Officially known as the Aluminum Tree & Aesthetically Challenged Seasonal Ornament Museum and Research Center (or ATOM for short), the museum displays over 30 aluminum Christmas trees from the 1950s and ‘60s. This year’s theme is “The Sound of Silver: Music for Your Eyes.”

Back then, aluminum Christmas trees were all the rage, and bring back wonderful memories for aging Baby Boomers. Since stringing electric lights on a metal tree could result in your untimely death from electrocution, aluminum Christmas trees were “lit” with a magical color wheel, a kind of spotlight with a revolving circle of different colors aimed at the tree. The silver “needles” would sparkle in an array of colors as the color wheel spun around and around.

In addition to featuring aluminum trees, the museum also features a large collection of “aesthetically challenged” ornaments – both handmade and commercial.

According to their website, the Aluminum Tree Museum is the world’s only museum dedicated to the preservation and public enjoyment of vintage aluminum trees. With locations in Brevard, North Carolina and Nashville, Tennessee, each site is open to the public each year for five weeks only during the Christmas season, so hurry in and relive the holidays of yesteryear!