2026 Trends: What's In, What's Out, and What Needs to be Gently Retired

After Bedtime with Big Little Feelings

Dear Media and Big Little Feelings

Big Little Feelings, Kids & Family, After Bedtime With Big Little Feelings, Deena Margolin, Kristin Gallant, After Bedtime, Parenting

4.5 • 5.8K Ratings

🗓️ 21 January 2026

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We’re back with one of our favorite episodes of the year: the trends of the year episode where we scour the internet for the hottest trends forecasted for 2026. Your resident besties, Kristin and Deena officially give the tired mom stamp of approval of which trends we're into, which ones are crazy AF and which trends need to be stopped, stat.

We’re talking:

• Fashion hot takes (including the audacity of the internet declaring leggings are dead 😭)

• The return of BIG bows (bigger. floppier. sadder??)

• The end of sad beige everything and the rise of serious color

• The AI takeover (journaling prompts, bedtime stories, “emotional support” bots… and why it gives us the ick)

• And the parenting trends we’re actually cheering for: less overscheduling, more sanity, more presence, more “we’re not doing this just to keep up.”

Plus: rapid fire “in or out,” voice notes vs texting, being offline as a flex, micro-rests, quitting activities, and the most freeing trend of all: you don’t owe anyone an explanation.

This episode is your permission slip to laugh, roll your eyes, and walk into 2026 like: I can do whatever the hell I want. (And yes, Deena is absolutely being sent a sad bow + Adidas tracksuit.)

This episode may contain paid endorsements and advertisements for products and services. Individuals on the show may have a direct, or indirect financial interest in products, or services referred to in this episode.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The following podcast is a Dear Media production.
0:04.8	Today is one of our favorite episodes of the year because it requires absolutely no credentials,
0:11.8	no degree, no emotional labor.
0:14.9	We are officially declaring this episode, the Supreme Court of Trends. We're talking what's in for 2026, what's already dead,
0:24.7	and what needs to be taken out back and gently retired. And just like past years, we have almost
0:31.2	no idea what we're talking about. Dean and I are not fashion gurus. We are not trend setters, nor are we really trend followers, although we
0:40.1	have talked about how I'm a little more of a trend follower. You are. I am. Like, I'm interested,
0:45.0	but I won't actually wear anything different than my leggings. You know what I mean?
0:49.4	Welcome to after bedtime, where the house is finally quiet, but the real noise begins. The thoughts, the
0:56.4	questions, the wondering if you're doing any of this right. We're Kristen and Dina, child behavior
1:01.9	experts, moms and co-founders of big little feelings, and we're not here to give you more
1:06.9	pressure or perfect parenting energy. Nope, we're here to tell the truth, the unfiltered,
1:12.5	beautiful, brutal truth about what it means to raise kids and re-raise ourselves in the process.
1:18.6	Because parenting isn't just about sleep schedules and snack hacks. It's about healing. It's about
1:23.5	breaking cycles. It's about becoming the kind of adult you want your kids to grow up to be.
1:28.6	This is the place where we say the quiet parts out loud, and we're so glad that you're here.
1:34.4	Dina, hi. Hi. Hi. I've got energy today. Oh, my God. Good for you.
1:40.2	Where did it come from? I don't know. How did we get it? I don't know. I was looking at pictures of my kids. I think that's where it came from. Whoa. I don't think that would work for me. I think I would feel like guilty and like I'm doing something wrong by being here. You know what it is too, actually? Tell me. Oh, sorry, I just didn't even respond to your feelings.
2:01.9	No, that's normal. Go ahead. It would be like asking me, like, how I'm doing. You know what I mean? It's never going to happen. Go ahead. It's never going to happen. I think I'm just really excited for the topic today. That's what it is. I'm hyped. You know what? Me too, actually. I actually feel that way too. This is a fun one.
2:19.9	Yeah. Whoa. Whoa. I don't feel that exhausted either. Yeah. Whoa. Wow. Whoa. The trend episode. Real quick, though, how are you today? I mean, but you're full of energy. That's good. Yeah. I, I, I, I, well, I was trying not to do the
2:38.2	thing where it's like, I'm good. You know, I'm like, how, well, how am I? Sometimes it takes me a
2:43.4	second to process. True. To get underneath to the real, the real stuff. Yeah. Why don't you go first?
	...

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