Holiday wishes and mistletoe kisses, Merry Christmas everyone!! Hope you all are staying safe and healthy. It’s Christmas time once again!!
I can’t believe the weeks have flown by; I tell my hubby Gary that ever since Thanksgiving it has all been a blur to me and it’s gone by so fast. So I really can’t believe that this is post five in our six-part Vintage Christmas Collecting Series and, I think one of my favorite posts because not only are we talking about the key elements of a mid-century modern Christmas but also sharing holiday fashions from the 1950s-1960s with me as your festive model.
Retro Aluminum Christmas Trees:
You really can’t have a mid-mod Christmas without an aluminum tree. These are artificial trees that were made in the late 1950s to the mid 1960s and came in a variety of sizes with aluminum branches and needles. Some trees even have pom poms on the ends of their branches like my darling little aluminum tree in these photos. True vintage aluminum trees from the 50s-60s are a very hot collectible (and seem to be getting hotter every year) so prices are up there and you can pick up a vintage aluminum tree run from around $175 to over a thousand dollars, especially if they are colored aluminum like teal or green trees. There are companies today making reproduction aluminum trees in multi colors as well as kitschy pink trees at reasonable prices if a true vintage tree is out of reach.
Vintage Color Wheels:
Retro aluminum trees are lighted up by a color wheel. I have one sitting on the floor right behind me in the above photo. The color wheel turns and shines colored light onto the tree and it really is lovely with the way the colors reflect off of the tinsel branches. You can find true vintage color wheels at antique shops and on Etsy and eBay for around $50-$300 with their original boxes and in working condition. Sometimes the cords/plugs need to be rewired for today’s standards so proceed with caution when you plugin a true vintage color wheel.
Vintage Shiny Brite Ornaments:
