Retro Christmas

All right, everybody, it's time to admit your deepest, darkest secret. Something you have kept hidden from the world for most of your life. No, I don't mean the candy bar you swiped as a kid. You know what I'm talking about. Every December you secretly harbor this wish. If only you could have...

AN ALUMINUM CHRISTMAS TREE!

And for you young people who have only heard your parents (or grandparents --ahem) talk about the joys of a metal tree, perhaps you think they are just telling stories--like the tooth fairy.

Oh no.

There was a time when people actually bought Christmas trees made out of aluminum. They were part of the Space Age decor and they didn't drop needles, unlike those nasty real trees.

Usually, they were decorated with monochromatic ornaments (all green, all red, all gold or all blue being popular as I dimly recall from my youth).

And to make the effect complete: Rotating colored lights. How the aluminum branches shimmered from red to blue to yellow!

As difficult as it may be to believe, some people found these trees kitschy or tacky. Others called them an outrage.

And eventually, they went away.

For years, there has been underground traffic in old aluminum trees at yard sales or on EBay. Battered, neglected and missing pieces, the aluminum trees were taken out of their hiding places and shipped off to new owners.

Now, however, there is a company selling new aluminum trees. And they are primo hipster bait.

Here you go.

Email me

Comments

[Richard H]

Wouldn't there be the possibility of somebody electrocuting themselves? Or a fire happening? Aluminum is one of the best conductors of electricity. Electric christmas lights and aluminum christmas trees? Zap! Bang!

Next you're going to tell us people bought lightweight aluminum electric chairs during the 1950's...

--Very funny. You don't string lights on an aluminum tree. That's what the rotating color wheel is for!

--Larry

[scott]

...and I see the company in question is taking advantage of how Ebay has inflated the prices on these trees!

Great story, I loved them then and love them now. Someday I will have one again, though I wish I could go back in time and get one at the May Co. for $36!

--Yes, but those are 1959 dollars, so the trees weren't as much of a bargain as they seem. Compare the price when adjusted for inflation: In 2006 dollars, they cost $403.93 marked down to $248.37.

--Larry

[Herb]

I don't get the note of condescension about aluminum Christmas trees. One thing I've always wondered about Christianity (I'm Jewish) is the yearly waste of live trees, In Judaism, we buy a menorah and keep it for years, generations even. This results in no waste, a saving of money, and a cherished family object. Why don't Christians do the same thing with Christmas trees: get a metal or plastic one and keep it in the family for generations? It sounds like a great idea. I also like the color wheel--it looks snazzy.

--You ask a good question. Having grown up in the 1950s, I remember aluminum trees, although my family never had one. In a way, I'm gently (I hope) poking fun at baby boomer nostalgia. Since I posted those items, I have heard from people who had aluminum trees as kids and hated them, and other people who wish they had one.

--Many people, including me, have artificial trees and see no problem with them. Others are appalled.

--The main thing, to me, is the message of the season, which should last long after the artificial tree is back in the box and the natural Christmas tree has been dumped at the curb, bedraggled and dry as tinder.

--Thanks for writing. And wait until you see all the cool old pictures I found for Rosh Hashanah!

--Larry

[Cindy]

COOLIST Christmas tree EVER ! ! ! Thanks for the quick trip back to Kidville in the 60's.
Cindy