Things started getting interesting when artificial Christmas trees went color, much like TV did when it transitioned from old-fashioned black-and-white to color. What was once standard was no interesting and full of life. Artificial Christmas trees these days are coming in hot pink, champagne, orange, and looking like the American flag. But recently, artificial tree retailers have started going where they were too scared to go before… Into the dark. The black.

Black artificial Christmas trees have been creating a huge buzz of activity lately. Historically, in America they’ve been strictly used for Halloween. For Christmas use, they were first seen in the United Kingdom in the early 2000s, and witty, chic Americans visiting their witty, chic British counterparts imported the novelty in 2005. By 2006, American retailers were unable to keep up with the demand. A mere three years later, black artificial Christmas trees are being marketed as chic and elegant alternatives to artificial trees.

Most black trees on the current market are made from two plastics, PVC or PE. (Some trees are made from tinsel, which is a plastic as well.) PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, is a plastic found in everything from pipes to clothes. PVC artificial Christmas trees are identifiable by their “bottle brush” look. They produce fullness for the tree and the needles will have a matte finish. Most black artificial Christmas trees are made from PVC because it’s inexpensive.

The other option is the PE (polyethylene) trees, of which there are only a few. These trees are made via an injection-mold process, creating life-like artificial Christmas trees. It’s a costly process which translates into a higher cost for the consumer, but the PE trees are more durable and tend to last longer.

Some of the standouts in the Black Tree category are Treetopia’s selections. They feature three pre lit artificial Christmas trees: The Twilight Tree, the Black Tiger tree, and the Tuxedo Tree. The Twilight Tree is made from the PE tips with PVC as filler, and its tiny white lights twinkle like stars against the black tree, thus Twilight. The Black Tiger Tree is made of PVC and orange lights that glow ferociously, and the PVC Tuxedo Tree is the standard black artificial Christmas tree option. Its elegance is perfect for transitioning from Christmas parties into New Year’s Eve fetes.

These trees can be dressed in only two – completely opposite ways. Because black artificial Christmas trees are more stylized, they can’t be decorated like any other tree. The traditional mish-mash of ornaments is best reserved for green or white trees, whose color best supports the mix of colors in all ornaments. These artificial Christmas trees can be trimmed to be either highbrow or hokey. Stylish tree owners are decorating their black trees with ornaments in one or two complementary color schemes, like silver and white, or two shades of purple. Black artificial Christmas trees also serve as the perfect canvas for families who want to showcase a themed collection of ornaments, like a Star Wars theme, multiple glass angel ornaments, or vintage red glass bulbs.

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