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.