How to Decorate an Aluminum Christmas Tree in Glorious Retro Style

Born in the Atomic Age of the 1950s and '60s, sparkly, spindly aluminum Christmas trees were uncool for 50 years, but now they're back and coveted by collectors who appreciate the extraordinarly high kitsch factor of an artificial tree. Here's how to make the most of your vintage aluminum treasure.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Keep it Simple

1. When you decorate a live tree, the focus is on the ornaments, not the tree itself, but the opposite is true with an aluminum tree. So whatever ornaments you choose, be sure to let the shiny branches be the focus.
2. If you have one of the rare blue, pink, gold or green aluminum trees, you should keep your decorations especially minimal. Buy glass ball ornaments big enough for the size of your tree and stick with one color. Try silver balls on a blue or pink tree; red on a gold tree.
3. If you want to decorate your tree with more than just glass balls, consider sticking to a theme. Butterflies, stars, angels, Mexican wrestlers; whatever you like, in moderation. You can make an aluminum tree too busy, but make you can't make it too cheesy.
4. A rotating tree base will slowly turn the tree, sending sparkles of light across your walls and showing off all of the ornaments. They tend to be noisy, though, so you'll have to crank up the volume on that Mitch Miller compilation if you want to drown out the groaning motor.
5. Don't use tinsel. Shiny silver tinsel on a shiny silver tinsel tree is overkill. Don't go there.

Light it Up

6. Never, never, never use strings of electric lights on your aluminum tree. In theory, an electrical problem with the lights could electrify the whole tree, creating a very dangerous situation. But in practice, the lights look ugly anyway, so it's easy to avoid them.
7. The traditional way to light an aluminum tree is with a rotating color wheel placed on the floor to the side of the tree. A spotlight shines through a rotating wheel that holds three or four colored panels. You can use two color wheels for a more psychedelic effect.
8. Most importantly, try to keep your pets away from the tree. Aluminum trees aren't as heavy as real trees and a chubby kitty leaping from the mantel can do serious damage.

What to Look For:

• Look for aluminum Christmas trees, color wheels and rotating tree bases at flea markets, antique malls and on Ebay.

Who Can Help:

• Find Tree & Shrub Services Here. Compare Up to 4 Quotes, Free Service & No Obligation.