IKEA has been a festive treasure trove when it comes to Christmas lighting this year – and these are my favourite quirky picks to add some whimsy to your festive decor.

Folk-style decor has emerged as one of the biggest Christmas trends for 2026, and IKEA’s Christmas lighting collections have been one of the best places to shop for this style. However, there are also a few more ‘quirky’ options on sale that are perfect for achieving a traditional yet individual look.

From a glowing paper snowman to a light-up wooden reindeer, here are the IKEA lights that will inject personality into your Christmas decorating ideas this year.

It’s no secret that I’ve been loving IKEA’s Christmas decorations this year. Their LED Christmas tree is a brilliant alternative to one of the best artificial Christmas trees if you’re short on space, while their range of fairy lights, paper stars and novelty lighting options means every style is well catered to.

My top pick is the Battery-Operated Reindeer (£12), which, like Rudolph, has a glowing red nose. Its wood finish makes this piece of decor look like a traditional children’s toy. It’s playful, festive and fun, perfect for adding the finishing touches to your decor. Alternatively, here are the rest of my six picks.

If you still need whimsical inspiration, here are a few more quirky designs I’ve found that you can shop online.

Alternatives

It may only be October, but IKEA has me excited for hanging those Christmas lights.

The autumn weather can turn your hallway into a mess. And as someone who went years without proper shoe storage, I can tell you that constantly tripping over shoes and mopping up muddy footprints gets boring fast. That’s where clever products like the Argos Home 2 Shelf Stackable Shoe Rack (£7 at Argos) can help.

Yes, one thing I know for certain is you can’t keep a hallway consistently tidy without storage solutions that work for your entryway and your needs, and narrow hallways with limited space like mine suit small-space-friendly shoe storage solutions best. However, these space-savvy options also often limit the number of shoes you can store – which isn’t always practical if you have a big family, like to host or just love shoes (guilty!).

That’s why this Argos shoe rack is so clever. Not only does it give muddy shoes a home over the wetter months, but the stackable design means it can ‘grow’ as and when you need it. This means that you can tailor it to your space AND your shoes throughout the autumn months and beyond.

At just £7, this shoe rack is ridiculously affordable, which is great for your bank account. But this bargain price also means that it’s not quite on the same aesthetic level as the prettier shoe racks on the market.

However, I’m a firm believer that shoe storage works best when it offers function over form, as attractive shoe racks often focus too much on looks and sacrifice usable space. But the Argos Home 2 Shelf Stackable Shoe Rack offers a compact design that’ll suit a smaller hallway, while also letting you expand it if needed.

That’s because this shoe rack features a stackable design for those who want to keep more than six pairs of shoes tidy this autumn. For example, if you wanted to stop 12 pairs of muddy shoes from cluttering up your hallway, you can buy two and slot them together using the dowels in the four vertical pieces of wood.

If you need even more space, you can buy a third or maybe even a fourth and simply slot them on top of each other to keep them secure. And making the most of vertical space is one of the techniques the pros swear by when organising a smaller room or hallway.

Plus, I wouldn’t say it was unattractive. The natural pine look is a neutral design choice that suits any hallway decor, and you can paint it if you’re so inclined. This means it’s a very customisable way to autumn-proof your hallway, add extra storage to your entryway, or even add to the bottom of your wardrobe or tuck it into your under-the-stairs cupboard.

Don’t just take my word for it, either. This £7 Argos shoe rack is one of the retailer’s biggest sellers, and at the time of writing, the Argos Home 2 Shelf Stackable Shoe Rack has over 3,500 reviews with an average star rating of 4.2 out of 5.

One happy customer wrote, ‘I bought three of them. They’re an absolute bargain,’ and another raved, ‘Great value simple shoe rack. Easy to assemble, sturdy enough. We have it in a rear porch for gardening shoes, walking boots, etc. It holds plenty of pairs.’

A small minority haven’t been as positive about the quality, though, so bear that in mind if you’re looking to organise your hallway this autumn.

It’s a great, affordable option for muddy shoes, as long as you appreciate that it is definitely on the cheaper side of the market. But if you’re willing to splash a bit more cash, I have popped some alternatives below, too.

For just £7, though, I think the stackable Argos shoe rack is my winner!

Yes, you read that right. Victoria Beckham has launched her first range of homeware. This is the fashion designer’s first foray into the world of homeware, launched in collaboration with German retailer Westwing, a brand which landed in the UK earlier this year. The Victoria Beckham x Westwing tableware collection focuses on tableware spanning 29 products with prices starting from £54.99, and it is available to shop online now – so run, don’t walk.

Known for her pared-back yet refined style, Victoria’s aesthetic can be more easily described as ‘quiet luxury’. Victoria’s restrained, elevated style comes across in her fashion line, as well as her homes – and as one would expect, it’s also reflected across her new tableware range, which is also far more affordable than Victoria’s ready-to-wear brand. Released just in time for the start of hosting season, the art of hosting is exactly what inspired this range, as Victoria loves to entertain.

Here at Ideal Home, we’ve long been fans of the Beckhams’ home design, especially when it comes to their several kitchens – from their modern, glossy New York kitchen to the dark and moody London kitchen design.

‘Home is where some of life’s most meaningful moments happen, and this collaboration felt like a natural way to explore that world through the same lens of design, craftsmanship and attention to detail that defines everything we do as a brand,’ Victoria says.

What to expect from the range

The art of hosting was the overarching theme of this collection, which is why the range spans tableware, glassware and table linen, with the addition of some glass vases to decorate your table.

The aesthetic of the tableware is classic and timeless, as is expected from a designer like Victoria Beckham. The colour palette of whites and a hint of dark green is almost secondary, as the contrast between materials is the focus – hammered stainless steel against off-white porcelain, transparent glass sitting next to (or on top of) linen.

Everything in the offering is carefully thought through, down to the packaging which makes the pieces into the perfect gifts. Every product comes in an olive green box with velvet interior finish, bearing Victoria’s and Westwing’s names on top.

The two brands quote the Arts and Crafts movement of 19th-century Britain as an inspiration, defined by the rejection of mass production and the appreciation of tradition, craftsmanship and natural forms which is evident in the shell-shaped Isla butter dishes and salt and pepper pots which are among my top picks from the range.

But aside from this, Victoria’s fashion background comes through in the designs, especially in the Dover plates and table linen adorned with a jewellery-like chain motif.

Top picks

This collection is all about serving your culinary creations in style and enjoy coming together with family and/or friends, whether it’s over a Sunday roast dinner – which is apparently a must every week in the Beckham household – or something more experimental.

If fallen leaves are making a mess of your garden right now, you may be interested in the fact that Lidl is dropping an affordable leaf blower in stores this week – it’s less than £30.

Gardeners say owning one of the best leaf blowers instead of a rake is like owning a vacuum cleaner instead of a broom. In short, it makes garden maintenance faster and easier, saving you time and effort in the long run.

If you’ve been looking for a leaf blower to remove leaves from your lawn, at £26.99, Lidl’s Parkside Leaf Blower is one of the most affordable I’ve spotted.

It’s true that some of the best lawn mowers can also collect leaves as you mow, even turning them into mulch (one of the best ways to reuse fallen leaves), but this isn’t always handy when leaves have fallen *everywhere* in your garden. And this is when you’ll benefit from a leaf blower.

The Lidl Parkside Leaf Blower offers three-in-one functions. It’s a blower and vacuum and has an integrated shredding function. It holds up to 34L of leaves, and the shredding function means leaf volume is reduced.

It claims to have quick and easy leaf collection due to the blower’s high suction volume of up to 12 m³ per minute. It also has a two-stage rotation speed control, offering speeds up to 270 km per hour. What this means is that you will have a clear, tidy garden in minimal time and effort compared to if you were using a standard rake.

At £26.99, what I will say is that you can expect the Lidl leaf blower to be a fairly basic model. It’s incredibly affordable, but because of this, don’t expect to have the same fancy features or level of power as other models on the market.

In fact, if you’re looking for a budget leaf blower that we’ve tried and recommend, you should consider the VonHaus 2-in-1 Leaf Blower, Vacuum and Mulcher, £44.99. Used by Ideal Home’s Senior Digital Editor, Jenny McFarlane, she swears by its ability as an excellent blower, vacuum and shredder. It’s lightweight, ideal for average-sized gardens, and can hold 35 litres of leaves at once.

The Lidl Parkside Leaf Blower lands in store on Sunday (18 October) and will only be available to shop in-store. If you do not have a local Lidl, here are a few more options where you can shop online.

Investing in a leaf blower can make tidying your garden easier in the autumn months.