Can you believe it’s a month until Christmas Eve? Where has the time gone?
Traditional Christmas trees, whether real or artificial, tend to be green and bushy. But if that doesn’t float your boat, there are plenty of modern alternatives available that will look perfect in your home.
Here are 10 of our favourite modern Christmas trees!
1. Contemporary Twig Christmas Tree

Snowy twig tree
If you’ve looking for a tree that will fit with your contemporary home, then take a look at this lovely snowy twig minimalist Christmas tree.
It’s sleek and modern and can be left as it is, or boosted with a few added lights or decorations.
The 6ft luxury contemporary twig artificial Christmas tree is £120 from Marks and Spencer. It’s only available online and in a few selected stores, so gets yours before they go.
2. Paper Jewel Christmas Tree


The Snowy Paper Christmas trees from John Lewis have been popular over the last few years (see our previous posts) and some are in stock again this year. But for a slightly different look, we love their 2011 paper jewel Christmas tree.
This elegant tree is 7ft tall and the wonderful jewel effect on the branches is created using wired teardrop ‘jewels’.
This tree looks great left undecorated and costs £75 from John Lewis.
3. Black Christmas Tree

Contemporary tree
Forget green, think black. Black Christmas trees look great decorated with either all silver and white decorations or colourful decorations.
This contemporary slimline Duchess black Christmas tree comes with a folding steel tree stand and costs £80 from Heal’s.
4. Upside Down Reversible Christmas Tree


You loved the reversible upside down Christmas tree we featured back in 2009, but whilst that particular product is not in stock any more, there are various similar items available.
This tree style is perfect if you want to be different and create a statement with your holiday decorating!
Christmas Trees and Lights sell a range of artificial Christmas trees, including a few upside down and reversible trees. The green and black 6ft trees are multifunctional, as they can be displayed upside down one year and in more conventional style the next.
The black upside down tree was £99, but is currently reduced to £87.99 and the green version costs £79.99.
5. Bleached Driftwood Christmas Tree

Handmade driftwood Christmas tree
We’ve featured Karen Miller’s original natural driftwood Christmas tree previously and it remains a favourite. But for a slightly different look, here’s a newer bleached version of the tree.
It’s made from naturally sourced driftwood and can be put together and used year after year. It looks brilliant in use and is a really funky modern design.
This Christmas tree is a bit of an investment and the 3ft and 4ft versions are already sold out. But it’s still available in 5ft, 6ft and 7ft options from Devon Driftwood Designs.
6. Laser Cut Christmas Tree

Africa tree
Made from laser cut steel, each branch of this unusual Africa Tree includes elements of African wildlife – so there are monkeys hanging from some branches or birds perched on others.
The tree is small, so ideal if you’re limited on space, and can be displayed on a tabletop.
The Africa Christmas tree is available in red or white and costs £34.95 from Design My World.
7. Eco-Friendly Cardboard Christmas Tree


Cardboard Christmas trees are becoming a popular alternative for those who don’t want a real or artificial tree.
There are several different options available, with some coming ready decorated for display, whilst others are totally blank and ready to be creatively designed and decorated by you.
The cardboard totem xmas tree, from Found Home Store, comes in 150 pieces, including decorations, and simply needs to be assembled. It’s £35 with free p&p.
The eco-friendly cardboard Christmas tree from Green Rabbit is available in white or brown and is designed to be decorated at home. It’s £16.
Paperpod also do a similar basic cardboard Christmas tree (£16), which is perfect for families to decorate from scratch.
8. Birch Plywood Christmas Tree


Whilst cardboard Christmas trees are great for one year, they may not last so well or remain in peak condition to use another year – but modern trees made from birch wood will last wonderfully.
The tree on the left is designed by Anne Paso and handmade from birch plywood in Scandinavia. The tree comes flat packed and is easy to put together, and there are plenty of branches to fill with your favourite decorations.
The natural wood birch Christmas tree is available in three sizes from Nordic Design Forum.
Another birch plywood tree that we really like is the Superstar Holiday Tree, by Modernica. The tree shape is made out of lots of Christmas star symbols for a modern look and the tree is available in a 3ft tabletop size or a large version.
Modernica are based in LA, but do ship internationally. The large superstar tree costs $449.
9. Space Saver Modern Christmas Tree


If you’ve got limited space in your home, or don’t want to have an actual tree this year, then how about using a Christmas tree wall sticker instead?
The red tree sticker is only £24 from Spin Collective and is available in a choice of colours.
The green Christmas tree chequer wall sticker, which comes complete with tree decoration and present stickers, plus snowflakes, costs £24.99 from The Binary Box.
Best of all, you can remove them from the wall after Christmas and re-use them again next year.
10. Alternative Edible Christmas Tree

Lollipop tree
Another modern alternative to the traditional Christmas tree comes in the form of the edible lollipop tree that we featured recently.
It comes with the tree shaped base and a set of 24 wrapped lollipops and you simple arrange them to form a tree shape. Great as a Christmas party decoration – and you can give your guests a lollipop as they leave!
The lollipop xmas tree is £45 (free p&p) from Nelly’s. They sell replacement lollipops too, so you can replenish your tree for another occasion.
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