Happy Kitschmas

During the cool Eighties and Nineties, when all things natural were good, they were dumped in attics - an embarrassing relic of the decade that style forgot.

But now brash tinsel Christmas trees - the more kitsch the better - are back. Supermarkets are reporting sales of artificial trees have trebled since last year.

At Tesco they are now outselling real trees by 13 to one. As recently as five years ago the pine needle version was in the majority.

And the biggest sellers of all are the most gaudy and colourful ranges in silver, lilac and pink.

Tesco manager Sue Johnson said: "The days when nobody feared flamboyance and colour are back. Sales are soaring in anything furry or flocked. All things glittery or silver are in. Shoppers are looking for decoration that is ostentatious, guaranteed to provoke a reaction."

The revival of the unashamedly false tree is being blamed on the current ironic fascination with Seventies bad taste. There is also a nostalgia factor from thirty-something parents recalling the tinsel fire-hazards of childhood. Nicole Lander, head of corporate affairs at Woolworths, said: "There is definitely a 'so-kitsch-it's-cool' factor this Christmas."

Sainsbury's said it was introducing "kitsch" decorations for the first time in response to demand. "Our best-selling kitsch decoration is a white feather bauble but anything that glitters is popular," added a spokeswoman.

Technical advances also mean that new fake trees are on the market. The holographic fibre-optic tree glows different colours as hands pass through its fronds.

There has also been a huge growth in sales of decorations once seen as distasteful, ranging from mirror balls to illuminated Santas. US-style housefront lights, once rarely seen in Britain, are in such demand that one supermarket chain has had to fly in a special shipment of supplies.