Gift Shop Plus Winter 2024

Merry & Bright: Previewing holiday 2024 décor By Carly McFadden

Retailers have packed away the remaining ornaments and ribbons from their holiday displays as Gift Shop Plus Winter 2024 went to press, but product designers already have their sights on the upcoming holiday 2024 décor debuts.

While some trends remain strong and continue to evolve for the upcoming season, other themes, colors and details are being introduced to the market in an all-new way. There is, of course, an established place in retail for the traditional holiday aesthetic, yet a softer, more playful and colorful approach to holiday décor is also on the horizon.

Here we present the top holiday 2024 décor trends from industry trendspotters and designers.

SENTIMENTS OF PEACE

In times of global tumult, customers naturally gravitate toward sentiments of peace and love, and that is one trend leading holiday décor in 2024. TrendBible, a global trend forecasting agency, cited this in its 2024 Festive Forecast Trend Report.

“In today’s heavy world, creating moments of lightness is key,” said Danika Morris, creative trend editor at TrendBible. “For 2024 this will continue, with particular focus being placed on finding joy and hope in and amongst the chaos of everyday family life.”

Wholesaler Peking Handicraft also sees this trend resonating with customers. As a response, its holiday 2024 collection debuts Peace, Joy and Love throw pillows, complete with folksy doves and soft colors.

“‘Joy’ and ‘merry’ always do well, but ‘peace’ and ‘love’ are trending because of the state of the world,” said Celisha Racicot, product manager at Peking. “I think people are wanting to just feel that positivity.”

NEW COLORWAYS

Reds and greens are trademarks of the holiday season, but unconventional colors will be having their moment this year.

Touches of pinks, lavenders and other feminine pastels will continue to shine into the upcoming holiday season in what Racicot referred to as the “Taylor Swift effect,” and the company is leaning into that with pink velvet pillows adorned with sequins. While this trend may subside in 2025, Peking predicts it will be a strong performer for 2024.

In a similar vein, TrendBible forecasts warm, bright colors to gain popularity — a far cry from traditional Christmas hues.

“Sunshine brights feel particularly new this season — these happiness-inducing shades will inject an almost summery energy into familiar festive colorways,” Morris said.

Other popular colors for the holidays include Chinoiserie blues and whites, as well as nontraditional shades of green.

WHIMSY NOSTALGIA

Nostalgia takes center stage in 2024 holiday décor. Many customers will take a less serious approach to decorating and embrace their inner child with scenes of nutcrackers, villages and houses — all forecasted to be major trends.

The playful colors aforementioned converge with this iconography to create a very whimsical vibe for the holidays. This can be seen in Peking’s house-shaped pillows and nutcracker mats.

Also gaining traction in the realm of nostalgia is patchwork. Peking is incorporating the trend into its quilts, throws and pillows.

“For a little bit, checkerboard was huge,” Racicot said. “Instead of checkerboard, I think patchwork is taking over. The Y2K trend, which was so big, is being replaced by more feminine nostalgia.”

This air of sentimentality and wistfulness will also extend into gifting, TrendBible predicts.

“Linking back to our key 2024 takeaways of playfulness and eccentricity, look for opportunities to introduce a childlike spirit to design and gifting categories,” Morris said. “Whether through customization, such as tapes, stickers and paintable papers, or nostalgic toys. Encourage consumers to release themselves from the stresses of adult life, shake off their inhibitions and embrace silliness.”

WOODLAND WONDER

Mushrooms, mushrooms, mushrooms. This earthy trend has overtaken everyday décor and is infiltrating the holiday season like never before. In fact, Peking predicts that 2024 will be mushroom’s biggest year in holidayware. The company is presenting the trend by placing mushrooms against a dark background for contrast.

Also in this category are woodsy creatures and scenes. Peking is taking a different approach to its woodland-inspired products, with soft blues, greens and whites taking command.

“Woodland is a perennial theme, but we’ve been showing this collection to a few of our larger customers and getting a really positive response on it,” Racicot said of Peking’s upcoming woodland collection. “It’s a little bit softer than you see traditional woodland being. We’ve got green and blue here, and I think that makes it feel a little fresh. … We normally try to stay away from doing white animals because they don’t always show up as well, but I love the [owls and bears] in white.”

This collection also transitions away from the holidays and works well as general winter décor. Transitional items are slated to be top performers in 2024 as purse strings tighten and sustainability remains top of mind, TrendBible reported.

“We expect to see products designed for re-use and extended use grow in importance from 2023 to 2024,” Morris said. “This is both in response to the growing awareness of the climate crisis and the rising cost of living, leaving conscious consumers seeking to reduce waste over the holiday season and purchase items that can live on within the home long after the festivities are over.”