Whatever Happened to the Aluminum Christmas Tree?

By Mark Phoenix posted November 23, 2022

Depending upon your age, you may or may not be aware that, at one time, there were aluminum Christmas trees available.  No, I’m not describing what most people think when they envision a simple artificial Christmas tree.  These Christmas trees are made of aluminum.  Before you read further, you may be thinking “Why were there aluminum Christmas trees to begin with?”.  You are in good company with that thought.

For those who are unfamiliar, an aluminum Christmas tree is an artificial Christmas tree introduced in 1955 and remained popular in some American homes through the 1960’s.  According to my research, aluminum Christmas trees were first manufactured by Modern Coatings, Inc. of Chicago, Illinois.    The bulk of aluminum Christmas trees, however, were manufactured by the Aluminum Specialty Company in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. 

These aluminum Christmas trees had silver foiled aluminum “needles” on 94 branches that one would carefully slide out of small rolls of butcher paper each branch was stored in.  Fire safety concerns prevented traditional Christmas lights from being strung through the aluminum tree branches as it would cause a short circuit.  The aluminum Christmas tree was illuminated by a rotating color wheel which was placed on the floor near or under the tree projecting both light and a variety of color.  Some models of aluminum Christmas trees were enhanced by a rotating Christmas tree stand.

At this point, you may be shaking your head and again asking, “Why…?”. 

The flagship Christmas tree product of the Aluminum Specialty Company was called the “Evergleam”, no doubt a clever play on the word “evergreen”.  The Evergleam sold in retail stores for $25.00 in 1955.  Bear in mind, a real evergreen Christmas tree cost between $5.00 and $10.00 at that time.  

Picture windows located in the living rooms of American homes courageously displayed aluminum Christmas trees adorned with red or blue colored ornaments, contributing to the "shimmering brilliance". 

In the 1963 edition of the Sears Wish Book, the aluminum Christmas tree was advertised this way:  “This exquisite tree is sure to be the talk of your neighborhood.  High luster aluminum gives a dazzling brilliance.  Shimmering silvery branches are swirled and tapered to a handsome realistic fullness.  It’s really durable…the needles (aluminum) are glued and mechanically locked on…”. 

In case you have not thought of the benefits of an aluminum Christmas tree, here they are:  The aluminum “needles” don’t fall from the “tree” on to the floor.  You don’t have to shape the tree or turn the tree in this or that direction to ensure its best side is facing “out”.  You wouldn’t have to measure it two or more times and cut the top and/or the bottom off the tree so the tree top doesn’t scar the ceiling of the living or family room when it is first carried into the house.  You wouldn’t have to water it each evening, nor is it likely to catch ablaze due to inadequate watering.   Perhaps, the most compelling reason for owning an aluminum Christmas tree is, no one in your neighborhood is likely to have one.  You will be the “talk of your neighborhood".

According to my online research, it was roughly 1967 when the Aluminum Christmas tree fell out of favor.  What happened?  Sales declined and ultimately, the unit of the Aluminum Specialty Company which manufactured the trees was dissolved. 

The general and popular credit for contributing to the demise of the aluminum Christmas tree was a cartoon TV special which first aired on CBS on Thursday, December 9th, 1965 at 7:30PM.  The Peanuts Christmas special “A Charlie Brown Christmas” premiered with nearly ½ of all American televisions tuned into that Christmas special, an estimated 15,490,000 people.  

It was this night in December 1965 which proved to be the beginning of the end of the aluminum Christmas tree.  This now famous Charlie Brown cartoon features Charlie Brown and the gang set out to present a Christmas play.  Each member of the Peanuts gang has a different idea about what the play should be about and what scenes are enacted.  Lucy Van Pelt instructs, if not orders, Charlie Brown to “…get the biggest aluminum Christmas tree you can find, Charlie Brown…maybe painted pink!”.  Charlie Brown, lamenting the commercialization of Christmas, sets out on a journey with the earnest hope of finding a Christmas tree which exemplifies the true meaning of Christmas.  When Charlie Brown visits a nearby Christmas tree lot, he is surrounded by an assortment of aluminum Christmas trees.  Disheartened, Charlie Brown chooses a small, skinny, unimportant looking evergreen sapling.  Linus, with dispirited cynicism, says to Charlie Brown “I didn’t know they still made wooden trees.”.

You may remember how this Charlie Brown Christmas special concludes with Linus reading the account of Jesus birth from the book of Luke, Chapter 2, with Linus closing his reading by walking up to Charlie Brown and saying “That is what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.”.  Indeed.

By 1989, it was common to come upon an aluminum Christmas tree at a garage or yard sale selling for as little as .25 cents.  I have searched for the Aluminum Christmas tree on e-commerce websites and found various kinds and colors selling for over $700.00.  A rare seven-foot-tall pink Aluminum Christmas tree is reported to have sold for $3,600.00.  By comparison, the original retail price of $25.00 seems like a bargain, doesn’t it?  Perhaps Lucy Van Pelt paid the high premium price.

No matter the style of Christmas tree that may be found in your home, aren’t you glad the days have gone by when the irritated refrain could be heard many times over in every neighborhood “When one light goes out, they all go out!”?