Red Truck Christmas Decor: 14 Farmhouse DIY Ideas That Look Like a Country Store Display
Red Truck Christmas Decor is the little bit of country nostalgia that makes a whole house feel like Christmas morning on the farm. The picture is simple: an old red pickup rolling home with a fresh cut tree tied in the back, the kind of scene that shows up on vintage cards and in country store windows every December. One red truck video in a recent Facebook search for this exact idea passed 424,000 reactions, so you are clearly not the only one who loves it. The good news is that you do not need an antique truck or a big budget. Scrap wood, a little red paint, some buffalo plaid and a few dollar store finds will do the job. Here are 14 farmhouse projects you can make this season, from porch signs to tiny ornaments. Grab your paintbrush and let’s get rolling..
Red Truck Christmas Decor Porch Sign From Scrap Wood
Every good Red Truck Christmas Decor display starts at the front door, and a wooden cutout truck sign is the showstopper. Trace a simple pickup shape on a piece of plywood, paint it bright red and tuck fresh pine boughs into the bed like a just cut tree. Lean it on the porch with a plaid blanket, pine garland and a bucket of greenery, and your neighbors will slow down to look. It looks like something from a country store, but it costs very little. Where would yours stand on your porch..
You will need: A half inch plywood scrap, a printed truck outline, a jigsaw (adult use only), red and white outdoor paint, sandpaper, fresh pine boughs.
How to make it: 1. Trace the truck outline on the plywood and have an adult cut it out with the jigsaw. 2. Sand the edges, then paint the body red and the wheels white with two coats. 3. Seal it with outdoor clear coat, lean it on the porch and fill the bed with pine boughs.
Red Truck Wreath for the Front Door
A plain evergreen wreath turns into a farmhouse favorite the minute a little red truck sits in the middle. Small wooden or metal trucks are easy to find at craft stores, and many already come with a tiny tree in the back. Wire it onto the wreath frame, add a big plaid bow on top and tuck in pinecones and berries. Would you hang it on the front door or over the kitchen sink?
You will need: A 20 inch evergreen wreath, a small red wooden or metal toy truck, floral wire, buffalo plaid ribbon, pinecones, faux red berries.
How to make it: 1. Thread floral wire through the truck wheels and twist it tight around the wreath frame in the center. 2. Tie a big plaid bow and wire it to the top. 3. Tuck pinecones and berry picks into the greenery around the truck.
Hand Painted Red Truck Cutting Board
A wooden cutting board makes a lovely canvas for a hand painted truck, and it doubles as kitchen decor all season. Paint the truck on the back side so the front stays food safe. Lean it on the counter behind a bowl of oranges or hang it from a hook by the stove. These also make sweet gifts for friends who love a farmhouse kitchen. Who on your list would love one?
You will need: A wooden cutting board, red, green, white and black acrylic paint, small brushes, a pencil, clear sealer.
How to make it: 1. Sketch a simple truck shape with a pencil on the back of the board. 2. Paint the body red, the tree green and the wheels black, letting each color dry. 3. Add a few white dots for snow and seal the painted side only.
Red Truck Christmas Decor Centerpiece for the Dining Table
A toy truck carrying a live tree is the easiest Red Truck Christmas Decor centerpiece you can make, and it looks wonderful in the middle of a long farmhouse table. Look for a metal truck with an open bed at a thrift shop or craft store. Pop a tiny potted evergreen in the back and surround it with pinecones, pine sprigs and battery fairy lights. After Christmas, plant the little tree outside. What would you tuck around the base?
You will need: A red metal toy truck, a small potted evergreen or rosemary tree, pinecones, pine sprigs, a burlap runner, battery fairy lights.
How to make it: 1. Line the truck bed with a plastic bag so water will not leak. 2. Set the potted tree in the bed and wrap the pot with burlap. 3. Lay the runner down, place the truck in the middle and circle it with pinecones, greenery and the lights.
Farmhouse Tiered Tray With a Toy Truck
A tiered tray is like a little stage for your holiday decor, and a red truck makes the perfect star. Put the truck on the top tier and build a tiny winter scene on the bottom with bottle brush trees and a mini sled. Everything is small, so dollar store finds are perfect here. Change one or two pieces each week and the tray always feels fresh. What would you put on your bottom tier?
You will need: A two tier galvanized tray, a small red toy truck, mini bottle brush trees, a mini wooden sled, plaid ribbon, faux greenery.
How to make it: 1. Lay a little faux greenery on each tier as a base. 2. Set the truck on the top tier with a bottle brush tree in the bed. 3. Fill the bottom tier with the sled, more trees and a short plaid ribbon loop.
Iron On Red Truck Christmas Decor Pillow
A cream pillow with a red truck design is one of the coziest Red Truck Christmas Decor ideas for the living room. Cut the truck and tree from heat transfer vinyl with a cutting machine, or buy a ready made iron on patch. Press it onto a plain pillow cover, and you have a custom pillow for a few dollars. Pile it on the sofa with a plaid throw for instant farmhouse charm. Would you go classic red or try a soft sage green truck?
You will need: A plain cream pillow cover, red and green heat transfer vinyl or an iron on patch, a cutting machine or scissors, an iron, a pressing cloth.
How to make it: 1. Cut the truck shape from red vinyl and the tree from green vinyl, mirrored if your vinyl needs it. 2. Place the design on the pillow cover and cover it with the pressing cloth. 3. Press firmly with a hot iron (adult help for kids), let it cool and peel the backing.
Mason Jar Cocoa Gift With a Red Truck Tag
Hot cocoa in a mason jar is a classic gift, and a little red truck tag makes it feel special. Fill the jar with cocoa mix and mini marshmallows, top the lid with a square of plaid fabric and tie on a small wooden truck cutout. They are cheap to make in a batch, so you can give them to teachers, neighbors and coworkers. How many would you need for everyone on your list?
You will need: Pint mason jars, hot cocoa mix, mini marshmallows, buffalo plaid fabric squares, jute twine, small wooden truck cutouts, red paint.
How to make it: 1. Paint the wooden truck cutouts red and let them dry. 2. Fill each jar with cocoa mix and top it with marshmallows. 3. Cover the lid with a fabric square, tie it with twine and knot a truck cutout onto the bow.
Stenciled Burlap Banner for Red Truck Christmas Decor
A burlap banner across the mantel adds a soft, handmade touch to any Red Truck Christmas Decor theme. Cut simple pennant flags from burlap, stencil a small red truck on each one and string them on jute twine. You can use one truck stencil over and over, so the whole banner comes together in an afternoon. Hang it above pine garland and the mantel looks finished. Would you stencil every flag or alternate trucks and trees?
You will need: A roll of burlap, a red truck stencil, red and green acrylic paint, a stencil brush or sponge, jute twine, hot glue (adult help) or fabric glue.
How to make it: 1. Cut the burlap into pennant shapes about 8 inches tall. 2. Dab paint through the stencil with a nearly dry brush so it does not bleed. 3. Once dry, fold the top of each flag over the twine and glue it in place.
Wood Slice Red Truck Ornament
A tiny painted truck on a round wood disc is the kind of ornament people pick up and ask about. Craft stores sell bags of wood slices, and a simple truck shape is easier to paint than you think. Add the year on the back with a fine marker and it becomes a keepsake. Make a few extra, because guests will want one too. How many would you hang on your tree?
You will need: Small wood slices or round wooden discs, red, green and white acrylic paint, a fine brush, a fine tip marker, baker’s twine, a small drill or screw eye.
How to make it: 1. Paint a simple red truck shape across the middle of each disc. 2. Add a little green tree in the bed and white dots for snow. 3. Twist in a screw eye at the top and loop baker’s twine through it for hanging.
Round Red Truck Christmas Decor Door Hanger
If you do not love wreaths, a painted round door hanger gives you the same Red Truck Christmas Decor welcome with a cleaner look. Paint a big red truck across a wooden circle and finish it with a plaid ribbon hanger. Add a little pine and a pinecone at the bottom for texture. It is light enough to hang on an interior door too, like a pantry or bedroom. Which door in your home would get one?
You will need: A 14 inch wooden round, red, green, white and black paint, wide buffalo plaid ribbon, a hot glue gun (adult help), pine sprigs, pinecones.
How to make it: 1. Paint the round white and let it dry. 2. Sketch and paint the truck and tree, then add wheels in black. 3. Glue the ribbon loop to the back, then glue the pine and a pinecone along the bottom edge.
Toy Truck Christmas Tree Topper
Skip the star this year and let a little red truck ride on top of the tree. A small metal truck wired onto the top branch looks charming, especially with a plaid ribbon fanned out behind it. It is a playful twist that kids love spotting. Make sure the truck is light so the branch does not bend, and secure it well. Would your family trade the star for a truck?
You will need: A small lightweight red toy truck, floral wire, wide plaid ribbon, a few faux greenery picks.
How to make it: 1. Fold the ribbon into a fan shape and wire it to the top branch first. 2. Wrap floral wire around the truck axles and twist it onto the branch in front of the ribbon. 3. Tuck greenery picks around it to hide the wire.
Vintage Toy Truck Mantel Parade
A row of little trucks marching across the mantel is pure country store charm. Collect small trucks in red, cream and green from thrift shops, then give them one coat of paint so they match. Put a tiny bottle brush tree in each bed and drape pine garland along the shelf. For more mantel and porch ideas, see our Farmhouse Christmas Decor gallery. How many trucks would fit on yours?
You will need: Five to seven small toy trucks, spray paint in red, cream and green (adult use, outdoors), mini bottle brush trees, pine garland.
How to make it: 1. Clean the trucks and spray paint them outdoors in light coats. 2. Glue a mini bottle brush tree into each truck bed. 3. Lay the garland along the mantel and line the trucks up like a parade, biggest in the middle.
Red Truck Christmas Decor Canvas Painting for Beginners
You do not have to be an artist to paint your own Red Truck Christmas Decor canvas. Start with a gray sky, add a white snowy road, then block in a simple red truck shape. The tree in the back is just a green triangle with a few strokes. It is a perfect cozy night in project with a cup of cocoa, and friends can paint along with you. Pickup trucks have been a farm favorite for about a century, as you can read on Wikipedia. Would you paint yours on a snowy road or a country lane?
You will need: An 8 by 10 inch canvas, acrylic paint in red, green, white, gray and black, a flat brush and a small round brush, a palette.
How to make it: 1. Paint the top half gray and the bottom half white for snow, then let it dry. 2. Paint a rounded red truck in the middle and black wheels. 3. Add a green tree in the bed and white dots across the sky for falling snow.
Red Truck Porch Plant Stand
A red truck plant stand gives your poinsettias a fun ride on the porch. Look for a wooden or metal truck planter at a thrift shop, or paint an old wagon red and add simple wooden cab pieces. Fill the bed with a dwarf evergreen and red poinsettias and wrap a little garland around it. In spring, swap in flowers and it keeps working all year. What would you plant in yours?
You will need: A wooden or metal truck shaped planter or an old wagon, red outdoor paint, a potted dwarf evergreen, two or three poinsettias, pine garland.
How to make it: 1. Sand and paint the planter or wagon red with outdoor paint. 2. Set the potted evergreen in the back and the poinsettias in front. 3. Wrap the garland around the edges and place it near the front door.
