Gen Z won’t be dreaming about a beige Christmas this year.
Lifeless minimalism — spearheaded by millennial influencers who designed their decor and wardrobes to fit the aesthetic of their Instagram feed — is now falling to the wayside thanks to Gen Z, who are desperately seeking the spark of joy that comes from a “more is more” approach.
Among them, a TikTok user named Avery has decided she will not be staging her home like a “Crate and Barrel showroom,” and instead has her eye on “nostalgic” Christmas: obnoxious multicolor lights, eclectic, mismatched ornaments and tinsel so shiny it could almost be considered tacky.
“I have decided that I will not be participating in minimalist, beige Christmas this year,” the Washington state resident declared in a TikTok video, which earned 1.2 million views.
While it can be “simple” and “pretty” — or a discreet ode to the holidays even post-festivities, as one commenter pointed out — the millennial minimalism is just not “giving enough” for her taste.
One of the most prominent proponents of sandy beige minimalism is none other than Kim Kardashian, who was criticized for her lackluster holiday decor last year while showing off her simplistic twinkling tree motif throughout her house.
“The theme this year is nostalgic, early 2000s Christmas,” Avery continued, alongside a photo of a teetering tree loaded with ornaments of varying colors and sizes, haphazard tinsel and drenched in the blinding, reddish-orange glow of the technicolor bulbs.
Akin to the kitschy tannenbaums of cult favorite flicks “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” or “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” the gaudiness is cozy and familiar.
“I think it’s the coziness that comes with decorating in a way that it looks like someone lives there and it’s not a Crate and Barrel showroom that just draws me to the colorful lights and the random wrapping paper,” the TikToker explained, adding that she would be incorporating a “vintage” flare by way of knit stockings on the mantel.
Her preference for overly saturated decor to usher in the season shocked even herself, she claimed.
“If you done told me I was going to do rainbow lights on my house a few years ago, I would have laughed at you,” she said. “But I’m obsessed with these. I feel like these are so Christmas, they’re so fun and they just put me in the holiday spirit.”
While “it’s not necessarily the most aesthetic look in the world,” Avery said, she still touted her impressive string of multicolored lights strewn across her bushes and roof in another clip.
“2000s Christmas feels like home,” one viewer agreed in the comments.
“My Christmas aesthetic is as tacky has possible and I love it,” lauded another.
“My ornaments don’t match at all but they all mean something. Things we like, gifted, milestones in our life. It’s so much more special and personal,” explained one TikToker.
“I love love love maximalist Christmas,” another cheered.
The overwhelming preference for vibrance and color aligns with the younger generation’s attraction to bright hues and patterns.
One interior design savant noted that Zoomers are drawn to the colorful covers of Assouline coffee table books, pastel-hued squiggle mirrors and cow print.