Tinsel, multicoloured lights and kitschy ornaments – this year, Christmas is all about nostalgia. With videos and photos of ‘Christmas in the ’90s’ trending on TikTok, and Country Living reporting a 5000% increase in Google searches for “vintage Christmas decorations”[1], as a nation, we’re leaning back into the comfort of the past.
Wooden Christmas decs are growing in popularity, angels are back on the top of Christmas trees, and recently – Aldi’s ceramic ornaments hit the headlines, ‘proving nostalgia to be this year’s greatest Christmas trend.’ [2]
With more and more of us welcoming a return to the maximalist Xmas décor of our childhoods, what does this all mean and why now?
Some of this could be attributed to the so-called ‘30-year rule’ of nostalgia – this trend is proving incredibly popular among millennials and Gen Z, as young adults seek to recapture the joy of Christmases past and share these memories with the next generation. [3] With much of the ‘’90s Christmas’ content depicting this as an easier and simpler time – there’s also an argument that ‘Vintage Christmas’ represents calls for authenticity, a subtle backlash against the increasingly filtered and aesthetic world we’re seeing online.[4]
More broadly though, retail experts and psychologists, see that as indicative of a broader need for comfort and sentimentality during challenging or uncertain times. Faced with a cost-of-living crisis, a shifting political climate, and global unrest, experts claim it’s no surprise we’re reverting to nostalgia, as a ‘stabilising force’[5] that helps us feel grounded, and connected with those around us. Tinsel, foil garlands, and retro Santas, offer us a rose-tinted window back into the past, which – consciously or not – we’re keen to escape to.
From a marketing perspective – this means a need to keep pace, lean into authenticity, and answer that need for comfort. On a personal level it means tinselling to your heart’s content – or maybe just selling your old 80’s baubles for a killing on eBay.
-Katie Firth
Account Director
[1] https://www.countryliving.com/uk/homes-interiors/gardens/a62866359/christmas-decoration-trends-2024/
[2] https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/week-aldi-finds-prove-nostalgia-174116032.html
[3] /4 /5 https://www.today.com/parents/family/nostalgic-christmas-videos-tiktok-rcna177679
