placed against leaves, and a lantern hangs from a chain. Short chains of one or two blocks look like baubles.
- Coloured ornaments. Swap a few leaves for red, yellow or blue concrete or wool. Spread them out; one ornament every three or four leaves is enough.
- Snow on the branches. Snow layers can sit on top of leaves, so put a layer of snow on the upper side of the wide rings for a snowy tree.
For the star, glowstone gives light; a gold block looks better in daylight. An end rod standing on the top block adds a spike that glows.
A small tree and a giant tree
Small, for indoors (5 blocks tall): a column of 3 spruce logs; a full 3x3 ring of leaves around the second log (8 leaves); a cross of 4 around the third; one leaf on top; a light block as the star. Put it on a carpet in the corner of a room.
Giant, for a town square: double everything. Use a 2x2 trunk of spruce logs, make each ring twice as wide, and repeat the wide-narrow rhythm twice as many times. Stop a ring before it gets wider than the one below it. A giant tree needs thousands of leaves; a spruce tree farm and a pair of shears save hours.
Presents under the tree
- Chests: on 24, 25 and 26 December every chest in Java turns into a wrapped present, so a ring of chests around the tree becomes a pile of gifts on Christmas. Our Christmas chest guide shows how to keep that look all month.
- Shulker boxes in red, green and white make neat presents you can actually fill and hand to friends.
- Wool or concrete blocks with a contrasting carpet on top look like wrapped boxes.
Add a snow golem or two next to the tree; in a snowy biome they leave a trail of snow and look the part. If you want ready-made decorations, the mods and packs in our Christmas texture packs and mods list add trees, lights and garlands.
Frequently asked questions
How do you build a Christmas tree in Minecraft?
Build a spruce log trunk and surround it with rings of spruce leaves that alternate between wide and narrow as they go up, then put a glowstone or gold block on top as the star.
How many leaves do you need for a Minecraft Christmas tree?
The 13-block tree in this guide uses 185 spruce leaves, 11 spruce logs and 1 glowstone.
Can you hang lanterns on leaves in Minecraft?
No. Leaves cannot support a hanging lantern or a torch. Place an iron chain under the leaves and hang the lantern from the chain instead.
Will the leaves on my Christmas tree decay?
No. Leaves placed by a player never decay, even if they are far from any log, so you can build the tree without worrying about the trunk length.
How do you get spruce leaves?
Break them with shears or a Silk Touch tool. Without either, leaves drop only saplings and sticks.
Sources:
- Minecraft Java 26.3 game code:
LeavesBlock support shape, SnowLayerBlock and LanternBlock placement rules (checked by SyntaxMine)
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