Viewers have TikTok to thank for a lot of things; from make-up hacks to Halloween costume inspiration, users on the social media platform have been inspiring others for the best part of five years. Now, users are turning to the most romantic of holidays to upgrade its aesthetics. Move over roses and candles, because here comes the Valentine’s Day tree.
Yes, you read that right. Users across TikTok and Instagram are decorating trees in a similar ilk to those of Christmas trees, only this time with pink colour palettes and saccharine-style decorations. Where baubles are swapped for pink and red hearts, and tinsel swapped for organza and roses, crackers and Christmas chocolates make way for heart-shaped sweets and Valentine’s chocolates.
Jennifer Houghton, a blogger, designer who runs her 717,000 follower-strong Instagram account @turtlecreeklane from her home in Dallas, first decorated her Valentine’s tree five years ago: “I was so tired from Christmas, and I was just like, ‘Ugh, I don’t want to take this down!’” Houghton told The New York Times.
“With lockdown especially, people are hungry for anything that will bring joy into their home,” she added. “We’re spending a lot more time in our homes, so there’s this need, this want, to make our homes as joyful as possible.”
Another user, Sami Riccioli, an interior designer from Pennsylvania and owner of “The Never Ending Christmas Tree” (or so says her Instagram bio), has got so into her decorative trees that she repurposes them throughout the year, depending on the holiday.
She told The New York Times that no plans to take her trees down after Feb. 14, and that she’ll instead decorate them accordingly for St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, and Halloween. “After I did that first Valentine’s tree, I said, ‘It wasn’t just going to be Valentine’s Day,’” said Riccioli “‘I’m going to keep the tree here and keep decorating it.’”
Whilst the trend has mainly spread across the U.S, where the Hallmark holidays tend to be more of a bigger occasion, the UK isn’t completely immune to the allure of a saccharine sapling. Samantha Fitzsimmon, a beautician from Liverpool, told Mail Online in 2020 that she’d spent £2,000 on Champagne decorations for her 7.5ft green faux fir instead of going away for the weekend.
Meanwhile, Heather James from Derbyshire has kept her tree up all year round, redecorating with each significant holiday after her son told her he wished it “could be Christmas because everyone’s happy then.”
“Why take down something that makes us so joyous?” James added. Why indeed.
