When you think about Xmas trees, an Aluminum Christmas tree with a color wheel is generally not the first one that comes to mind. In the 60s it was all the craze. Today, probably not so much but with the addition of the automatic rotation of the tree and color wheel, it’s a piece of awesome vintage history. Let’s take a closer look at this tree below.
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What’s the history of this tree?
As I mentioned, it was trendy in the 60s in the United States. The tree is made from metal, aluminum, with foil needles. Most of these trees rotate automatically and come with an additional color wheel. What’s great about the color wheel is that as its rotates and the tree rotates, different colors shine and reflect on the tree. It produces an amazing sight.
Check out the video below to see what I mean:
Unfortunately not all trees available these days come with some many functionalities. Most don’t rotate on their own.
The widely popular TV show and special edition, Charlie Brown’s Christmas episode, showed the tree as part of the dark side of commercialization of Christmas. This was during 1965, and it seems that the tree lost some popularity after that. You can still get the tree today, but it’s mostly found online or are part of special collections.
Be sure to read more about the tree’s history at Wikipedia.
Where to buy and Aluminum Christmas tree with color wheel
With natural, ceramic and artificial Xmas trees being used for most Christmas decorations nowadays, you don’t see Aluminum trees often. However, you can get these trees at online stores such as Etsy, eBay, and Amazon as I’ll show you below. Prices for the tree itself varies a lot and can be anything from really cheap to very expensive ($500+ on Etsy).
If it’s a real vintage item, meaning that it was made in the 60s and the owner preserved it, you’ll probably end up paying a lot!
You can purchase the color wheel separately if you still have the tree, but your color wheel is broken for some reason. Here some good options I found on Amazon:
BOS genuine tree
This tree from BOS comes with real aluminum used in the construction (not painted). It is 81 inches tall and 3 feet in diameter. Unfortunately, it does not come with a color wheel, and it does not rotate similar to the one in the video above.
Scroll to the bottom of the page for color wheels.
Brandi Decor
This tree from Brandi Decor offers the full package and comes with a color wheel. It’s designed in typical mid-century modern style with a white stand and metallic branches. It’s approximately 81 inches in height.
Kurt Adler color wheel
This color wheel from Kurt Alder comes with the traditional wheel colors of blue, green, red and yellow. Keep in mind that it is not waterproof and is for indoor use only. If your wheel is missing or broken, this could be just what you need.
BW Brands wheel
This wheel from BW Brands is very similar to the one I previously mentioned; however, I wanted to include it for some variation. The plastic used looks different, and it might provide an alternative lighting effect. The colors on the wheel are red, green, blue, and amber.
Conclusion
The Aluminum Christmas tree is most certainly a collectible and one that stands out. If you like vintage and retro items then this is perfect for your collection.
I hope you enjoy the color wheel – it can be mesmerizing!