Flocking for the Holidays
For decades, flocked Christmas décor and wrappings have played a major role sprucing up homes, offices, and other spaces for the holidays. 2023 is no different, except this year, flocking is bigger than ever.
In Big Box stores such as Michaels and Target, flocked Christmas trees are this year’s hot item. But unlike the flocked trees of decades past - which began with a live tree, a spray can of flocking and a steady hand - 2023’s flocked trees arrive in store ready to take home and decorate. Like Santa on Christmas Eve, it’s as if a tiny winter storm crept silently into your neighborhood Walmart late one cold October night and left a small stand of trees brimming with snowy branches.
The team from AFA recently toured neighborhood stores in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina and found Christmas décor departments stocked with flock! This includes flocked wrapping paper, greeting cards, bows, and ribbons. All are examples of roll-to-roll flocked goods and the chances are very high that you – dear reader -- currently own one or more big, red, flocked Christmas bow.
Object flocking also remains a holiday staple. An example is this flocked Reindeer (in the photo below) found this December at a Home Goods store in Raleigh, North Carolina. Nearly any object can be flocked and several AFA members who manufacture flocked objects can easily make items such as this and can do that here in the USA.
Flocked holiday decorations have become so ubiquitous that you might not even notice them anymore. It’s like neighborhood trees, stars in the sky or sidewalks at a local strip mall. We know it’s all there, but each has become such a steady, reliable part of life, we stop noticing.
At the same time, we love the way flocking can bring an ornament to life or add an elegant dimension of texture to a beautiful bow. So, look around. Right now, flocking is everywhere, and the holidays simply wouldn’t be the same without it!