25 Christmas Nail Ideas You Can Actually Do Yourself
25 easy Christmas nail ideas you can do at home with regular polish, a bobby pin and tape: simple, cozy and festive designs, plus how to make them last.
In this guide
Christmas nails don’t need a salon, acrylics or a steady surgeon’s hand. Most of the cutest designs use regular polish and things you already have, like a bobby pin, a toothpick and some tape.
Here are 25 Christmas nail ideas you can do yourself, from two-minute easy to a little more detailed.
Prep first: it makes any design look better
Good nail art starts with healthy nails. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends:
- Cut nails straight across and round the tips slightly, then smooth snags with a nail file.
- Don’t cut or push off your cuticles, and don’t bite your nails. Both can damage the nail.
- Keep nails clean and dry, and moisturize your hands after washing.
Then: one thin base coat, two thin coats of color, top coat. Thin layers dry faster and chip less than one thick one.
Super easy (no tools)
- Classic red. Two coats of a deep red and a glossy top coat. Simple, and it always looks like Christmas.
- Glitter accent nail. Paint every nail one color and make your ring finger glitter.
- Gold tips. Any base color with a thin line of gold glitter across the tip.
- Ombré glitter. Dab glitter polish heavily at the tip and lightly toward the middle.
- Forest green and gold. Dark green on most nails, gold on one.
- Milky white with silver sparkle. Looks like snow and goes with every outfit.
Easy designs with a bobby pin or toothpick
- Polka dots. Red base with white dots made with the end of a bobby pin.
- Snowflakes. Three crossing lines with a toothpick on a blue or white base, plus a dot in the middle.
- Candy cane stripes. White base and diagonal red stripes. Use tape strips to keep the lines straight.
- Christmas lights. A curvy black line across each nail with tiny dots of red, green, yellow and blue.
- Holly leaves. Two small green leaf shapes and three red dots on a nude base.
- Red French tips. A natural base with thin red tips. Short nails look great with this one.
- Plaid. Red base with crossing black and green lines. Keep the lines thin and don’t worry about perfect.
- Ugly sweater. Tiny zigzags, dots and a heart or tree on one nail. Messy is the whole point.
Cute and cozy
- Gingerbread nails. Light brown base with white squiggles like icing.
- Hot cocoa. A creamy brown with one nail of tiny white dots for marshmallows.
- Ornament nails. Each nail a different shiny color, like a box of ornaments.
- Velvet or cat-eye shimmer. Any magnetic shimmer polish in deep red or green.
- Mismatched mani. Alternate red, green, white and gold on each finger.
- Tiny trees. One green triangle with a gold dot on top on your accent nail.
Winter colors that aren’t red and green
- Burgundy. Darker and moodier than red, perfect for winter.
- Icy blue. Soft, frosty and less expected.
- Champagne shimmer. For New Year’s Eve too.
- Black with gold flecks. Glam without trying hard.
- Sheer pink with one glitter nail. For when school has a no-crazy-nails rule.
Tips for designs that don’t look messy
- Wait until the base is fully dry before adding dots or tape, or it will peel off with it.
- Do your non-dominant hand first, while you’re fresh.
- Keep designs small. One detail per nail looks cleaner than five.
- Seal everything with top coat, and add another layer every few days to stop chips.
Want polish colors that flatter your skin tone? Find your season with our color analysis quiz. Doing a full holiday look? Our natural makeup look pairs with bold nails.
Nail stuff also makes a great gift. Add a polish set or nail art kit to your Christmas wish list.
