Christmas Tree Trends 2026
For a while the brief was restraint. One colour, matching baubles, a tree that could pass for a hotel lobby. That look hasn't gone, but it has stopped being the point. The trees we're seeing this season are personal, a little theatrical and noticeably unbothered by coordination. Here's what's going on the branches - and, in some cases, what the branches are.
Tinsel, but make it lametta
Tinsel is back. Not the fat, feather-boa kind that sheds on the carpet until March, but lametta: fine, flat strands of metallic foil draped one at a time so they hang straight and catch the light. The word is German for "little blade", and the tradition is old – the earliest versions were cut from real silver.
The effect is quietly glamorous. Under warm lights, a tree hung with lametta looks like it's been lightly rained on. It works best on a tree with open, layered branches, so the strands have room to fall.
The trick is patience. Drape a few strands over each branch tip rather than throwing handfuls, and stop just before you think you're finished. Silver is the classic. Gold or a soft champagne reads warmer. Cheap plastic versions tangle and lie flat, so it's worth spending a little more on a heavier foil.
Collected, not coordinated
The matching set of 48 baubles is out. In its place: decorations that have been picked up over years and handed down over generations. A glass bird from a market in Vienna. A felt mouse bought on a whim. The slightly chipped bauble your grandmother hung every year without fail.
A collected tree tells a story the way a well-loved bookshelf does. Nothing quite matches, and that's exactly why it works. If you're starting from scratch, vintage markets and charity shops are good hunting grounds for older glass, and buying one ornament wherever you travel builds a collection faster than you'd expect.
To stop it looking like a jumble sale, give it a thread. Keep the lights consistent, repeat one or two colours, and put the best pieces at eye level where they'll actually be seen.
Paper chains
The paper chain has graduated from the primary-school classroom. This year it's being wound around trees in place of beads and ribbon, and it looks surprisingly grown-up.
The difference is in the paper. Swap sugar paper for something with weight and texture: wrapping paper offcuts, old sheet music, pages from a damaged book, or a single colour in a good matte stock. Narrow strips look neater than wide ones. A chain in one muted shade – ochre, oxblood, forest green – is more striking than a rainbow.
It's also a decent way to spend an evening. Put a film on, hand out the glue sticks, and you'll have enough for a tree before the credits roll.
The alternative tree
Banana trees, decorated ladders, even a pickle tree. This year, the Christmas tree doesn't have to follow the rules, or be a fir at all.
The banana plant is the boldest of the lot. Its big, glossy leaves take a string of lights and a few baubles surprisingly well, and in parts of the world where firs don't grow, decorating a banana or mango tree is a long-standing tradition.
The ladder is the one for small spaces. Lean an old wooden step ladder against a wall, wind lights up the sides and use the rungs as shelves for candles, cards and ornaments. It takes up less floor than a tree and goes back in the shed come January.
Then there's the pickle tree: a tree hung with glass gherkins, a playful nod to the tradition of hiding a single pickle ornament in the branches for someone to find on Christmas morning. It's silly, which is entirely the point.
Whatever you choose, decorate lightly. These alternatives have strong shapes of their own, so let them do the work.
