‘What do you mean there’s only three Mondays till Christmas?’ reads the text on Emily Henderson’s latest Instagram reel, debuting her 2025 holiday mantel. The look is every bit as charming and classic as you’d expect – save for a few delightfully off-script seasonal decisions. Hence the caption: ‘Anyone else having a playful, whimsical, Scandi, cozy, sentimental Christmas???’
We should certainly hope so. Scan left to right across Emily's generously sized, white-painted Christmas mantel, and you’ll spot ombré green tabletop trees and mossy flocked reindeer mingling with… blue. Yes – blue-embroidered Schoolhouse stockings and even a blue gingham bow tree topper from Anthropologie. The blue-and-green, rather than the usual red-and-green, gives these familiar festive motifs a much-needed refresh.
And it’s not just color – elsewhere, holiday classics see other sorts of shifts. Evergreen garland might line the mantle, but along the ceiling beams Emily has draped cascading wooden beads – a breezy, boho-adjacent Christmas trend we’ve been loving all season. The look echoes the wooden nutcrackers (from Michaels) anchoring each end, lending the whole room a handcrafted, faintly folkloric charm.
'You influenced me to buy those faux Target candles on your mantle and OMG they’re fab!’ one commenter gushes, referring to the ribbed LED tapers designed by Joanna Gaines for Target. Flickering in shiny silver holders, they set the stage for the most tender touch of all: Terrain’s Advent Stocking Garland, which Emily recently revealed she filled with candy and small ‘kindness prompts’ for her kids.
‘It’s not the ‘Ralph Lauren’ vibe I planned,’ she quips in her blog post – but this happy accident is so much more. Ahead, everything you need to surprise and delight your tartan–clad friends and re-create this slightly whimsical, slightly Scandinavian, fully charming holiday mood.
Get the Look
Emily’s beaded garland is one of the more ornate versions we’ve seen, its jewelry-like swags lending a grand, almost heirloom touch above her newly dark rose–painted antique-style mirror. Follow her lead by pairing it with something equally storied.
Those ombré-effect miniature Christmas trees are no longer available, but this origami-style captures the same mossy tone running through her modern holiday forest. And because it’s paper, it aligns with the honeycomb Christmas trees you may have clocked on her coffee table. Basically, we know Emily would approve.
Believe every bit of the hype around these taper candles. Several members of our team took the plunge (myself included), and we couldn’t be happier not swapping out melted wax halfway through a long night of entertaining. Also available in green.
Emily’s Christmas wreath is sadly sold out, as is the recommended replacement on her blog. This Wayfair find, however, is an elegant understudy, echoing her mix of organic eucalyptus sprigs for a fresher, airier feel this season.
You might be sensing a theme, but the blue gingham bow has sold out, too. Still, in the spirit of Emily’s unconventional palette, this ochre colorway is a smart pivot. It packs the same playful punch above a mantel mirror.
Greens, blues, and mid-tones like teal all make appearances in Emily’s eclectic stocking lineup, and this plush World Market option – complete with a tonal pom-pom and tassel that nod to the stacked silhouettes of her mantel-top trees – could easily pass as a cousin.
Not moss, but this powdery taupe hue shares the same soft, muted sensibility as the stags trotting along Emily’s mantel. Pick up a pair and let them stand guard – with whimsy – on either side.
December may already be underway, but there’s still time to enjoy the charmingly knitted dates on these 24 mini stockings – a dead ringer for Emily’s now sold-out Terrain style. Tuck a tiny surprise (a candy, a candle, a thoughtful note) into each to ring in the cheer just as she does.
Paint this standing soldier or leave the wood unfinished in all its grainy glory to mirror Emily’s natural moment – a laid-back look that runs through her beaded garland and the little wooden tree she fastened to her wreath.
If your inspiration hunt extends beyond Emily’s characterful Portland home, look to Waco, Texas, where Joanna Gaines has crafted another farmhouse mantel worth obsessing over. We broke down five JG-coded Christmas decorating lessons to help you replicate the magic.
