Christmas 2012: The Most Tree-mendous Yet

The biggest symbol of the holiday season is of course, the Christmas tree. Real, plastic or made from semi-recyclable materials, it represents joy, wonder, hopes, dreams and the inevitable glee at what lies underneath come Christmas morning. With much anticipation for being with family and friends around our own Christmas trees soon, we took a look at some of the year's best, and most interesting, pine tree presentations. We invite you to take a look at some of the most amazing trees from around the world, and to share some of your memories of what you found under your own tree growing up.

1. New York Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree: We thought it most appropriate to start off with the worldwide symbol of the holidays, The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. This is one of country’s tallest and most photographed Christmas trees, and has been an American hallmark for over 75 years. Standing at a monstrous 74 feet tall, this tree officially lit up New York on November 30th. It’s decorated with more than 30,000 multi-colored lights and the star is made of Swarovski crystal. [Image]

2. The 90th Annual National Christmas Tree: Speaking of American symbols, how could we leave this 90-year-old tradition out? The National Christmas Tree lighting is held every year in Washington D.C. The First Family hosts a ceremony in President’s Park that formally declares the start of the holiday season for the nation’s capitol. This year, the tree includes approximately 450 LED light strings and 120 star ornaments. The lighting design was intended to reflect elements of past designs and celebrates key milestones in the history of the National Christmas Tree. [Image]

3. LEGO Christmas Tree: Here’s a tree made completely out of our favorite childhood building blocks, LEGOS. It's the official largest LEGO tree ever created. Located in St. Pancras Station, London, the tree is compiled of about 600,000 bricks, is 38 feet tall and is decorated with over 1,000 ornaments.  [Image]

4. Recycled Bike Wheel Tree: London strikes again with yet another amazing Christmas tree concept. Displayed in Bermondsey Square in London, this tree is made out of 35 old bike wheels. It was designed by Sarah Wigglesworth Architects with wheels borrowed from the U.K. charity, Re-Cycle, which collects recyclable parts to restore old bicycles to ship to Africa. [Image]

5. Glass Christmas Tree: Located in Venice, Italy, this tree is called the glassmaker’s paradise.  This fragile contraption is 28 feet tall, made up of 1,000 glass tubes and weighs three tons. It probably won’t come as a shock to hear that this tree is the world’s largest tree made from artisan blown glass. [Image]

6. The World’s Largest Floating Christmas Tree: This tree, located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is made up of approximately 3 million bulbs and is nearly 280 feet tall, weighing in at 542 tons. Seems a little heavy for a floating tree, so what’s the secret? It was built on top of eleven colossal platforms.  This Christmas symbol is the world’s largest tree on water, made official by the Guinness book of World Records. [Image]

7. Tea Cup and Dinner Plate Christmas Tree: Located in Belgium, this 30-foot tall glass tree is made up of 5,000 cups, bowls and plates that were donated by the residents of Hasselt. It's a recycled masterpiece that not only reflects resourcefulness and creativity at it's finest, but contributes to the very important sustainability movement to help a greater cause. [Image]