A Visual History Of Christmas Trees and What You Might Consider Buying Now For Next Year.

above photo courtesy of Jek a go go

Now that Christmas has passed and most of you are cleaning pine needles up off the floor and wondering how long your tree will last before drying out and having to be lugged to the garbage, you might want to consider a different sort of tree next year (now is the time, many of them are presently on sale).

First, a visual history of Christmas trees, followed by modern eco-friendly alternatives for 2012.



One thing this infographic fails to reflect is the growing popularity of modern alternatives to Christmas trees that hit the market beginning in 2008-2009 and have steadily grown since. These include flat-packed, lasercut, wood, lucite, aluminum and metal versions. Below are some examples.

The Tannenboing Aluminum Suspended Tree:

Modern Lucite Acrylic Christmas Tree by Aaron R Thomas:

PossibiliTrees:

Silver Cocoon Modern Tannenbaum Tree:

The Filigree Tree:

Matteria Lasercut Tree:

Modernica Superstar Holiday Tree:

And a selection of wood trees from Buro North:

More wood alternatives



These aluminum, wood and lucite trees pack up easily and can be stored for future use - saving you trouble, preventing messy christmas tree lots (like the one shown above courtesy of Pardon Me For Asking) and saving some trees. Think about it.

Modern Wood Christmas Tree By Architect Makes A Smart and Stylish Alternative - PossibiliTree.

Richard Babcock, the father of Pat Babcock Sorensen, was an architect who built furniture in his spare time.

Tired of finding, hauling, displaying, watering and disposing of the bulky, needle-dropping, space-guzzling evergreen every Christmas, he came up with a simple and non-messy alternative to real Christmas trees.

He designed two wooden trees - a life-size version that stands at 6 feet and suspends from the ceiling with a thin wire and a 3 foot tabletop version which uses a base stand for support. Both were designed to be easy to set up, take down and store compactly, making the trees are a smart and stylish alternative.


above: Dick Babcock with his suspended 6ft Cherry tree in 1994

Prompted by recognition (In 2002, the suspended tree placed as a finalist in the national Hammacher Schlemmer Search for Invention® contest), and the Babcock family's long-standing affection for the trees, Pat speculated that others would value them as well. So, they patented the design and formed a business and the PossibiliTree was born.


above: Pat Babcock Sorenson, right, and and her business partner Nadja Reubenova, left. (image by Tom Wallace for the Star Tribune)

They produce a limited number of 6ft suspended trees and 3ft table top models in Walnut wood, Cherry wood or Birch wood (the tabletop version in Walnut is already sold out for 2011). The trees are manufactured in the US and use reclaimed or “deadfall” wood whenever possible.

Some examples of the trees from previous customers:






above two images by Tom Wallace for the Star Tribune

Their appearance harkens back to mid-century modern design and they look as great bare as they do adorned so you can keep them up all year round.

6 foot suspended tree


A favorite of architects and designers, this tree is visually stunning and ethereal. An award-winning design, the 6ft suspended possibiliTree, with 10 rows of branches, shows off ornaments beautifully. Floating 18 inches above the floor, there is plenty of room underneath to place gifts. Comes pre-strung and rolled in a bundle. Simply unroll it, hang it, fan out the branches, and decorate. (Ceiling hook not included.)


Note: as of 12/04/11, there are 93 6ft suspended possibiliTrees available

Height: 72" plus length of wire
Weight: 13 lbs
Diameter at Widest: 53"
Compostion: Wood, .07 GA/125 lb Test Wire
Comes With: Storage Box, Instructions
Note: Requires 9' or higher ceiling

3 Foot tabletop tree


Clean-lined, unfussy, practical. The 3ft Tabletop—only 28 inches at its widest—is made for smaller living spaces, but would look great as a second Christmas tree in the foyer or family room of a larger home. You can decorate this tree during the holidays and enjoy it for its artful simplicity, unadorned, throughout the year.


Note: The Walnut tabletop tree is sold out, but the Cherry wood and Birch versions are still available

Height: 35"
Weight: 3.2 lbs.
Diameter at Widest: 28"
Compostion: Wood, Metal Rod
Comes With: Cotton Bundle Cloth, Storage Tube, Instructions

Buy your PossibiliTrees here

Color Me Christmas! 10 New Pantone Christmas Ornaments.

I've been waiting for these for awhile. Almost made them myself last year. Finally, Pantone Universe has come out with Christmas ornaments made by Studio Badini Createam for Selab. So far, I can only find them at Seletti, but I hope they'll be making their way to the US soon. Made of glass, the Pantone Xmas Balls are available in ten different PMS colors.

Last minute update: Although, according to Seletti, these will not be available until Christmas of 2012 - you can find limited numbers of these for sale online now at charles and marie and Colette












Don't forget there are many other fun Christmas-related Pantone items like wrapping paper, cards and bags and Christmas inspired Pantone Posters




For more information on the Pantone Xmas Balls and where they ship, go here.