Saw our Friendsmas or ski club trend alert on Instagram or TikTok? Here's the full brief. Every week we share two print on demand trends that are working right now, the same briefs our own template creators design from, plus free templates you can open and make your own.
The short version: This week's trend briefs are Friendsmas (matching tees and party invites for the friend group) and retro ski club sweatshirts (made-up ski clubs with a founding year). Both are rising fast, both have free template packs on Playground, and both should be listed by December 1.
Updated October 28, 2026.
This week's trend alerts (week of October 26, 2026)
This week's two print on demand trend alerts are Friendsmas tees and retro ski club sweatshirts. Friendsmas rides a huge jump in searches for personalized friend gifts, and ski club sweatshirts sell from Black Friday all the way into March. Each brief covers what's working, the design rules and a free template pack.
Trend brief: what is Friendsmas?
Friendsmas is Christmas with your friends instead of your family, and it's the biggest gift jump of the season. Searches for personalized friend gifts on Etsy are up 1,400% compared to last year. Sellers are making matching tees for the friend group, Friendsmas party invites, and cookie swap or white elephant designs.
What's working right now: friend group crew tees with the year, each friend drawn as a different cookie or ornament, Friendsmas party invites, and cookie swap or white elephant jokes. Shoppers are searching "friendsmas party," "friendsmas invitation" and "best friend matching christmas shirts."
The vibe: cozy, funny and a little chaotic, like the best holiday party your friends ever threw. Warm colors, cute characters and everyone's name on it.
The formula:
- A solid flat background in forest, cranberry, cream, navy or blush.
- Room for names or a crew name, kept as editable text. Personalization is the whole point here.
- Small characters that repeat once per friend, like cookies, mugs, ornaments or even pets.
- Three or four flat colors with simple shapes (they print cleaner and look less AI-made).
Ideas to try: a crew name with the year, a pajama party version, or one design that works as both the group tee and the party invite. Skip TV friend-group quotes and licensed characters, though. Those get listings pulled.
Our gut check: would the group chat order one for everyone?
Open the free Friendsmas template pack →
Our favorites to start from: Happy Friendsmas, I Stole Your Gift (perfect for the white elephant crowd), Our Friendsmas Tradition, Friendsmas All-Stars and Ugly Sweater, Pretty Friends. All free to edit with a Playground account.
Trend brief: what are retro ski club sweatshirts?
Retro ski club sweatshirts look like something you picked up at a lodge gift shop in 1987: a made-up club or town name, a founding year and one simple mountain icon. Mall brands just dropped ski club tees, and searches climb in December, then peak again in February, so this one sells all winter long.
What's working right now: varsity club crests with crossed skis and a year, ski town names on ringer tees, apres club and cocoa club jokes, and little Fair Isle or chevron details. Shoppers are typing "ski club sweatshirt vintage," "retro ski sweatshirt," "ski lodge sweatshirt" and "apres ski sweatshirt women."
The vibe: collegiate type, a little mountain and a club that never existed. Cozy and nostalgic, and good all winter, not just at Christmas. Don't sleep on that February peak. Most holiday designs are done by December 26, and this one keeps going.
The formula:
- Varsity or vintage serif type, arched or stacked, with a founding year.
- One simple icon: crossed skis, a peak, a gondola or a pine tree.
- Two or three colors on cream, navy, forest, burgundy or light grey. Think screenprint, not photo.
- An invented club, lodge or town name. Never a real resort or ski brand.
Ideas to try: one template, five ski towns (change the club name and year five times and you've got a mini collection). Snowboard and sledding versions, a "fireside club," or matching sets for a family ski trip all work too.
Our gut check: would someone wear it on the drive up the mountain?
Open the free ski club template pack →
Our favorites to start from: Apres Everything Ski Club, Frost Hollow, Ski Later, Meet Me at the Lodge and One More Run. All free to edit with a Playground account.
How do you turn a trend brief into a listing on Playground?
Turning a trend brief into a listing on Playground takes about ten minutes. Open one of the trend's free templates in the design editor, change the words and colors to make it your own, clean up the background, and export a print-ready file for your print provider. Every step happens in the same editor.
- Click any template link on this page and sign up free to open it in the Playground design editor.
- Change the name, year or phrase, and nudge the colors until it feels like your shop.
- Use Remove Background in the editor's tool panel for a transparent file, then run it through Upscale (4x) so it prints crisp.
- Export and upload it to your print provider.
Can you sell designs made from these trend templates?
Yes, you can sell designs made from these trend templates with a Playground Pro plan, which includes the commercial license. Editing the templates is free with a Playground account. When you're ready to list on Etsy, Shopify or your print provider, Pro covers the selling side for $12 a month billed annually.
That's one plan for every trend we post, every week. Jump on a trend early and you'll probably list a few versions of it (a tee, a sweatshirt, maybe a matching set), so it pays for itself fast if even one design takes off. See Playground Pro plans.
How do Playground's trend alerts work?
Playground's trend alerts come from a weekly scan of what big retailers just launched, what shoppers are searching for and what's selling on Etsy. We only pick trends that are still rising and have enough time left to sell, then our creators design fresh, original templates for each one.
We share every alert as a quick carousel on Instagram and TikTok. Comment TREND on any of those posts and we'll send you the latest alert, with every past alert in one place.
More trend alerts
These are still worth a look, especially anything with a December list-by date. Our full write-ups on pink Christmas shirts and western tees and funny cat stickers are great next reads.
Week of October 19, 2026
- Personalized Christmas ornaments. Names, pets and "first Christmas" designs. Browse ornament templates.
- Matching family Christmas shirts. The top Christmas shirts right now are personalized family sets. Browse family Christmas templates, and see our holiday personalization ideas.
- Mallard and fishing club tees. Duck season plus the southern boutique look. Browse mallard templates.
- Christmas wrapping paper patterns. The longest runway of any holiday product, with searches peaking the week before Christmas. Browse wrapping paper patterns.
Earlier in October
- Western tees and country Christmas tees. Browse western templates and our Christmas design ideas.
Frequently asked questions
How often does Playground post trend alerts?
Every week. Each week gets its own trend alert post with two new trend briefs, free template packs and a list-by date for each trend.
Are the trend templates free?
Yes. Every template in our trend packs is free to open and edit with a Playground account. Selling the designs you make needs a Playground Pro plan, which includes the commercial license.
How does Playground pick which trends to post?
We scan new retail launches, rising searches and Etsy best sellers every week, and only post trends that are still growing and have enough time left to sell before their peak.
How do I get trend alerts as soon as they drop?
Follow Playground on Instagram or TikTok and comment TREND on any trend alert post. We'll send you a link to the latest trend alert, with every past one in the same place.
When should I list designs from this week's trends?
List Friendsmas and retro ski club designs by December 1. Each trend brief includes a list-by date so your listings have time to get noticed before the peak.
Found one you love? Open this week's templates free, make them yours, and get them listed. We'll be back next week with fresh trends.