Available at IKEA stores and online starting October 1, IKEA’s winter drop includes three seasonal lines: VINTERFINT 2022, STRÅLA, and VINTERSAGA. VINTERFINT, a continuation of the annual winter collection, features ornaments and other hanging decor, serving essentials, and gift wrap, while STRÅLA is a collection of festive lights perfect for lighting up long winter nights. VINTERSAGA adds new seasonal items—including ginger thins, a classic Swedish holiday sweet—to IKEA’s iconic culinary selection. Together, these seasonal collections offer a peek into the future: Motifs, styles, and colors here are a good indicator of what we may see in the coming months as retailers launch their own winter and holiday collections. Read on for top trends for this winter and holiday season, as inspired by IKEA’s new Winter 2022 Collection.
1. Celebrating Folklore and Handicraft
As a Swedish company, IKEA regularly celebrates Swedish and Scandinavian aesthetics, tastes, and attitudes toward home decor. The VINTERFINT 2022 collection takes this cultural celebration one step further by drawing inspiration from Swedish and Scandinavian folklore and crafting traditions. New IKEA items released as part of this collection include a set of gift wrap and tags decorated with figures from Scandinavian fairytales and hanging decorations shaped like classic Scandi holiday characters. Items in the collection also emphasize bells, trees, stars, and other classic holiday shapes. Between the classic elves and other characters, handmade-style makes, and paper goods (which include ornaments, garlands, and even an advent calendar), VINTERFINT hints at a turn back toward charming, cozy, and handmade holiday decor this year.
2. Christmas Gnomes
The Christmas gnome—a cute, petite gnome figure with an oversized pointy hat, little to no face, and a bushy beard—was a major motif last winter, and based on IKEA’s new products, it’s going to be a big one this year, too. If you didn’t stock up on Christmas gnomes last year and don’t want to make your own, this is your chance: IKEA’s VINTERFINT collection features a gnome-ish Santa Claus in two sizes, plus an adorable sitting gnome. Just act fast: Decorations as cute as these are sure to go quickly.
3. Humanoid and Animal Motifs
Beyond the Christmas gnome, you can expect to see a lot of elves, Santa Claus–type figures, reindeer, and other animals this holiday season. These figures are important to Scandinavian folklore, but they also have the same laidback energy that has appeared in the ongoing love for cottagecore. Whether they’re stuffed, porcelain, or wood, animal shapes are sure to be everywhere this winter. Not sure what we’re talking about? Look no further than IKEA’s set of colorful stoneware goats, which might just become a mantel must-have.
4. Classic Holiday Colors
While there’s plenty to love about minimalist holiday decor and decorating with cooler colors reflective of ice and snow—think blues, whites, and silvers—all three of IKEA’s winter collections indicate that red and white are going to be the top colors this year. Most items in VINTERFINT 2022, STRÅLA, and VINTERSAGA feature a bright, cheery red and/or a snowy white, so expect to see a strong return to this classic holiday color palette this year.
5. Making the Season Bright
Lights—whether they’re candlelight or a classic string of colorful Christmas lights—are a huge part of winter and the holiday season, something IKEA’s winter collections lean into with the STRÅLA collection. This line of lights includes indoor and outdoor lights in a range of shapes and silhouettes, all with the goal of lighting up the dark nights of winter. There are LED candles and battery-powered options for maximum flexibility, plus specific tree and table decorations to further boost this winter’s wattage.
6. Gingerbread
Who doesn’t love a good ginger treat? Gingerbread is slowly but surely becoming a year-round treat, if our birthday cake by Carla Hall is any indication, but ginger will always be a great holiday treat, something IKEA is celebrating with its release of limited-edition VINTERSAGA ginger thins. If you’re prepping for a winter bakeathon this year, be sure to include some ginger items on your to-bake list.
