As a trend forecaster and analyst, I spend a lot of time looking at what people buy, wear, and make and trying to figure out what that's telling us. While fashion is my first love, these trends have a way of escaping the closet. The urge to put charms on your bag isn't so different from the urge to cover a Christmas tree in ornaments you've collected over 20 years. We want our things to look like they belong to us.
That feels especially true this holiday season, when there are approximately one million rules about how everything is supposed to look. The friends crafting kitschy ornaments together. The host dressing the table like an outfit. The person buying a stocking for their dog because, obviously, the dogs are spoiled too.
Some of these trends are familiar ideas in a new outfit; others are delightfully offbeat. I am the oracle, after all.
Here's what I think is going to show up in our homes, on our tables, under our trees and, of course, in our closets. Along the way, you'll meet a few of the sellers making it all happen.
– Mandy Lee (@oldloserinbrooklyn)
Etsy’s Global Guest Trend Insider
Plaster
paint kits
Beginner
sewing patterns
+470%
+6,350%
+125%
Needlepoint bags
With Gen Z shoppers
• TREND 001 •
DIY activities
+8,500%
Calling it now: the holiday craft night is the new holiday party. Or maybe we’re finally remembering that giving people something to do together is better than making them stand around your apartment holding a drink. With an increased desire for connection and community, everyone gets a night together and something slightly imperfect to take home. Just as long as you’re okay with a little glitter permanently embedded in your carpet.
Every year someone suggests a more restrained approach to holiday decorating. I would like to see the opposite. Rhinestones! Gemstones! The ornament that makes absolutely no sense next to the others but makes you happy every time you see it. More is the mood, and joy is the point.
• TREND 002 •
Whimsy Items
+110%
WHIMSICAL DECOR
Among Gen Z shoppers
+61%
BEDAZZLE KITS
+218%
BOAS
With Gen Z and
Millennial shoppers
+21%
Holiday dressing is getting a little theatrical, in the best possible way. A giant brooch where a small one would do. A capelet that makes an entrance before you do. Rich jacquards, vintage watches and heirloom-style jewelry that look like they might have a backstory. If you catch yourself wondering whether it’s too much, you’re probably getting close.
• TREND 003 •
Opera Items
+20%
VINTAGE JEWELRY
+75%
MAN BROOCHES
+72%
JACQUARD FABRIC
Among Millennial shoppers
+23%
CAPELETS
+47%
Your dog can have a stocking. Your best friend can get the gift you spent three months thinking about. Your group chat can throw its own holiday dinner, even if coordinating a date takes longer than planning the meal. People are making room for the friends and pets who are already part of their everyday lives. Honestly, it would be strange not to.
• TREND 004 •
Pet gifting-related searches
have doubled** & Personalized
Friend Gifts +1,400%
FRIEND
JEWELRY GIFTS
+1,060%
FRIENDSMAS PARTY
SUPPLY SALES
+37%
PET ORNAMENTS
+22%
Remember when every handmade thing was expected to look as though a machine had made it? I’m glad we’re getting over that. Visible brushstrokes, hand stitching and uneven edges show you how something came together. On an ornament or a gift tag, those details can be the whole point. Someone sat down and made this. You can see it.
• TREND 005 •
On Etsy there are over 50
searches for ‘handmade or
handcrafted’ related items
every minute**
HANDWOVEN
ITEMS
+230%
HAND PAINTED
ITEMS
+280%
HAND THROWN
ITEMS
+150%
HANDMADE GIFTS
+22%
A table is an outfit. The tablecloth is your silhouette; napkin rings, place cards and dishes are the accessories. You can go all in with ruffles, silver and pearls, or throw one strange serving dish into the mix and let it do the work. I’m particularly interested in tables that look like someone had fun putting them together, even if dinner is takeout transferred to nice plates.
• TREND 006 •
Table decor +15% with
Gen Z shoppers
RUFFLE
TABLECLOTHS
+841%
LACE TABLE
ITEMS
+68%
CUSTOM NAPKINS
+33%
I could talk about freaky shoes all day, and apparently Etsy shoppers would like to join me. This season, the best festive shoes aren’t necessarily sparkly or red. They’re weird. Weather-purpose driven shoes, pirate boots, odd little slip-ons: the stranger the shoe, the more fun it is to build a festive look around. You can wear a completely normal outfit above the ankles if you must. Just give people something to discuss when you walk into the room.
• TREND 007 •
Rain boots
+155%
SLIP SHOES
+55%
MEN’S PIRATE
BOOTS
+153%
WOMAN’S
BAREFOOT SHOES
+52%
This season, holiday traditions aren’t being inherited. We’re creating our own. And Etsy sellers are the first to meet shoppers in the moments that matter, turning what’s emerging in culture into something personal, original, and distinctly human.
What I love about these trends is that none of them come with a rulebook, just a handmade detail that makes the holidays feel like yours. Shop the trends and make them your own at Etsy.com/trends.
Note: All search and sales data in this article, unless otherwise noted, is as of September 14th, 2026, and based on searches and sales in the last three months compared to the same time last year.
*Etsy internal data, U.S. signed-in user activity only. Unless otherwise noted, percentage increases reflect changes in search or sales activity during the stated comparison period versus the prior year. Search growth is based on normalized query volume.
Demographic insights (e.g., Gen Z, Millennials) are derived from Etsy age-signals data and reflect a subset of U.S. active buyers. Data is directional and reflects activity on Etsy’s marketplace.
**Search and sales data reflects a year-over-year comparison.
