The rise of Instagram Christmas palette

Once upon a time, Christmas had a predictable colour code.

Reds, greens, golds, and the occasional silver defined the season. In Kerala, metallic magenta and blue also made consistent appearances year after year. Decorations were familiar, sometimes mismatched, often reused year after year.

Today, however, Christmas has acquired a new visual language — one shaped less by tradition and more by Instagram.

The rise of the “Instagram Christmas palette” marks a noticeable shift in how the festival is imagined, decorated, and remembered.

Scroll through social media in December 2025, and a pattern emerges: beige Christmas trees, muted whites, soft browns, champagne golds, and carefully coordinated interiors. Even the festive red now appears in controlled doses — dusty, matte, and aesthetically restrained.

Instagram has turned Christmas into a visual performance. Homes are decorated not just to celebrate, but to be photographed. Trees are styled to match sofas. Wrapping paper complements the living room walls. Christmas morning is framed as a flat-lay of pyjamas, mugs, and presents, captured before the day truly begins.

The question has quietly shifted from 'What does Christmas feel like?' to 'What does it look like online?'

Influencers and lifestyle creators have become the new tastemakers of the season. Their festive home tours, décor reels, and December reset posts subtly set the standard for what a “good” Christmas should look like.

In the process, festive aesthetics have become increasingly homogenised. A Christmas living room in India, Europe, or East Asia can look remarkably similar — defined by global trends rather than local customs.

This visual uniformity also comes with pressure.

For many, Instagram’s polished feeds create an unspoken expectation to curate a perfect Christmas — spotless homes, elaborate meals, coordinated outfits, and constant cheer. The mess, the fatigue, the emotional complexity of family gatherings rarely make it to the grid. Christmas becomes something to live up to, rather than live through.

The platform has also intensified the commercialisation of the season.

Festive aesthetics are closely tied to consumption — new ornaments, themed tableware, matching family pyjamas, and sponsored décor hauls. Trends move quickly, making last year’s decorations feel outdated, even if they are perfectly functional. What was once reused becomes disposable, replaced for the sake of staying visually current.

Yet, there is a quiet pushback.

Alongside the beige trees and curated corners, a softer rebellion is emerging. Some creators are choosing to share imperfect, lived-in Christmases. These posts remind viewers that Christmas does not need to be colour-coordinated to be meaningful.

Instagram has not erased traditional Christmas aesthetics, but it has undeniably reshaped them. The “Instagram Christmas palette” reflects our digital age — global, aspirational, and image-driven.

As the season unfolds, the challenge lies in using visual inspiration without losing sight of what the festival was always meant to be: warmth, connection, and moments that matter.