SOURCE: Good Homes
For so many of us the holidays are a time of tradition. We have our festive decor packed away and each year we pull it out and adorn our homes until it’s time to pack it up. This is the cycle we rinse and repeat each holiday season.
There is also a growing contingent of folks that love to mix it up each year when it comes to decorating. These are the creative souls who want to build a magical holiday by reinventing the wheel each year. If that’s you, or if you aspire to change it up this year, this is for you. I’m sharing everything that’s trending in holiday decor for 2025.
What’s Hot in Holiday Decor for 2025?
1/ Bows
SOURCE: Pinterest
We’ve seen bows emerge as a trend in fashion this year so it’s no surprise that they’re also very popular for decorating. Bows for the holiday season are oversized and bold and you will find them anywhere and everywhere in homes this holiday season.
Add them to your tree, the back of chairs, on doors and strung across mantels. You want your holiday bows to be dramatic and festive so choose fabrics like velvet that emphasize the festive season.
One of my favourite ways to incorporate bows into a home during the holidays is to hang oversized bows down the bannister of a staircase. This gives a dramatic holiday effect without much effort.
2/ Multi-Coloured Lights
SOURCE: The Olive Branch Nest
It’s been a long time since we considered multi-coloured lights to be trending but this year they’re back! We all know kids love these multi-coloured strands of light but for a very long time all white lights were the go-to for the design obsessed.
Coloured lights give a retro mood to your home but there’s also something very traditional and nostalgic about them. They remind us of our own childhood Christmas tree and I personally look forward to basking in the sentimental feelings of my own childhood holiday memories.
3/ Vintage Ornaments
SOURCE: Pinterest
In keeping with our return to the past we’re also going to be adding vintage ornaments to our homes this year. We’re casting aside the plastic balls, faux snow and perfectly colour coded decor. Instead, we’re going to be digging through our parents’ boxes of ornaments in the search for the vintage finds.
Vintage balls and ornaments are often made of glass so be extra careful if you’re incorporating them into your decor this year. The balls are more delicate and need to be kept out of reach of little ones who could drop and shatter these fragile pieces.
If you don’t want your vintage ornaments hanging from the tree try adding them to an oversized glass jar, a footed bowl or textured basket. There’s no need to hide ornaments away until your kids are older if you just include them in an out-of-reach location.
4/ Retro Nostalgia (Kitschmas)
SOURCE: Rockett St George
If you’re ready to go a step further with your vintage decorating how about going full vintage Christmas. Also lovingly referred to as kitschmas, this leans heavily on a step back into the past. As opposed to the vintage ornaments I mentioned above, this is an explosion of vintage. From mugs to ceramic villages to old school Santa perched at the top of the tree, it’s all back in style this year.
There have always been lots of ceramic holiday houses and often they’re all white with candles or string lights to keep them glowing. This year you’ll be seeing more colourful ceramic villages and the thrift store could be a wonderful place to score these.
And don’t overlook the larger items like a vintage wooden sled for decorating your front porch. A simple green wreath on the door alongside a sled gives an immediate holiday vibe to the front of your home.
5/ Maximalist Decorating (Merry and Bright)
SOURCE: Lovely Harbor
The last several years have seen a lot of Scandinavian style Christmas which means natural, light and textured. For some that will always feel like Christmas but if you’re more in favour of maximalism, this is your year.
Maximalism embraces what others might refer to as “too much”. It’s a carefully curated explosion of colour and volume. For some this might feel like a Christmas offence but if you’re in the camp of more is more then it’s going to be a fun holiday season in your home.
Start with the tree and be sure that you come with far more decor than you believe could ever be used. We’re looking just to see the tips of branches amongst the sea of ornaments. And don’t forget about your mantel and your dining table. This style of decor is all about fun and whimsy so just go all out and have fun with it. If you find yourself using a lot of restraint when decorating for the holidays I think you’ll have so much fun embracing this trend.
6/ Colour Trend – Brown, Caramel and Bronze Colour Palette (Pantone Mocha Mousse)
SOURCE: Amazon
Just walk into any clothing store and you’ll see brown everywhere this season. And as always, trends trickle down from fashion into interiors and then into decor. It’s no surprise then that brown is trending hard for Christmas decor this year. We just have to look at Pantone and see that Mocha Mousse is their Colour of the Year for 2025 to know this was going to be a strong trend all around.
While brown and green are a natural pairing the additional oomph in this palette will come from the caramel and bronze. I think this palette is timeless and sophisticated so even when it’s not trending it’ll look great. It’s a cool and stylish way to update your Christmas decor and it’s easy to include red or gold if you want a more pronounced holiday vibe.
7/ Colour Trend – Jewel Tones
SOURCE: Pinterest
Jewel tones are being embraced in home decor so I’m not at all surprised to see this bold palette appearing in holiday decor. Think of rich deeply saturated colours like sapphire, emerald and ruby. You’re not limited to a single colour so mix and match these bold colours for a more dramatic effect.
There are so many ways to add your personal interpretation of a jewel toned Christmas but I think that when these tones are used you’ll always end up with a feeling of sophistication and luxury.
8/ Tartan and Plaid
SOURCE: Ralph Lauren
This is such a quintessential pattern for Christmas celebrations. So many of us have tartan and plaid in our wardrobe that comes out during the holiday season. Why not incorporate that same pattern into your Christmas decorating.
The table is the easiest and most obvious place to embrace these patterns. A table runner and napkins will immediately set the tone while gifts with plaid ribbon will help to keep the theme going strong. If you need some additional ideas for setting your holiday table, read this post. And if you’re considering adding bows then plaid might be the right direction to incorporate two of this year’s trends.
I hope these help get your creative juices flowing for the upcoming holiday season. If you’re planning a renovation in 2026, reach out. I’d love to discuss how we can work together.
If you know your design style but you struggle with which paint to use, take a look at my Made-For-You paint palettes. They take the guesswork out and give you the confidence to get started.
