Gift Shop Plus Winter 2023

Holiday 2023 Preview By Julie McCallum

Featured image: RAZ Imports

While retailers are resetting their stores after the fourth quarter, product designers and trend forecasters are busy preparing for the next installment of the holiday season.

“Influenced by fashion and home trends, along with a dose of nostalgia, Holiday 2023 will add a festive punch of texture, color and glam,” said Stephanie Stoltz, marketing communications specialist for Ivystone. Founded in 1960, Ivystone is an established sales agency and curator within the gift and home industry.

Ivystone has broken down the holiday 2023 outlook into four categories: All is Calm; Merriment to the Max; Classic Carols; and Christmas Cheer.

Cameron Bowersox, director of product development at RAZ Imports, said All is Calm is inspired by best- selling items from past seasons. “Our customers loved the look of natural wood and pampas grass. Using these textures, we created a theme that is on trend for both the home décor and holiday markets,” she said. “Grounded in natural textures with touches of black and fresh greenery, this theme creates a welcoming and warm farmhouse feeling for every home,” she added.

Muted colors and bronze over gold, along with softer greens and reds are still in demand. LAFCO Founder and CEO Jon Bresler said the trend in fragrance follows this path. “Expect more nostalgic gourmand
fragrances, with more fruit notes and toned-down balsam notes,” Bresler said.

Merriment to the Max is all about tapping into what brings us joy.

“For decades, red and green have been synonymous with the festive season, but this year’s holiday palettes are more creative than ever,” said Sophie Flaxman of Better Homes & Gardens. “‘Tis the season to be jolly with a range of vibrant, whimsical and nostalgic shades guaranteed to brighten your home.”

Featuring traditional icons in re-imagined styles, this trend adds a playful and mood-boosting aesthetic. “Peppermints, candy canes and gingerbread are among the most classic holiday icons, and they’re some of our favorites at RAZ,” said Bowersox. “This season, we added soft pink and ivory to the traditional red and white color pallet to give it a more formal, feminine feel. Cookies and cocktails are the icons of this sugary sweet theme — perfect for entertaining! We have a variety of new and RAZ-Exclusive designs to make each person’s candy-coated theme uniquely theirs,” she added.

Classic Carols is traditional with fresh, vibrant and bold colors. Vibrant red and rich green combine with white and silver accents to create a young and cheerful theme. Just like classic songs, red and green décor will always be timeless and popular.

Christmas Cheer is all about luxury and maximalist festivities, including the home cocktailing trend.

“This trend is luxe, glamourous and screams opulence — all with a touch of vintage style. Add decadence to décor with a beautiful jewel palette of midnight blues, rich emerald greens, deep purples and ruby reds,” Stoltz said. LAFCO home fragrances has several holiday 2023 candle launches that will feature a new glass concept, which removed the luster from previous seasons, giving the glass more of a jewel tone.

“This festive season will see the return of the Roaring Twenties and Gatsby-inspired holiday parties,” the team at Ivystone reported. “We will also see a resurgence of the use of tinsel used in this trend. Tinsel was originally made of real silver, so using it in your Christmas décor was a sign of prosperity. The trend came back around in the ‘50s and ‘60s, but this time the sparkly material was made of much more affordable PVC plastic, which made the trend more accessible. After a brief resurgence in the ’80s, the tinsel trend is back again in full force,” Stoltz said.

For more information about the brands mentioned above, visit Ivystone.

We’ve rounded up a preview of products on the following pages sure to be a hit with shoppers in 2023.