Aluminum Christmas Tree

We Love Christmas Trees

I have a special spot in my heart for aluminum Christmas trees, as strange as that may sound.

My grandparents had an aluminum Christmas tree when I was a kid. It seemed strange, mysterious, and even sort of science fiction then. Although artificial trees are common now, they were not back then. This tree absolutely mystified me!

Artificial trees first became available in the 1960s, and aluminum trees were very popular then as well as now. I'm sure someone had an artificial tree before then, but they were not remotely common. Aluminum trees were probably the first artificial trees.

The tree on the right is a popular 7 foot Aluminum Tree  with a "color wheel" which alternately shines red, green, amber, and then blue. It's 50 inches wide with a solid three piece construction, plenty of room to hand ornaments, and comes with a base. The color wheel is optional, but I kind of like it.

A smaller version is this four foot aluminum Christmas Tree shown on the left.

It's a Kurt S. Adler 4-Foot Shaggy Tree, also available in green and black, and it fits in many small spaces where a larger tree would not.

Of course it just glimmers in the light as is, and yes, you can use a funky color wheel is available.

Although I personally prefer the aluminum/white color, I must admit the black tree is pretty funky and I love it too!

I love real trees, but there are several advantages to artificial trees and I'll admit to having both a natural tree every year as well as a couple of artificial trees.

• Convenience - It's simply very convenient to have an artificial tree. They don't need watering, don't drop needles all over, and you don't need to trek out to get one. Also no issues with trying to buy the tree early enough to enjoy for a while before Christmas, but not so early so that it starts drying, dying, and dropping all it's needles.
  
  
• Safety - Real trees are extremely flammable. Any dry evergreen like a Christmas tree is, as any teenage pyro will tell you (ladies, trust us boys on this one if you didn't play with fire yourself). 
  
  All natural Christmas trees dry out with time, and with lots of lights and perhaps other electronics on them, fire is an issue. For example I never leave our natural tree on when sleeping or when gone for safety issues.
  
  
• Recyclability - Is "recyclability" a word or should it be reusability?
  
  Anyways, you can reuse the same tree every year. You are recycling. Artificial trees essentially never wear out. In fact some people are into and proud of having vintage aluminum Christmas trees which may be decades old.
  
  And I'll be honest. The idea of killing a tree for Christmas, even though most areas where trees are harvested have no shortage of trees, is a little bit sad.
  
  
• Savings - Christmas trees are expensive! Trees in my neighborhood in rural New Hampshire cost around $50. Think of how many hungry children that could feed, especially in 3rd world countries never mind here! And I shudder to think of what a natural tree costs in Los Angeles or New York City!
  
  This 4 foot aluminum tree costs less than many natural trees, and of course you don't need to buy it every year!
  
  
• Flexibility - You can pretty much get whatever you'd like in an aluminum tree, from  a table top tree to a tree much taller than yourself. You can go for classic aluminum color (perhaps with a retro color wheel like my grandparents had) or choose a color for your tree like red, gold, or natural green.

Of course there are other colors available in artificial trees than just classic aluminum, for example natural looking green Christmas Trees and blue Christmas trees too.