Artificial Aluminum Christmas Trees

Can't you just hear ol' Bing Crosby at Christmas, crooning, "Aluminum bells, aluminum bells, it's Christ-mas time, in the city?" Well, neither can I, but artificial aluminum Christmas trees were a fad way back when, late 1950s to middle 1960s. Today, aluminum Christmas trees are making a comeback.

Artificial, indeed. Not only are an aluminum Christmas tree's needles made of tin foil, but instead of hanging lights, there's a rotating light to provide the colors. This is a sort of pre-disco light sort of gizmo, except for it's on the bottom.

Before we tell our readers where to look online for artificial aluminum Christmas trees, however, we must pause to honor Mary Lynn 321, the one and only Associated Content Producer from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, where the vast majority of aluminum Christmas trees that sold during the 1960s were produced. The economic boon for Manitowoc was provided by an outfit known as Aluminum Specialty Company. We know you're so-so proud, Mary Lynn!

But maybe we shouldn't make fun. Some people in the creative community, back during the early '60s, took the courageous stand that artificial aluminum Christmas trees truly were beautiful works of art. Of course, they also were enamored with Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup cans, so we will decline comment on artistic taste.

Aluminum trees increasingly were mocked in a similar manner to pink flamingo yard decorations. The 1965 television debut of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" featured Charlie's pitiful (but natural) Christmas tree being made beautiful, while an aluminum tree was derided as a symbol of shallow modern commercialism. This caused further cultural backlash against the alternative of an artificial aluminum Christmas tree.

Four decades later, wouldn't we know it? Aluminum Christmas trees, like old beer cans, now are collectors' items. Following are some online locations of interest:

(1) Take a deep breath: An aluminum Christmas tree can run you up to $849.99. However, most selections are in the $250 to $400 range. And if you buy a tree, you can get the color wheel for "only" $54.99, as opposed to $79.99 purchased separately.

(2) For a more modest budget, you'll get a more modest aluminum Christmas tree for as little as $99.95.

(3) Maybe you'd like a small tabletop aluminum Christmas tree, instead of one that dominates your room. Starting at $24.95.

(4) As of late October, we see more than 300 options on ebay. Of course, some are just the color wheel, and some are branches without the trunk (not much good). Still, it appears that an ebay shopper can find a garage-sale type of aluminum Christmas tree for $20 or even less, and some sellers may not realize that they now own a collector's item.

(5) Here's some rich irony: We can get a tabletop droopy "Charlie Brown tree" for $24.99 and indeed it's green, but it's also artificial.

FOOTNOTE: Here's a closing note from Associated Content's Mary Lynn 321, from Manitowoc: "LOL, I did not live all that far from the Aluminum Specialty. In fact, my Mom worked at Mirro and at the Aluminum Specialty. We had one of those silver aluminum trees on our front porch for years."

SOURCES

http://www.oaktreeent.com/Aluminum_Christmas_Trees_Original_Vintage.htm

http://www.brandsonsale.com/hg-004776.html

http://aluminumchristmastrees.net/about_us.html

http://shop.ebay.com/Aluminum-Christmas-Tree

http://www.christmaslightsetc.com/aluminum-artificial-christmas-trees.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aluminum_Christmas_tree

Mary Lynn 321