5 Festive Trends for Your Christmas Scrapbooking Projects This Year (2025 Edition)
It is that time of year again! The department stores have their decorations up, the carols are playing on the radio, and, most importantly for us crafters, the newest Christmas paper collections have hit the virtual shelves here at Papermaze.
For scrapbookers, Christmas isn't just a day; it is a season of storytelling. Whether you are rigorously planning a "December Daily" album, creating handmade cards for the entire office, or simply looking to scrap your family’s festive memories from years past, choosing the right paper sets the tone for your entire project.
2025 has brought us some absolutely stunning trends that move beyond the standard primary red and green. We are seeing a shift towards texture, nostalgia, and specifically Australian themes that reflect our hot summer holidays.
In this guide, we are diving deep into the top 5 Christmas scrapbooking paper trends we are seeing this season. We will explore how to use them, which photos they suit best, and how you can get the look for your layouts.
What are the Christmas Scrapbooking Trends for 2025?
If you are looking for a quick summary of what is hot right now, the 2025 festive season is defined by these five key aesthetics:
- Classic & Regal: Deep forest greens, rich cherry reds, and gold foil.
- Pastel Holiday: Soft pinks, mints, and icy blues for a modern touch.
- Vintage Nostalgia: 1950s retro illustrations and distressed textures.
- The Aussie Summer: Bright, sunny palettes featuring native flora and beach themes.
- Shimmer & Shine: Heavy use of holographic foil and non-shedding glitter.
Let’s break these down so you can decide which vibe fits your memories best.
1. The Classics Return: Traditional Red, Green, and Gold
You can never go wrong with a classic. However, in 2025, the traditional palette has had a "grown-up" makeover. We are moving away from the bright, cartoonish reds and lime greens of the past decade. Instead, we are seeing a return to sophistication.
The Colour Palette: Think deep, rich burgundy and cherry reds paired with dark hunter or forest greens. The key accent this year is gold, specifically, hot-foiled gold details that catch the light.
Best Used For: This trend is perfect for documenting formal family traditions. If you have photos of a beautifully set dinner table, the family dressed in their "Sunday Best," or evening photos taken by the glow of the Christmas tree, this is the paper for you.
Pro Tip: When using these darker, richer colours, balance is essential. Use a cream or off-white cardstock as your base rather than stark white. The cream tone complements the warmth of the gold foil and deep reds, creating a cohesive, heritage look.
2. Dreaming of a Pastel Christmas: Pink and Mint Palettes
Who says Christmas has to be dark? The "Pastel Christmas" trend (often called "Candy Cane Lane" or "Sugarplum") is bigger than ever this year. This trend embraces the fun, whimsical side of the season.
The Colour Palette: Visualise a jar of festive lollies. We are talking soft blush pinks, icy mint greens, sky blues, and creamy whites. The patterns are often playful, think dancing gingerbread men, pink stockings, and candy stripes.
Best Used For: This palette is fantastic for capturing the excitement of children. It pairs beautifully with photos of bright, sunlit morning unwrapping sessions. It is also a favourite for "December Daily" albums because the lighter colours make it easy to write journaling directly onto the paper without needing a separate label.
Design Idea: Try mixing a "mint" monochromatic layout. Use three different sheets of mint-patterned paper to create layers, and use a pop of pink only for your title and embellishments. It’s fresh, modern, and looks amazing in an album.
3. Vintage Nostalgia: Retro Santas and Aged Textures
Nostalgia is having a huge moment in 2025. In a digital world, we are craving the comfort of the past. Paper designers have responded with collections that feel like they have been pulled straight out of a 1950s time capsule.
The Aesthetic: These papers feature specific mid-century illustrations, cheeky retro Santas with winking eyes, vintage glass ornaments (the "onion" shape), deer with bows, and classic mid-century typography. The papers often come with "distressed" or textured backgrounds, giving your layouts an instant heritage feel without you needing to use inks or mixed media techniques to age them manually.
Best Used For: Obviously, these are perfect for heritage photos, perhaps scrapping a photo of your grandparents from the 60s. However, they also look incredibly cute with modern photos of kids meeting Santa, creating a bridge between generations.
4. The Aussie Summer: Sun, Sand, and Santa
Here in Australia, we don't do snow. We do prawns, pools, and cricket. For a long time, it was hard to find scrapbook paper that reflected our reality, but 2025 is the year of the Aussie Christmas collection.
The Colour Palette: These collections swap the forest green for teal and turquoise (like the ocean) and the deep red for bright coral and watermelon. You will find motifs like Santa in boardshorts, surfboards, native gumnuts and proteas, and kangaroos wearing Santa hats.
Best Used For: These are essential for your Christmas Day photos. If your Christmas involves a BBQ, a swim in the pool, or a trip to the beach, a "Snowy Winter" paper collection just looks wrong next to the photos. Use these Aussie collections to authentically tell your story.
5. Shine Bright: Using Foiled and Glittered Specialty Papers
Finally, Christmas is the one time of year you can go all out with sparkle! This year’s collections are heavy on specialty details. We are stocking papers with beautiful raised foil accents (in silver, gold, and even rose gold) and non-shedding glitter cardstock.
Why You Need Them: These sheets work perfectly as "hero" backgrounds. A piece of navy blue cardstock with silver foil stars doesn't need much decoration, it is the decoration. They are also perfect for cutting apart to create shimmering embellishments or titles.
How to Mix and Match Christmas Collections
One of the most common questions we see is: "Can I mix papers from different companies?"
The answer is yes, but you need a strategy. In 2025, many brands release "Mix and Match" pads, but if you are doing it yourself, follow these rules:
- Match the Tone: Don't mix a "Vintage/Distressed" paper with a "Clean/Modern" graphic paper. Even if the colours match, the style will clash.
- Check the White: Check the background colour. Some papers are bright, blue-white, while others are warm, creamy-white. Mixing these two can make the cream paper look dirty. Stick to one "white" temperature.
- The Power of Solids: The glue that holds mismatched patterns together is solid cardstock. If you are mixing a busy floral from Brand A with a stripe from Brand B, separate them with a layer of solid red or green cardstock.
Get Your Festive Fix at Papermaze
Ready to start your holiday crafting? Whether you love the vintage look, want to rock a modern pastel palette, or need the perfect Aussie papers for your beach photos, we have curated the best of 2025 for you.
Don't wait until December 25th to start buying, the popular collections (especially the vintage and Aussie themes) always sell out fast!
Shop Our Christmas Paper Collection Here
