Skinny Christmas trees are the hottest holiday decor trend of 2025. Forget the fat, bushy and majestic trees, it’s the spindly, lopsided and defiantly underfed Charlie Brown tree that has been crowned this year’s festive icon.
David Kaihoi, from Redd Kaihoi studio told ELLE Decor, “A Charlie Brown tree is a perspective statement, a rescue mission, a defiant and delightful choice to see potential where many see plight. Maybe that’s exactly what the holidays should be about - not the manufactured ubiquity from the Fraser fir lobby, but the warmth that comes from choosing to love something a little imperfect.”
© David KaihoiInterior designers are leaning hard into the look, which appears like the trees have been micro-dosing Ozempic, the controversial weight loss jab, behind the garden center. These trees are asymmetrical, scraggly, and slightly confused about which direction their branches should be facing, but that’s exactly the point. Designer Christopher Spitzmiller also told the decor publication, “I think the stranger the tree, the better.”
After a decade of perfectly symmetrical, algorithm-ready Christmas decor, people are embracing trees with a bit of personality and sometimes a limp.And this includes 84-year-old TV personality Martha Stewart. Designer Noz Nozawa, who treks into the Tahoe National Forest in California each year to harvest her own wild-grown evergreen, says these trees simply look more honest.
© Christopher SpitzmillerShe added, “This is the way trees really should look. It’s better to have all that gap between the branches so you can see the ornaments all the way to the trunk.”
Decorating, however, becomes an art form all its own. Spitzmiller recommends spending hours to wind lights around individual branches, while others champion repeating ornaments to visually “unify” the chaos.
© Alfredo ParedesAlfredo Paredes, a New York and Miami-based designer, favors trees with sculptural branches that jut in rogue directions. He said, “What initially seems like a failure can become beautiful with the right care. It’s a reminder that the season isn’t about perfection - it’s about finding meaning in what’s authentic.”
