27 Hand-Painted Ornaments to Dress Valletta's Christmas Tree

Valletta's Christmas tree will carry 27 hand-painted ornaments this year, each one drawn from a Maltese childhood memory. Henry Galea has revealed the first decoration for Is-Siġra tan-Nanna 2026, the Christmas tree concept inspired by the Malta of the 1980s and 1990s.

Galea is working alongside Jason Zerafa and Ryan Pillow on the project. He explained that the trio wanted to create something completely different from last year's tree.

How the 27 ornaments were chosen

The method was simple and personal. Each of the three creators chose nine things that remind them of their childhood and Maltese traditions. The result is 27 special ornaments, hand-painted by local artists.

The first ornament comes from Mediterranean Ceramics, a local studio. It pays tribute to the Maltese Carnival.

In an emotional video, Galea explained that Carnival has been part of his life since he was just three years old. He recalled a childhood surrounded by costumes and preparations.

He also dedicated the decoration to his late loved one, Enzo, who, alongside Galea's mother, had been deeply involved in Carnival.

"For me, it will be a reminder of Enzo," Galea said, visibly moved.

What happens over the next 12 days?

For the next 12 days, a new ornament will be unveiled every day at noon. The reveals will run across the social media profiles of Galea, Zerafa, Pillow and The Tiny Traditions.

That schedule leaves 26 more designs still to be revealed after the first Carnival tribute. Each daily unveiling gives the public a staged introduction to the full set before the tree itself becomes the focus of Valletta's Christmas season.

What does this change for visitors to Valletta? It turns the annual tree from a single spectacle into a month-long narrative, built day by day on social media before anyone stands in front of the finished object.

A tree built from memory

The concept places personal and communal history at the centre of the capital's festive decorations. Instead of generic seasonal ornamentation, Is-Siġra tan-Nanna 2026 draws on three individual inventories of childhood: traditions, memories and the people associated with them.

The commissioning of local artists to hand-paint each piece also roots the project in Malta's contemporary craft scene, giving the tree a second layer of local authorship beyond its designers' recollections.

With 26 designs still under wraps, Malta's Christmas tree is shaping up to be a celebration of the island's traditions, memories and the people who keep them alive. The daily noon reveals, running across four social media profiles, will determine how much of that celebration reaches the public before the tree itself arrives in Valletta.