The Christmas tree originated in 7th century Germany. A monk named Saint Boniface used the triangular shape of the fir tree to illustrate the Holy Trinity in his teachings. Since then, and most prominently in 16th-century Germany, families began bringing fir, pine, and fir trees into their homes and decorating them with nuts, candles, fruit, and paper flowers.

Over the years, Christmas tree ideas have not only grown in popularity, but have also evolved into many different variations with only one thing in common, the original triangle shape.

Now Christmas trees can be seen everywhere during the Christmas season. So much so that having the most expensive tree has become a kind of competition for some of the world’s richest people. Decorated trees are used to show how incredibly wealthy their owners are. So how valuable can a tree be?

10. Vermont Pre-Lit Artificial Trees:
Value –> $850 USD
Special features of this lighted Christmas tree include hinged branch construction and a special memory wire. The special features of the Vermont Fir Tree make it easier to set up than previous skinny artificial Christmas trees. This tree is 8.5 feet of multicolored Christmas celebration with the latest in artificial tree technology. I wonder what will happen to them next.

9. Pre-Lit Frasier Fir Artificial Christmas Tree:
Value –> $1,000 USD
This pre-lit artificial tree is adorned with 1,350 colorful mini lights. This artificial fir features the ability to remove individual lights from their sockets without affecting any of the other lights on the tree. At 10 feet tall, it towers over most other artificial trees for sale.

8. Sofitel London St. James – Black Tree Decorated With Cognac:
Value –> $55,000 USD
Just another run-of-the-mill metal-framed skinny tree until you look a little closer. You’ll notice 200 miniature-sized, handcrafted 24-karat gold bottles containing Louis XIII, Grand-Champagne Cognac. No one knows why they would openly leave alcohol in a hotel lobby. The tree is 16.5 feet tall, so if you were to drink the champagne cognac, for safety reasons, I’d suggest starting at the top and working your way down.

7. Steve Quick Jewelers – Gold Table Trees:
Value –> $500,000 USD
As a fundraising project to benefit the American Cancer Society, this decorated tree was created by Steve Quick. The Chicago jeweler casts small trees with 18 karat solid gold. A couple of features have been added to increase the value of a larger table tree, round diamond embellishments, and a detachable platinum star embellishment. The star is removable so it can be worn as a pendant. Just when you thought a 5 pound chunk of solid gold couldn’t look any better, they capped it off with 4.52 carats of bling – and that’s just the only diamond on the platinum star!

6. Soo Kee Jewelry – Diamond Tree:
Value –> $1 million dollars
On display at a shopping mall in Singapore called Bugis Junction, a 20-foot, 7,000-pound silver Christmas tree made everyone feel very poor as they searched for slightly more affordable gifts for their loved ones. A sparkling silver glitter of 21,798 diamonds and over 3,000 crystals adorned this fabulous holiday show. Would they really notice if one or two disappeared?

5. Washington DC – Capitol Christmas Tree:
Value –> $1 Million + USD
The tradition of placing a tall spruce on the west front of the Capitol in Washington, DC began in 1964. Each year the exterior tree is cut down, transported and replanted. Rumors speculate that the cost of such an operation is well over a million dollars, making this outdoor Christmas decoration one of the most expensive in the world.

4. Ginza Tanaka Jewelry – Tabletop Tree:
Value –> $1.6 million dollars
Ginza Tanaka Jewelry in Shinsaibashi, Osaka, Japan displayed this beautiful slender tree that was decorated with over 240 priceless gems. It is a small 24-karat gold tree adorned with an assortment of diamonds and pearls weighing a total of 46 pounds. It stands as the fourth most expensive decorated Christmas tree in the world.

3. Takashimaya Department Store – Preserved Roses Mini Christmas Tree:
Value –> $1.8 million dollars
The ultimate proof that size doesn’t matter. Well, when you’re talking about fake Christmas trees for sale, that is. The 16-inch tabletop Christmas trees are made from preserved flowers and decorated with 400 diamonds. I wonder if the department store ever charged the $1.8 million price tag, however, they threw in the teddy bear to sweeten the deal.

2. Hong Kong Swarovski Crystal LED Pre-Lit Christmas Tree:
Value –>???
Standing a staggering 90 feet tall, the 40,000 Swarovski crystals are stacked in a spectacular Christmas tribute as part of Hong Kong’s annual “winter festival.” While this outdoor LED Christmas tree is pretty impressive during the day, just wait until the sun goes down. Unfortunately, the cost of such a tree is unknown to us at this time, so the question “where does it rank on this list?” can be answered with another question “Does your Christmas tree turn on its lights to the beat and shoot fireworks from the top?” I do not think so.

1. The Emirates Palace Hotel – Decorated Christmas Tree:
Value –> $11.4 million USD
The seven-star hotel in Dabi displayed a 40-foot Christmas pine covered in diamonds, pearls, emeralds and the like worth $11 million. This tree was on loan from a gallery in Abu Dhabi.

If you were thinking of staying at The Emirates Palace Hotel, you can expect to pay around $1 million each week. Expensive? Maybe, but your room comes with a butler, a Maybach luxury car and driver, and a private plane in case you need to go to the supermarket in Edmonton, Canada to pick up a few things before dinner.