Artificial Christmas Trees

Artificial Christmas trees, made popular in the '50s, are making a comeback today as consumers look for options that are designed for easy setup and built to last a lifetime.

The very first artificial Christmas tree was believed to be made by an eco-conscious German concerned with deforestation in the 19th century. This little tabletop model was created with dyed goose feathers and decorated with tiny ornaments. More modern versions of the artificial Christmas tree were created by brush manufacturers who dyed the wiry bristles of animals and situated them into poles. While artificial Christmas trees are rarely made out of animal bristles anymore, this construction model became the standard and is still popular.

With the Space Age of the 1950s came the Aluminum Christmas tree. These shiny darlings with their rotating color wheels were found in homes across the nation. Once Americans started to broaden their conception of what an artificial Christmas tree could look like, designers began to expand both their color and material palettes. Artificial Christmas trees were manufactured in metallic silvers, blues, and pinks. Today, white artificial trees are popular. The white tree provides a perfect backdrop for heirloom ornaments.

Sometime in the early '90s, artificial Christmas trees were designed with lights built right into the tree. The artificial Christmas tree stand houses the electrical gadgetry and is fire-retardant. These pre-lit artificial Christmas trees are now joined by lovely innovations like the fiber optic tree. Fiber optic Christmas trees employ the use of the color wheel from the fifties' aluminum trees to shine softly through the night. LEDs that are used in both pre-lit and fiber optic Christmas trees produce more light per watt than traditional bulbs, and last up to 30 times as long, making them an energy-efficient choice for your home.

Whether you're choosing an artificial Christmas tree for reasons of economy or ecology, manufacturers today are ensuring that you have a wide variety of options from which to choose.