Now it’s December, we can really bring out the Christmas nail art ideas!  I’ve got ten different Christmas themed designs that will make your nails look awesome this holiday season… Click on each image or the link to get tips and a list of polishes and tools needed to create your own!

Christmas nail art ideas

Christmas nail art ideas

Snowflake Nail Art

At this time of year, everyone (in the northern hemisphere) is thinking of snow and how beautiful it can make everything look.  It might be a pain if you actually want to go anywhere, but it makes great nail art!

Using the Picture Polish seasonal edition Winter, I created this easy stamped design which reverses the colours out for a feature nail or two.

Picture Polish Winter snowflake nail art left hand

Picture Polish Winter snowflake nail art left hand

For a slightly more involved design, you can increase the layers of stamping in icy colours to make a snowstorm on your tips…

Frozen snowflake nail with layered stamping

Frozen snowflake nail with layered stamping

Christmas Tree Nail Art

If you liked layering up your stamping, this takes it to another level.  For a realistic Christmas Tree nail art design, I built up polishes, glitter and stamping for this design, but it’s really worth it.

Christmas tree nail art with layers of stamping

Christmas tree nail art with layers of stamping

For a more minimalist approach, and for those wanting to look at freehand rather than stamping, these Christmas Tree nails are super chic.  The light grey base keeps it cool, but the metallic flakie design makes is festive… give it a go!

Minimalist Christmas Tree Nail Art design

Minimalist Christmas Tree Nail Art design

Candy canes

The red and white stripes of candy cane are really festive, and I love making a hot chocolate with a candy cane stirrer. It makes the perfect peppermint hot chocolate!  But back to the nail art… Stripes aren’t my strong point, but this candy cane design teamed with a textured polish is a winner:

Candy Cane striped nail art on textured polish from Zoya

Candy Cane striped nail art on textured polish from Zoya

Snowman nail art design

If you want to practice your freehand skills, this snowman will test you!  The shading is what makes this design so effective, so keep the design to one feature nail to make it easier on yourself.

Freehand snowman nail art design

Freehand snowman nail art design

Reindeer nails

More freehand, but a lot more cartoonish and fun – I think this design is a bit easier to achieve than the snowman. The hoofprints are a really nice touch and bring all the nails together!

Reindeer freehand nail art for Christmas

Reindeer freehand nail art for Christmas

Penguin nail art

This is going back to one of my earliest nail art designs! Freehand animals again, but super cute and easy to do.  One small nail art brush is all you need for the detail of the beak and eyes.

Freehand cute penguin nail art

Freehand cute penguin nail art

Christmas Sweater Nails

I love wearing my Christmas jumpers (even if the office heating is cranked up to the ‘tropical’ setting) and sometimes I match my nails to them!  This first design is based on a red and white snowflake woolly jumper my Granny B knitted for me!

Red Christmas Sweater nail art design

Red Christmas Sweater nail art design

I used tape for the red and white design, but if stamping is more your thing, check out this design instead.  The teal base is a less traditional Christmas colour, but the glitter makes it festive. Christmas sweater nails all the way!

Stamped Christmas Sweater nail art

Stamped Christmas Sweater nail art

Ten Christmas nail art ideas

So there you have my ten Christmas nail art designs, with different techniques to choose from based on your skills. Also check out my Pinterest boards for more designs that could inspire you to create your own.

Christmas nail art ideas - by Keely's Nails on Pinterest

Christmas nail art ideas – by Keely’s Nails on Pinterest

I think there’s something for everyone – which is your favourite?