From Pac Man To Porcelain, Five of The Most Spectacular and Unusual Christmas Trees From All Over The World.

1. The Multicolored Murano Glass Christmas Tree (Italy):


Giovanni and Simone Cenedese, motivated by a great passion for their work and for their own city, created this monumental installation for Christmas together with the Architects Studio DDF. This gigantic project stands 24 feet tall and is made with 1,000 multicolored handmade and mouth blown glass tubes.




2. The Swarovski Crystal Color Changing Christmas Tree (Paris):


Housed inside the classic Paris department store Galeries Lafayette, the 70-foot-tall tree is dripping in 120 Swarovski crystals and rests on a chandelier base with 5,000 smaller crystals. The large round crystals actually change colors from white to blue to red to gold.




3. The Porcelain Plates and Mugs Tree (Belgium):


The Taste Tree is a Christmas tree made up of upcycled plates and cups sourced from local families by Inge Vanluyd and Stefan Vanbergen of the creative firm MOOZ. The tree stands 9 meters high and 6 meters in diameter and features around 5,000 items of crockery. The plates and cups were sourced from Hassalt residents who raided their cupboards for odd plates and cups of white porcelain that may or may not include a gold or blue design.



above images courtesy of inhabitat

4. The Heineken Beer Bottle Tree (Shanghai):


Made with 1,000 bottles of Heineken beer, this tree stands in Shanghai's commercial center of Nanjing Road.



images courtesy of Chine Informations

5. The Pac Man Christmas Tree (Spain):


This Pac-Man Christmas Tree can be seen at Nuevos Ministerios in Madrid, Spain. It uses thousands of multicolored LEDs to display an animated tribute to the popular classic 80s arcade video game from Japan.




above photo by Antonio Garcia Rodriguez.

A Shoe Lovers' Holiday Fantasy. Red-Soled Christmas Trees For Christian Louboutin Boutiques.

Shoe lovers and Foot Fetishists will delight in these designer Christmas Trees. Studio XAG has created fabulous red-soled Christmas Trees inspired by Christian Louboutin's classic Pigalle spike-heeled pumps that are featured in the windows and interiors of the Christian Louboutin boutiques in Paris and Geneva. As admirers of the brand know, the red sole is an attribute of the luxury label's stunning shoes.



A cast of the brand's classic Pigalle shoe served as the bulk of the design for the trees:








Each red-soled tree is topped with a sparkly Pigalle open-toed pump in various colors as the 'star':



The trees in the windows are set against mirrored backdrops and rotate for the full effect:


photos (some cropped) by Susie Rea, courtesy of Studio XAG

The Most Fashionable Christmas Tree For A Couture Christmas.

This is the prelit 5' Christmas tree designed for those who have an interest in fashion. Exclusively from Hammacher Schlemmer (but sadly, sold out already), this tree eschews the geometric lines of typical conifers, taking its shape instead from a classic couturier's dress form.



The high collar, long sleeves, wasp waist, and hoop skirt are clad with faux pine needles, creating a topiary effect. The tree is pre-strung with 150 warm white LEDs that enhance without overpowering its silhouette and the dress comes accessorized with eight removable iridescent red globe ornaments. Topped with a matte-finish metal star, the sturdy metal frame rests atop a filigreed base, while the dress' 15" hem leaves ample clearance for gifts.



Assembly required. Plugs into AC with 6' cord. 60" H x 23 1/4" W x 12 3/4" D. (9 lbs.)

Price $249.95

Sorry, but this item is no longer available from Hammacher Schlemmer.

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