Vintage Aluminum Christmas Trees

I tend to be a little obsessed with design trends of the 60s and early 70s and one of my favorite motifs from this era is the aluminum Christmas tree, featuring delicate branches made of shiny tinsel.

They are a gorgeous, sparkly symbol of the space age and in fact, at one point, they were frequently referred to as "Space Age Christmas Trees" by manufacturers. The predominant color for sale was silver, of course, but trees in other colors were made too -- pink, red, green and blue. Today, original vintage pink aluminum trees can be somewhat elusive and they can command some big bucks on Ebay. If you just want the look though, many manufacturers today sell pink Christmas trees as once again the aluminum look is a popular option for holiday decorating.

The first aluminum Christmas tree made its debut in 1959. It was originally manufactured by the Aluminum Speciality Company, but the style was quickly adopted by other manufacturers and they were a huge hit with the public. The aluminum tree maintained its popularity well into the 70s (and of course it is making something of a comeback today).

Today, vintage aluminum Christmas trees are highly sought after by mid-century and space age enthusiasts, as well as those who collect vintage Christmas decorations and other vintage collectibles.

If you are looking to buy an aluminum Christmas tree, keep reading. Otherwise, be sure to check out my article on How to Decorate a Vintage Christmas Tree, for tips on caring for them.

If you find that hunting down the perfect vintage aluminum tree is proving too difficult and too expensive, or you just don't want to have to worry about the delicate maintenance they require, then a contemporary silver tree may just be the answer.

The truth is, an aluminum tree that is made today, decorated with the right vintage or retro Christmas decorations will look just as stunning as a tree that comes from the 1960s. So with that in mind, and with Christmas soon approaching (making it harder to hunt Ebay patiently), here are some aluminum Christmas trees for sale on Ebay. This should make it a lot easier to find just the right tree to function as the centerpiece of your Christmas decor.

Vintage Color Wheels offer a great way to "light" your Christmas tree without actually trimming it with lights. This is especially useful for vintage aluminum trees since they usually are not strong enough to hold strands of Christmas lights.