Are big baubles really better? (2024)

The humble bauble is having a moment. Giant versions of the classic Christmas decoration have rolled into this year’s festivities like James’s Giant Peach or Violet Beauregarde when she blew up into a roly-poly blueberry in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

In the past, we’ve decked our trees with glinting balls (a modest 4-6cm) picked up in handy packs of twelve alongside the weekly shop.

Now, that just won’t do. A 10cm bauble is considered the norm, and if your tree can withstand something more giganteum, then what are you waiting for.

These beauties are more than three times the size of the traditional bauble – bigger, better, bowling into our sitting rooms to steal the limelight from the Christmas fairy.

‘There’s been a shift in Christmas decor- it’s bold, glam and that’s embodied by the statement bauble,’ says interior designer Abigail Ahern.

‘Supersized pieces for interiors have been a trend for a long time now, whether its art, or giant size lamps and now its filtered down to baubles,’ she adds.

Anyone out and about doing their Christmas shopping in recent weeks will have noticed their presence on the High Street.

Manchester’s Arndale centre is twinkling away with purple and turquoise lofty balls. London’s Carnaby Street is sporting a ginormous gaudy pink patchwork disco bauble. Kew Gardens is positively gleaming with gorgeously cheering baubles. Petersham Nurseries, in Richmond shines like a bubble-filled grotto.

Why has our beloved bauble gone plus-sized?

They are a quick, festive fix, says Ahern. ‘Not only do they instantly exude a sense of style they take trees or mantles or anything you plonk them on from average to noteworthy in a second’. No need to worry about how you are going to rejuvenate your sitting room for that drinks party with the neighbours.

Natalia Matveeva, head florist at London’s recently refurbished Lanesborough says people want to be impressed. In other words, decorations should make an impact and an easy way to achieve that is with scale.

Jilly Mattley, who set up Essentially Christmas Decorating with her business partner Anya Banks (essentiallychristmasdecorating.co.uk) and this year did decorations for footballer Jamie Vardy and has in the past done them for Jude Law, has used big baubles all over the place. Even in church, at St Mary’s in Marylebone, which must be quite a distraction for the congregation.

She says they look wonderful in barn or chapel conversions where they can be hung from the beams to accentuate the lovely high ceilings. But they can work in modest homes, too, and even replace a traditional Christmas tree. Just roll a sizeable bauble into the corner, and stick the presents round it. Certainly saves on the faff of sweeping up prickly pine needles.

Mattley supplies huge baubles for around £140. If you want to make a statement next year, book your bauble now (the sky’s almost the limit).

Her clients, who spend anything from £1500-£3000 for a tree, wreath and outdoor decoration, like to go large at Christmas. When I spoke to her, she was installing a herd of wicker reindeer (each 1 metre tall) with added fake snow, ‘so they look as if they have just arrived from the North Pole’, at a family home in Slough.

It isn’t all over the top. In general, decorations are emulating the current fashion for cool, clean interiors and there is a lot of soothing silver, grey and graphite around this season.

Petersham Nurseries has an enchanting selection of stylish silvery baubles. Their Flower and Leaf design is particularly lovely – and a head-turning 25cm (£45, petershamnurseries.com). They also have a mighty 28cm glass pinecone in silver (£35). Monster but magical.

You can still pick up jumbo balls with your mince pies. Sainsbury’s sells 9.5cm ones (£3, sainsburys.co.uk). Tesco has a vintage CocaCola bauble, which comes in at a portly 10cm (£3.75, tesco.com).

If you have yet to decorate - and are planning on slinging thundering great baubles on your Christmas tree, then use the biggest at the bottom, to stop an almighty toppling over. Ahern recommends using them sparingly, ‘Rather than dozens of smaller ones dotted all over, opt for a limited number of large supersized ones. They will look far more dramatic.’

Clare Sprigings, Selfridges Christmas buyer agrees. ‘The bigger you go, the less you need. It’s a more modern take on decorating.’

But if, like me, you couldn’t resist buying heaps of luxuriously large baubles and you have a small tree, then don’t limit yourself to its branches, a glitzy ball will catch the light beautifully in a window or could make the centerpiece for your table.

‘There’s a trend for using baubles in other areas of the home – windows, hallways, dining tables and these large sizes don’t get lost in a room unlike smaller ones,’ says Malin Hjelte-Lewis, Buyer for Christmas Decorations at Habitat.

I like paper baubles - especially the beautifully folded origami sort - which have the considerable benefit of being light enough to strew around without worrying about a startling crash in the middle of the night as your bauble parts company with whatever was holding it up. Plus they can be used year round.

Festive looking red honeycomb paper decorations are available from Little Cupcake Boxes (£12.99, littlecupcakeboxes.co.uk). And John Lewis has the red joy giant honeycomb bauble, which is a whopping 63cm and in the sale, (£12, johnlewis.com).

The pretty, patterned paper star floral light from Heals will casts a warming glow throughout the year, (£40,heals.com). While the paper star geometric light will give you that desirable Scandinavian look (£40). We hang one above the dining table on Christmas Day.

If you are after something more structural and contemporary, then West Elm has what they call geo mirrored objects (from £29.95, westelm.co.uk) which can be displayed indoors or out and look fabulous lit-up when powered by a battery operated light – not a candle, they warn.

If burly baubles have made the rest of your festive display look somewhat lacking, then you will be glad to hear that wreaths have beefed up too.

At Abigail Ahern’s fake florist in Heal’s, on London’s Tottenham Court Road, stonking great wreaths have been flying out of the door. The chef Ottolenghi ordered several 130cm colossuses for his restaurant, Nopi. ‘They are pretty amazing’ says head florist, Gemma Ahern. She's right. Wreaths start from £125, (abigailahern.com).

‘Just be warned’, says Abigail, ‘once you've converted there is no going back to the itty bitty baubles’.