Forget angels and stars; this year, Britain's Christmas trees are being adorned with weight-loss syringes, cans of Pringles, and bottles of ketchup. A boom in bizarre and hyper-commercialised baubles is reshaping festive decor, as retailers report soaring demand for ornaments that reflect modern obsessions from beauty treatments to favourite snacks.
From Ozempic Jabs to Air Fryers: The New Festive Normal
The shift became starkly clear to Glasgow shopkeeper Sarah Gibbons in November. At her homeware store, Modern Love Store, a shipment of crucial decorations was missing. Customers were clamouring for a specific item: glittery syringe ornaments modelled on the weight-loss drug Ozempic, often buying three or four at a time. This is just one example of a sweeping trend. Major retailers are now selling baubles shaped like Botox injections, dirty martinis, prawn cocktails, and even air fryers.
Traditional boxed bauble sets are in sharp decline. Lisa Cherry, head of Christmas at John Lewis, reports that sales of such sets have fallen by around 60% over the last decade. This drop has been offset by a surge in individual, themed ornaments. John Lewis now sells decorations shaped like sardines, snooker balls, espresso martinis, and miniature Quality Street tins, with a chilli ornament becoming a surprising bestseller.
Data-Driven Decor: How Trends Become Baubles
So, how do these unusual items make it to the branches? Retailers like John Lewis use sales data from across their stores, including Waitrose, to track purchasing trends long before Christmas planning begins. This data-centric approach leads to ornaments reflecting contemporary lifestyles, resulting in baubles shaped like blueberry matcha drinks, pints of stout, and blocks of butter.
This year, John Lewis's macro theme was "wisdom," aiming to tap into a nostalgia for craftsmanship. This explains their retro baking equipment ornaments and a bauble modelled on the record player from their Christmas advert. Selfridges has seen a 47% rise in Christmas Shop sales, with ornaments alone up 15%. Their range of over 1,200 different baubles included a Taylor Swift-inspired piece, while the Ozempic ornament sold out completely.
Gifting, Two Trees, and the 'Personal' Pine
Several social shifts are fuelling this bauble bonanza. A major driver is the rise in bauble gifting. People increasingly bring a quirky, personalised ornament as a thoughtful hostess gift. This explains why unusual items sell best early in the season, with more traditional styles gaining later. Another factor is the rise of multi-tree households; John Lewis found 27% of Britons had two Christmas trees in 2023, with that figure potentially nearing 50% now.
Loesje Donner-Raedts, founder of the influential Dutch brand Vondels, which supplies high-end stores like Fortnum & Mason and Liberty, believes a tree should be "personal" and "tell a story." Her team scouts concept stores and restaurants year-round to spot trends, leading to ornaments shaped like wrinkle remover, truffle mayonnaise, and washing machines. She emphasises the aim is a "playful nod" to modern culture without causing offence.
While novelty reigns, some traditions persist. Historical accounts show Queen Victoria's tree in 1848 was decorated with real "fancy cakes" and gilt gingerbread, and Charles Dickens in 1850 described trees laden with dolls, watches, and miniature furniture. The modern twist is the sheer scale of commercialisation and the focus on branded, often non-edible, consumer goods.
For suppliers, the challenge is now standing out in a crowded market. While Vondels avoids overtly sexual themes, other brands lean in. Online retailer Rockett St George sold out of its pink sex toy ornaments, dubbed "dick-olations" by co-founder Lucy St George. As for what's next, the boundaries are constantly tested, with existing ornaments already including toilet paper and baked potatoes. For now, the trend for festive fun that mirrors daily life—from a syringe to a cheese toastie—shows no sign of stopping.
