Artificial Christmas trees abound. During the Christmas season, you cannot browse through a home and garden store or the garden section of a major retailer without experiencing the sights of lighted and decorated artificial pines and firs.

Artificial Christmas trees have survived an amazing evolutionary journey.

Constructed of wood, the earliest fake Christmas trees were tree-shaped pyramids, more commonly called feather trees. Eventually aluminum trees, fiber optic trees, and the more common modern artificial Christmas trees joined the marketplace.

Feather Trees

Germany introduced the first artificial Christmas tree during the 19th century. Consisting of goose feathers dyed green, attached to branches made of wire and wrapped around a center wooden dowel used as the trunk, these trees became popular in the United States as well and may have pre-dated the use of natural Christmas trees.

These branches had tips made of artificial berries that served as holders for Christmas candles. Advantages of this tree included no trip to the tree lot and no worries about shed needles.

Brush Bristles

Who would have thought the same materials used for making toilet brushes were fit for manufacturing artificial Christmas trees?

In 1930, a United States company decided to use the same manufacturing equipment they used for toilet brushes and the same animal bristles, but painted green, to manufacture a tree that became immensely popular both at home and abroad.

These trees were less susceptible to fires and were able to hold heavier ornaments.

Aluminum

7 Foot Silver Tree With Color Wheel – $ 99.00
Retail Price: 167.14
You Save: $68.14

While the previous two styles of Artificial Christmas trees pre-date my memory, I can definitely relate to the aluminum tree with its floodlight with a rotating color wheel providing the illumination for the ornaments and branches. Popular from their inception in 1958, sales began to subside in 1965. Silver trees are still available today as evidenced above.

Plastic

7.5 Foot Monroe Pine – Blue/Green – $ 242.00
Retail Price: 353.57
You Save: $111.57

With the waning sales of the aluminum trees, trees made from plastic became popular. Often made with polyvinyl chloride or other plastics, most artificial Christmas trees are not biodegradable. The United States imports a high percentage of plastic trees from China and many of these may have a lead additive to stabilize the polyvinyl chloride.

Plastic trees allow for a great variety of colors and styles. Over the last decade, these trees have become extremely life-like. Many of these plastic trees came pre-lit with brightly colored lights evenly and professionally placed. Still others came with hinges that only needed snapped into place.

Christmasdepot.com has a complete line of artificial Christmas trees to choose from.

Choosing an artificial tree

When choosing an artificial Christmas tree, consider the following:

• What style tree do you want? Shop around and look at the different varieties that are being offered for sale.

 

• Do you want a full sized tree or a tabletop tree?

 

• Do you want an indoor tree or an outdoor tree? Yes, there are several artificial trees made for outdoor use.

 

• Where was the tree manufactured? Remember a tree manufactured in the United States will meet the environmental standards as established by the government.

 

• Placement of the tree. This may not be as much a concern as a natural tree but you should be aware of traffic patterns in selecting your tree.

 

• Decide whether or not you will get a pre-lit tree or if you will string lights yourself.

 

• Decide on a budget and stick with it. Prices of artificial Christmas trees can vary considerably. Some trees designed for commercial use can exceed $50,000.

 

• Shop around and on the internet. You may find your selection to be more economical on the web even if you have to pay for shipping.