Odd Christmas Trees of 2011 -- Can we top it in 2012

The Japanese Gold Tree

We’ve previously featured this tree made completely of pure Gold, here on OC. A creation of Japanese jeweler Ginza Tanaka, the tree is worth $2 million and unusual enough to make it to our top 10. It weighs 12 kg, is 2.4 m high, and is decorated with plates, ornaments and ribbons – all made of gold. Talk about a golden Christmas!

Photo via BornRich

The Cell-Phone Tree
No, it’s not a tree that moves. It’s actually a tree made of mobile phones! Westcom Electronics in My Tho, Vietnam, proudly displayed their 15-foot Christmas tree built with 2,500 cellular phones. It sure would have been funny if the tree had started to ring. However, this wasn’t possible since the phones used were not in working condition.

Photo © AP

The Chainsaw Tree
A project aimed at environmental awareness, this tree was made out of the tools used to cut down real trees. Noli Llavan, an environmentalist from Palawan, Philippines, made this Christmas tree with confiscated chainsaws. It was displayed on a main street in Puerto Princesa, a part of the campaign to end illegal logging and mining in Palawan.

Photo © Romeo Ranoco/REUTERS

The LEGO Tree
As the name suggests, this tree is made completely with LEGO bricks. It is 33-foot tall and consists of a whopping 600,000 bricks, complete with LEGO ornaments and a LEGO star on top. The tree was on display at St. Pancras International in London. It was created by Duncan Titmarsh, UK’s only Certified LEGO Professional. Did you even know such a title existed?

Photo via The Verge

The Plastic Bottle Tree
40 thousand Sprite plastic bottles went into the making of this 13 m tall tree, adorned with 40,000 lights from the inside. It made a pretty sight all lit up at night, in Kaunas, Lithuania.

The Bicycle Tree
It amazes me how the Chinese can make anything out of anything. A shopping mall in Shenyang displayed a 39-foot Christmas tree made of 230 bicycles. I appreciate the effort but it looks more like just a pile of bicycles, than a Christmas tree.

Photo via Conde Nast  Traveller

The Jack Daniel’s Tree
140 oak barrels of the popular whiskey brand were used to create a tree in Lynchberg, Tennessee. The hand selected barrels were stacked high to form a 26-foot tree, and decorated with tree lights. It might disappoint you though, that the barrels were empty.

Photo © Jack Daniels

The Knitted Tree
This warm tree was created by women from knitting circles of Poole, in the UK. 1,200 green woolen squares were sewn over 9 months and placed on a metal pyramid frame. The squares will later be used to create warm blankets for needy people in Romania and Sri Lanka.

Photo © BNPS

The Book Tree
On display at the Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center at the University of Nevada, this tree is made up of old, recycled books. It is 9.5 foot tall and is made of National Union Catalog books from the pre-1950s.

Photo via FoxReno

The Junk Tree
And now, for the ugliest of them all. This 12m tall tree was erected in Berlin, much to the dismay of the city’s residents. Called the ‘Traffic Tree’, this one consisted of scrap metal branches, decorated with discarded household items and battered toys. Old traffic lights were added for illumination. And the worst part? Massive flame throwers, which blast fire into the sky every 30 minutes!

Photo via BerlinSidewalk

Read more at Top 10 Christmas Trees. . .