There are many different options to consider when choosing Christmas trees, you can choose a small or large tree, a thin or wide tree, or a real or artificial tree. While it used to be a long standing tradition to ornament your home with a real pine or fir Christmas tree, this tradition is becoming less and less popular. In today’s society we have the ability to create artificial Christmas trees that have become easier to handle than real trees. Artificial trees provide the traditional look of having a Christmas tree without the mess and hassle of caring for a live plant. There is no need to water an artificial tree, or clean up the needles that fall from the branches. In addition, artificial Christmas trees, unlike real trees, can be stored away and used many years in a row, allowing you to avoid the stress of purchasing a new tree every year.
First Artificial Christmas Trees
Many of us remember the silver or white artificial Christmas trees of the 1960s with the rotating light wheel directing rainbow colors to reflect off of the tree. But did you know that a hundred years earlier, an artificial Christmas tree was introduced with all the bells and whistles of the "modern" age? In 1868, Harper’s Bazaar magazine described a new style of Christmas tree -- an artificial Christmas tree that was made of “metal tubes, trunk, branches, and all in one, imitating so accurately the Christmas pines that when placed beside real trees it is difficult to distinguish the metal tree from the natural one.” The artificial Christmas tree was decorated with “reflectors of polished tin and gay-colored paper” to reflect the light. Then Christmas ornaments in the shape of “name-colored animals in miniature, elephants, tigers, lobsters, etc.” were suspended by elastic cords. Today, one cannot help but think that the safety of the household displaying such an artificial Christmas tree would be in question!
There are many different types of artificial Christmas trees to choose from; there are feather trees, brush bristle trees, aluminum trees, and plastic trees. The feather Christmas tree is made of goose feathers that were dyed green and attached to wire branches to create the look of a tree. These feather trees were first created in Germany and then became popular in America in the 1920s. Meanwhile brush bristle trees were all the rage in the 1930s; these trees were created by a brush company that used the same process they used to create toilet brushes to create the Christmas trees. For the trees the branches were made of animal hair bristles, similar to brushes, and dyed green to look like a tree. The next popular form of artificial Christmas tree came about during the late 1950s and their popularity lasted through the 1970s, these trees were aluminum trees. Aluminum trees, like the name suggests, are made from aluminum.
While these trees were very popular during their time and worked very well to decorate a home during the holidays, these materials did not generate the best artificial Christmas trees. The best artificial Christmas tree is the plastic tree. Plastic Christmas trees are made from PVC plastic and are fire-retardant, making them very popular for safety reasons. While these trees are not fire-resistant, their fire-retardant quality reduces their ability to catch fire. Many plastic trees come pre-lit with lights strung throughout so all you have to do is assemble the tree, plug it in, and you have a lit festive tree.
The invention of artificial Christmas trees has made it much easier to decorate a house during the holidays. No matter what type of tree you desire, there are many different options to choose from to make your house warm and welcoming during the holidays. Wondering where to buy artificial Christmas trees? The good thing is that these types of trees are available at almost any store; you can even purchase Christmas trees online.