If you are anything like me, an Italian-born-and-bred expat eternally longing for warmth in gloomy London, the image of a snow-covered, wintry Italy won't be the first to spring to mind when thinking of my country. Instead, you'll be left daydreaming at the slightest mention of its coruscating beaches, picturesque village views, and the simplest yet delicious seasonal ingredient featured in a self-respecting summer feast, drizzled in olive oil and glaring in the sunshine. Still, you've got to believe me when I say that, despite its balmy appearance, Il Bel Paese holds the secret to some of the craftiest, most sustainable, and, therefore, timeless ways to make your home feel chic, festive, and cozy in wintertime.
Don't get me wrong: Italian Christmas decor isn't always synonymous with tasteful, but that shouldn't surprise you. After all, we are known for being loud and proud — and the most anticipated celebration of the year can be no less. Still, ask me, and I will tell you your festive season setup should be one thing: an eye-catching, memorable reflection of your own sense of style, interspersed with memories collected and carefully cherished over time by yourself, your loved ones, and your family.
That's what, more than 20 years since they became a part of my life, still makes the five Italian Christmas traditions listed below worth cultivating, even now that I live in England. Not only do multiple of these easily replicable DIY hacks spare you from having to buy new ad-hoc Christmas ornaments every year that comes, but many of them are fully natural and, therefore, less wasteful. Others even retain a place of their own inside your modern home decor once the festive frenzy comes to a close.
Largely made by hand — either through baking or by gathering fruit, branches, and foliage that capture Italy's vibrant culture into seasonal installations — when not collecting preciously cared-for family heirlooms and ephemera, each of these under-the-radar decorative tricks recasts tradition through an unexpected, quirky twist. So, before it's too late for you to act on, discover five alternative Christmas decorations from Italy sure to ignite conversation and catch your guests' eye, all while staying quintessentially true to your home. Oh, and meet the international creative studios who are not just getting them right, but also elevating them to brand new heights in their own work.
1. “Corone dell'Avvento” — Handmade, Natural Advent Wreaths & Bowls
One of the most vivid memories I have from my early years in Italy is gathering around the table with a few greenery branches (a few cuts of bay and rosemary for natural home fragrance was a non-negotiable touch), pine cones, and foliage picked up at the local park with my mom to prep our own Advent bowl — or wreath — the weekend before the official Christmas 'countdown' started. Assembled by hand by styling your evergreen plants of choice inside a ceramic bowl stuffed with spongy, malleable foam blocks (like these from Amazon), and complete with four candles, or otherwise 'woven' atop a wood or rattan board, this easily personalizable Christmas centerpiece would keep us company for four weeks.
Each candle in the assemblage represents one of the so-called 'Advent Sundays' and is lit to spread more and more warmth into your home as Christmas Eve approaches. A visual reminder of the festivity run-up, an Advent bowl or wreath is practically cost and waste-free, provided you have already got some candles and a ceramic vessel fit for (re-)use in your house. As demonstrated by Hamburg-based interior designer Johanna Wiemann's elegant reinterpretation of this popular Italian Christmas tradition, it makes the perfect excuse to let a natural touch into your living room. Some ceramic bowl designs, like this therootsfolk available on Etsy, come with integrated candle holders, while, if you're opting for a bolder, more minimal, and metallic look, Copenhagen-based ferm LIVING and STOFF Nagel have plenty of options ready for you.
2. “Addobbi di Pane e Marzapane” — Baked Bread & Marzipan Christmas Baubles
My second favorite Italian Christmas tradition to have been given the design treatment dates from even further back, namely, to the time I used to make edible festive ornaments from bread and marzipan with my grandmother and my mom. Both baked goods have a huge role in Italian cuisine and wider culture, with the latter — specifically, in the form of marzipan 'fruits' — being often gifted to people throughout the Christmas period, and even put on display inside centerpiece-style bowls. As for bread, it is the element that never misses on our tables, and so I have always found decorating a Christmas tree with hangable little bites the most authentically Italian festive activity.
Jokes aside, it's time to take safe-to-eat Christmas decorations seriously, and French design trio Studio CoPain is setting the bar high. For this holiday season, Sidonie Lepetit, Léa Bardin & Lucile Barbier have created ornaments made from a special recipe "inspired by traditional bakery techniques," they told me over email. Relying on nothing else than "ingredients you can easily find in your pantry," they assure, Studio CoPain has sculpted the dough into chic and delicate handcrafted pieces that'll save you from panic-buying and accumulating unnecessary baubles just for fear of your Christmas tree looking bare. Instead, "each of these unique ornaments brings a warm and appetizing atmosphere to your home, inviting you to celebrate craftsmanship by putting revisited traditions up your Christmas tree," they explain. Let's get baking!
3. “Presepe” — Nativity Scene
People outside of Italy might not necessarily be familiar with the presepe, but for families still styling one inside their home at Christmas, these curated nativity scene displays — in the most extreme cases, sprawling masterpieces gathering natural moss, stone, and water alongside striking light effects for a theatrical festive experience — are a real team effort. Varying from household to household, they always include a few mandatory elements, namely, 'the Holy family', composed of Mary, Joseph, and, come Christmas Eve, baby Jesus, all captured in a manger, and animals like sheep, an ox, and a donkey, often accompanied by shepherds.
The presepe represents a big part of what Christmas looks like in Italy, and is possibly the most quintessentially Italian of all Christmas decorations. Still, it's hard not to think of it as a little outdated, particularly for people wanting to incorporate it into more minimalist interior schemes, or hosts keen to make its religious connotations less literal in the result.
So... Presepe in or out? Judge me not, but I feel Lone Fox's Drew Michael Scott might have just solved the dilemma for us all. Besides launching one of the craftiest holiday shops of the season, with plenty of collectibles currently discounted, the social media-famous interior designer and antiques aficionado has just unveiled a Christmas tree made "from the pieces I love most: vintage, warm lamps, and a whole lotta texture!", as he wrote in a recent Instagram post.
Not only does it look original and totally unexpected, dotted as it is with one-off sculptural lights, natural branches, pearl strings, vases, and wood, as well as wrought iron details. But, featuring animal and angel sculptures, too, it only subtly hints at the atmosphere of the original nativity scenes, keeping away from the tackiness of it. Win-win. People interested in artful, abstract renditions of it will be able to find them on Etsy, thanks to the creations of artisanal platforms like SzkloGlass, available in both wood and glass.
4. “Cimeli di Famiglia, Bomboniere e Fotografie” — Family Heirlooms, Wedding Favors, and Photos
Let me get this straight: I wasn't able to retrieve any images that captured this Italian Christmas tradition at its best, though design and lifestyle influencer couple Chris Loves Julia's Christmas tree came as close to it as I could get. The idea is pretty straightforward: rather than purposefully going on the lookout for festive ornaments, in the past, some Italian families — and particularly, my grandparents' generation — got accustomed to decorating their Christmas tree with some of the shiniest, most heartfelt trinkets, heirlooms, jewelry, wedding favors, and framed photos they had hanging around the house year-round.
Temporarily repurposed as seasonal decor, these beloved objects and precious home additions — from miniature silverware spoons and passed-down toys to pearl necklaces, velvety ribbons, and more — suddenly gained a whole new function, becoming an active, twinkling protagonist of the Christmas life of their household.
With Pottery Barn unveiling its very own picture frame Christmas ornaments this year and plenty of other houses (we see you, Oliver Bonas and Crate and Barrell) getting in on the trend, and Chris Loves Julia themselves boasting spoon-shaped crystal drops, frames, and toy-like touches on their Christmas tree, it seems fair to say it: another old habit is back in vogue. And so, bring on your yellowed family portraits, bonus point if styled inside stunning Murano glass (spoiler: you can also use entire Murano glass sculptures), polish up your silver and gold, and if you haven't got anything to pull the trick, start collecting now: from Alighieri and Christofle to rising design disruptors, ferm LIVING, Natalia Criado and Completeworks' Anna Jewsbury, today's coolest craftsmanship houses have got something for all. No, this is not something only your nonna would do anymore.
5. “Decorazioni in Frutta Secca, Pigne e Agrumi” — Nuts, Pine Cones, and Citrus Fruit as Decor
Last but not least on this sustainability-aiding list of Italian Christmas ornaments (and traditions) is the simplest of them all: reframing the country's abundant citrus fruit, pine cones, and nuts as festive decor. This is something I have been doing with my own family for as long as I can recall, and while pine cones and dried nuts literally need to be arranged into serving dishes or bowls to exude that wintry atmosphere into the home, the orange, grapefruit, and lemon side of things is a little more fiddly — but certainly worth dedicating a DIY afternoon to.
To craft your own citrus Christmas decorations, simply slice your fruit of choice, pat each slice dry, and bake them on a low oven setting (around 200°F/90°C) for hours, flipping occasionally until dry but not brown, creating beautiful, fragrant slices for ornaments, garlands, or potpourri. My personal favorite side of it all is glazing each slice in melted candle wax, which gives each piece that magical, 'frosty' effect. Feeling lazy? We get it. Luckily for you, both Fortnum & Mason and Etsy have heaps of ready-made alternatives for you to pick from. So, will you able to beat the retro-fueled, maximalist aesthetic of Leben Riebe (aka @vintageholiday)'s Christmas tree this year, as seen above?
Before You Go, Buon Natale!
If there's anything we can all take home from this contemporary design revamp of the Italian Christmas traditions that defined my childhood, it's that, really, anything can be used to imbue your home with character this season — as long as it reflects who you are.
So forget the usual Italian Christmas ornaments and those used worldwide: from a Bauhaus-inspired, wheeled planter to a chrome-clad, multi-purpose, bold tray, Buchanan Studio's latest collab with Swiss, modernist storage colossus USM, the KISS-MAS collection, too, proves that, this Christmas, anything goes! Just make your voice and style be heard, and use what you have.
