The Old-School Type Of Christmas Tree That Can Be Seriously Valuable

There are a couple of types of Christmas trees that are worth snagging up if you manage to come across them at a thrift store or for the right price at a rummage sale or estate sale. Of the nostalgic Christmas trends that are coming back in style, one of the rarest pieces to find that could be seriously worth some loot is the feather tree. These are trees made from real, hand-dyed goose or turkey feathers, made to look like spiky (but soft) evergreen needles. The genuine ones are fragile, so they are rare today.

A quick perusal of the listings for authentic feather trees on Etsy shows that they list for around $125 at minimum — but is anyone paying that much for them? We may never know. If you have one of these trees, you could have something very rare and precious. And, if you find one for under $100 while shopping for vintage Christmas trees, it might be worth buying.

Feather trees were first made in Germany, starting toward the end of the 1800s. They were trying to cut down on forest destruction, so they came up with a new style of faux tree made with dyed feathers to mimic pine needles. These trees are sometimes referred to as goose feather trees, but other types of feathers were sometimes used, including swan and turkey feathers. They needed Christmas trees, and with deforestation becoming a real problem, this made for a great start to what would later become a trend of all sorts of faux trees. If this is one of the Christmas decor items your family has held onto over the years, it might be worth keeping it in the family as well.

Most of the feather "style" trees that are made as reproductions these days aren't actually made from feathers. They're still artificial trees that share the same sparse look as the feather trees. The sparseness of both makes them minimalist Christmas trees you may be able to leave up all year. However, they're also not worth what the original vintage feather trees are. When looking for an authentic feather tree, keep your eye out for imperfections: these are the clues that show it was hand-made a long time ago. The "trunk" should be made from a solid wood turned dowel, with sparse, airy "branches."