Image by @Home

by Anita Bloom

The festive season is not just a moment of celebration it’s a commercial and creative opportunity for the design and retail industries. As clients look to refresh their spaces, hospitality environments seek to elevate experiences, and retailers curate high-impact seasonal visual merchandising, the 2025 festive trends lean into personality, texture, nostalgia, and emotional connection.

This year’s direction is rich in materiality, elevated styling, and immersive storytelling ideal for designers specifying décor, retailers planning displays, and architects shaping atmospheric environments.

Below is a trend guide to help you plan your festive collections, client schemes, and holiday activations for the 2025 season.

1. The Statement Bow

Bows have been building momentum but 2025 pushes them into full-scale sculptural décor.
Expect demand for oversized velvet, satin, and moiré ribbon, ideal for:

• Retail window displays
• Hospitality tree installations
• Large-scale garlands and spatial moments
• Product merchandising
• Tablescaping for events

Stripes are trending across fabric and ribbon suppliers, offering strong visual impact for trade applications.

2. Deep Jewel-Toned Christmas featuring @homelivingspace

Design-forward clients are gravitating toward deeper, more sophisticated palettes.
Think emerald, burgundy, oxblood, and inky black layered with muted reds. These tones translate beautifully into:

• Bespoke installations
• High-end retail environments
• Luxury residential settings
• Hospitality lounges and festive dining spaces

They bring instant depth and a cinematic, tailored character.

3. Monochromatic Gift Wrap as Visual Merchandising

Gift wrapping becomes a styled element within the space. A monochromatic palette with tone-on-tone prints creates:

• Cohesive retail packaging concepts
• Elevated gifting stations
• Minimally chic displays
• Uniform under-tree styling for commercial installations

Consider offering curated wrapping kits or using this palette for VM storytelling.

4. The Ralph Lauren Christmas

This trend speaks directly to premium clients and high-touch environments.
Think rich tartans, Black Watch plaid, wool textures, satin ribbons, and polished brass. Skip glitter entirely the look is heritage-driven and quietly luxurious.

Ideal for:

• Boutique hotels
• Lodge and cabin-inspired interiors
• Retail display windows
• Upmarket residential schemes

It channels “effortless Aspen luxury.”

5. Outdoor Holiday Living

Given our South African climate, this remains a major commercial opportunity.
Designers and retailers can maximise the category through:

• Outdoor lanterns with bows
• Festive scatter cushions
• Solar or plug-in fairy lights
• Outdoor dining setups
• Poolside festive experiences

Particularly relevant for hospitality, restaurants, estates, and event planners.

6. Nostalgic Christmas Maximalism

Consumers and clients alike are craving emotional familiarity.
Expect demand for:

• Vintage-style baubles
• Tinsel
• Handmade or artisanal ornaments
• Colourful lighting and accessories
• Traditional red-and-green palettes

Perfect for family-oriented retail spaces, experiential installations, or brands wanting a joyful, nostalgic emotional hook.

7. Mixed Metals featuring @homelivingspace

Gold, brass, pewter, and silver coexist in 2025. Mixed metals work brilliantly for:

• Layered tablescapes
• Retail vignettes
• Lighting displays
• Boutique hospitality spaces
• Sculptural festive centrepieces

A refined and grown-up way to bring sparkle without excess.

8. Full-Length Tablecloth Drama

The table becomes a canvas. Designers and event stylists are opting for:

• Floor-draping table linens
• Billowing folds and ruched fabric
• Dramatic, monochrome runners
• Textural layering

This creates an elevated base composition for hospitality or retail dining sets, and offers upsell opportunities for homeware retailers.

9. Velvet & Satin Touches

These materials continue to dominate the festive palette. Expect heavy interest in velvet and satin for:

• Stockings
• Ribbons
• Ornaments
• Soft furnishings
• Garlands

The shift this year is toward a more organic, candlelit, relaxed tree rather than the ultra-glam look think crystals, soft light, and minimal sparkle. Perfect for architects and designers curating calming, atmospheric interiors.

10. Monochromatic Black & White Christmas featuring @homelivingspace

Clean, modern, and suited to contemporary spaces. This aesthetic works beautifully for:

• Corporate offices
• High-end retail
• Urban apartments
• Minimalist architecture
• Hospitality dining

Paired with fresh florals and sculptural ceramics, it’s refined festive minimalism at its best.

11. “Snowy Greens” – The Calming White Christmas featuring @homelivingspace

Soft whites paired with fresh greenery remain a hero trend. Specify or merchandise:

• Ferns and stems
• White baubles
• Layered candles
• Warm fairy lights
• Statement light trees
• Natural wreaths

This look delivers serene luxury ideal for spas, corporate environments, wellness spaces, and clients wanting an understated seasonal refresh.

12. Tree Bases in Baskets & Pots (A Trade Favourite for 2025)

A big look for 2025 is swapping out the old-school tree stand for a beautiful basket or stylish pot. It instantly makes any festive setup feel more curated — perfect for retail floor displays, hotel lobbies, restaurants, and designer homes.

Why the trade loves it:

• Gives Christmas trees a clean, finished, interior-designed look.
• Works beautifully with summer décor — natural textures, lighter palettes, and fresh greenery.
• Helps pull your whole space or retail story together and hides the messy base.
• Super versatile for everything from high-end homes to commercial installs.

Retailers can match baskets or pots to their seasonal décor ranges while designers can choose woven textures for warmth or ceramic pots for a more modern feel, and hospitality spaces can go for oversized, durable planters that look premium and keep trees stable.

Where to source in SA:

• MRP Home – great woven baskets.
• Woolworths Home – chic planters for more elevated spaces.
• AtHome – statement pots and baskets.
• Jet Home – budget-friendly options for multiple installations.

It’s a simple switch that makes a big visual impact, keeping festive décor feeling fresh, contemporary, and perfect for a warm South African Christmas.

Across retail, hospitality, and residential design, the 2025 festive season is all about emotion, texture, and storytelling. These trends offer direction for:

• Visual merchandising strategies
• Client mood boards
• Procurement planning
• Event styling
• Seasonal product collections
• Commercial installations

Ultimately, festive design is about creating experiences — and whether you lean toward nostalgic colour, sculptural bows, or serene greenery, the goal is to help clients and consumers feel connected, inspired, and delighted.

Wishing you a creative, prosperous, and beautifully styled festive season ahead.