Christmas Painting Ideas: 60 Easy Things to Paint for Christmas
60 Christmas painting ideas for every skill level: easy acrylic canvases, watercolor cards, oil landscapes, Christmas lights, window art and painted rocks.
Looking for Christmas painting ideas you can actually finish before the holidays? This list has 60 ideas for Christmas paintings, and these Xmas painting ideas are grouped by medium and surface: quick beginner pieces, acrylic canvases, watercolor cards, oil landscapes, Christmas lights, cute characters, windows, rocks, and ornaments. Each group has pictures for Christmas painting inspiration and short tips on how to paint them.
Short answer: the easiest Christmas pictures to paint are a single ornament, a snowflake, a penguin in a scarf, a holly sprig, and a tree silhouette. For a weekend project, try a snowy tree forest on canvas, watercolor poinsettias, or northern lights over a cabin. Scroll down for a step-by-step canvas tutorial, a Christmas paint palette with mixing recipes, and prompts that create reference images to paint from.
Which Paint to Use for Your Christmas Painting
| Medium | Dry time | Difficulty | Best Christmas painting designs | Surface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acrylic | 10 to 30 min | Easy | Tree forests, snowy cabins, ornaments, rocks | Canvas, wood, glass, stone |
| Watercolor | 5 to 15 min | Medium | Cards, poinsettias, robins, soft winter scenes | Watercolor paper (300 gsm) |
| Oil | 1 to 7 days | Medium to hard | Snow at sunset, candlelight, still life | Primed canvas or panel |
| Chalk markers or tempera | Minutes | Easy | Snowflakes, lettering, village silhouettes | Windows and mirrors |
| Paint pens over acrylic | Minutes | Easy | Penguins, reindeer, snowflakes | Smooth rocks, wood slices |
Not sure? Pick acrylic. It is forgiving, you can paint over mistakes, and it works on nearly every surface in this list.
Easy Christmas Pictures to Paint for Beginners
These quick Christmas paint ideas use one subject, a plain background, and three or four colors. They are perfect for a first try, a kids’ table, or a stack of handmade cards.
Watercolor penguin
Leave the white belly as bare paper, paint the black head in one wash, and add a bright scarf last.
Star ornament
Wet the star shape, drop in green, then dab darker spots while it is still damp for a glassy look.
One-stroke snowflake
Six arms with a round brush, then V-shaped branches. Paint a dozen and cut them into gift tags.
More easy Christmas things to paint in under an hour:
- A holly wreath: a circle of green leaf strokes with clusters of red berries and a small bow.
- Candy cane stripes: bold red diagonals on white, with a sprig of holly in one corner.
- Mittens on a string in red and green, with dots or snowflake patterns.
- A tree silhouette in dark green on a pastel sky, with glitter or white dots along the edges.
- Three baubles hanging from ribbons on an icy blue background.
Acrylic Christmas Painting Ideas on Canvas
Acrylic is the classic choice for Christmas canvas paintings. It dries fast enough to layer snow over trees in one sitting, and a small canvas makes a ready-to-hang gift.
Snowy tree forest
Loose dark-green trees, thick white snow on the branches, and dots of color for lights. No precision needed.
Acrylic poinsettia
Paint each bract as a pointed leaf, darker at the center, and add a cluster of yellow dots in the middle.
Northern lights over a cabin
Blend green and violet streaks into a dark sky, then paint pine silhouettes and one warm window.
More Christmas canvas painting ideas: a snowy cabin in the woods with smoke from the chimney, a frozen lake reflecting pink sunset light, and a moonlit snowman standing alone in a field.
How to Paint a Snowy Christmas Tree Forest on Canvas
This is one of the most forgiving Christmas canvas paintings, which is why it shows up at so many paint nights. You need an 8x10 or 11x14 canvas, a 1-inch flat brush, a small round brush, and acrylics in phthalo blue, white, dark green, and a few bright colors.
- Paint the sky. Blend blue into white from top to bottom so it is lightest near the horizon. Let it dry.
- Lay down the snow. Paint the bottom third white with a little blue in the shadows.
- Block in the trees. With dark green and the corner of the flat brush, tap downward strokes from a center line, short at the top and longer at the bottom. Overlap three to five trees at different sizes.
- Add snow to the branches. Load thick white on the brush and dab it onto the top edges of the branches only.
- Hang the lights. Use the back of the brush to dot red, yellow, blue, and pink across the trees.
- Finish with falling snow. Flick thinned white paint off an old toothbrush, then sign and varnish once dry.
Watercolor Christmas Painting Ideas
Watercolor gives Christmas paintings a soft, handmade glow, and it is the go-to for cards and gift tags. Use thick watercolor paper so it does not buckle.
Loose poinsettias
Let the petals bleed into each other wet-on-wet, then add darker veins once the paper is nearly dry.
Robin on a branch
A round body, an orange chest, and lots of white space. Easy, elegant, and perfect for a card.
Gifts and ornaments
Simple boxes and spheres with loose splatters of color around them for a festive, playful look.
More watercolor ideas for Christmas paintings: a wreath of loose leaves with space in the middle for a name, a wet-on-wet night sky with white gouache snow, and a single pine branch with cones and a red bow.
Oil Painting and Realistic Christmas Ideas
Oils give snow, firelight, and candle glow a depth that is hard to match. They take longer, so these suit adults with a free weekend, or anyone who starts in early December.
Winter sunset landscape
Snow is never pure white: it picks up pink, orange, and violet from the sky. Paint the colors you see.
Cocoa and cookies still life
Set up real mugs and cookies by a window. Patterned china and candy canes give you color and rhythm.
Soft snowy landscape
A limited palette of blue, gray, and white. Blur the far trees and keep the near ones crisp.
More realistic Christmas themed painting ideas: a candlelit window seen from the snowy street, a Santa portrait in an old-master style with deep shadows, and a nutcracker standing beside a bowl of walnuts.
Christmas Lights Painting Ideas
Glowing lights are the trickiest and most satisfying Christmas subject. The secret is contrast: a dark background, a bright core, and a soft halo around every bulb.
Lights around a wreath
Paint the greenery first, then each bulb as a dot with a lighter halo and a white highlight.
Glowing tree in a village
Keep the village dim so the tree and the windows become the brightest spots in the picture.
Gold bells and holly
The same trick makes metal shine: dark ochre shadows, mid gold, and one sharp white highlight per bell.
More Christmas lights painting ideas:
- A zigzag string of colorful bulbs across a starry navy background.
- A lantern with fairy lights wrapped around it, glowing on a dark windowsill.
- A tree wrapped in white lights at night, painted almost entirely with dots.
- A city street at dusk with shop windows and lights strung between buildings.
Cute Christmas Painting Ideas
Round shapes, rosy cheeks, and big eyes make any Christmas character cute. These are the classic painting ideas Christmas cards have used for decades, and kids love them.
Santa and friends
A group portrait: Santa in the middle, reindeer around him, a small snowman in front.
Snowman with a gift
Shade the snowballs with blue on one side, and let the scarf be the brightest color in the scene.
Baby reindeer in a Santa hat
Big eyes, tiny antlers, and a red nose. Paint the snowy background loosely so the reindeer stands out.
More cute Christmas pictures to paint: a trio of gnomes in tall striped hats, a mug of hot cocoa with marshmallows, a pair of curly elf shoes with bells, and a penguin family on an ice floe.
Christmas Window Painting Ideas
Painting the windows is one of the most fun holiday painting ideas for families, and it costs almost nothing. Chalk markers made for glass wipe off with a damp cloth, and washable tempera mixed with a few drops of dish soap comes off easily too.
Christmas designs to paint on windows:
- Snowflakes of different sizes drifting down from the top corners.
- “Merry Christmas” lettering with bunting above it. If people will read it from outside, write it in reverse on the inside of the glass.
- A village silhouette along the bottom edge, with lit windows and smoking chimneys.
- A wreath around a single pane, or a pane turned into a gift with a ribbon and bow.
- A gingerbread house with icing drips along the frame.
- A reindeer and sleigh crossing a big round moon.
Test a small corner first, avoid tinted or coated glass, and paint on the inside if your windows get rain or frost.
Painting Christmas Ideas on Rocks
Smooth stones make tiny, sturdy canvases. Painting Christmas ideas on rocks is a great kids’ activity, and the results become paperweights, ornaments, or garden decorations.
Penguin rocks
Oval rocks make perfect penguins. Paint them black, add a white belly, an orange beak, and two dots for eyes.
Reindeer rocks
Brown faces, red pompom noses, and pipe-cleaner antlers glued to the back.
Snowflake rocks
A white base coat, then snowflakes in paint pens with a dotted border around the edge.
How to paint Christmas rocks: wash and dry the rocks, give them a base coat of acrylic, add details with paint pens or a fine brush, and finish with two thin coats of clear acrylic sealer. More ideas: ornament-shaped rocks with stripes, stacked snowman rocks, gingerbread house rocks, and Santa faces.
More Christmassy Things to Paint: Ornaments, Wood Slices and Pots
Not every painting needs a frame. These Christmas ideas for painting turn ordinary objects into decorations and gifts.
Hand-painted baubles
Matte white or clear ornaments with tiny florals, monograms, or dates. Use acrylic enamel for glass.
Wood slice ornaments
A blue circle, a simple tree, and white dots of snow, with the bark left showing around the edge.
Clay pot trees
Upside-down mini pots painted green with dot ornaments and a star on top. Great for kids.
Other Christmas things to paint: plain mugs with ceramic paint, kraft wrapping paper stamped and painted by hand, and a wooden sign that says “Merry and Bright”.
Simple Christmas Painting Ideas for Adults
Hosting a paint-and-sip night or just want a calm evening? These Christmas painting ideas for adults are simple to set up but still feel grown-up:
- A snowy tree forest (the tutorial above) on a long, narrow canvas.
- A winter sunset with a single bare tree and long blue shadows.
- A still life of a mug, a candle, and a sprig of pine.
- Gold-leaf ornaments on a black background.
- A minimalist wreath of loose green brushstrokes with one red bow.
Quick paint ideas Christmas Eve guests can join in on: everyone paints the same snowflake or bauble on a small card, and the cards go on the table as place settings.
Christmas Ideas for Painting With Kids
- Fingerprint lights: draw a wire with a marker and add each bulb as a colored fingerprint.
- Salt snowflakes: paint with watercolor, sprinkle table salt while it is wet, and brush it off when dry for a frosty texture.
- Glue-resist snowman: draw a snowman in white glue, let it dry, then paint over it with watercolor.
- Gingerbread house: a simple house shape decorated with candy, icing dots, and a wreath on the door.
- Painted handprint reindeer: a brown handprint becomes antlers above a face.
Paint From a Photo: Turn Christmas Photos Into Paintings
Want to paint your own house, pet, or family instead of a generic scene? Start from a photo. You can turn it into a painted version with AI to use as a reference, or print the result and frame it as it is.
The same works for a snowy street, your decorated tree, or a family portrait. If your photo has no snow, add it first with the add snow to photo tool, then turn it into a painting. To transfer the composition onto canvas, the photo to line art tool gives you a clean outline to trace.
Christmas Images to Paint From
No photo of the scene you have in mind? Generate one. Paste a prompt into the text to image generator and use the result as a reference, or as a little Christmas painting inspo when you cannot decide what to paint.
Snowy cabin at dusk
Simple acrylic painting of a small red cabin in a snowy pine forest at dusk, glowing window, pink and blue sky, loose brushstrokes, easy composition for beginners
Watercolor poinsettia card
Loose watercolor painting of a single red poinsettia with green leaves on white paper, soft bleeding edges, lots of white space, Christmas card layout
Glowing lights study
Painting of a string of colorful Christmas light bulbs glowing against a dark navy background, soft halos around each bulb, painterly style
Winter village window art
White chalk marker drawing on a dark window: a snowy village silhouette along the bottom, falling snowflakes and Merry Christmas lettering, simple lines
Supplies and Tips for Christmas Paintings
What you need: a canvas, watercolor paper, or your chosen surface; flat, round, and fine liner brushes; a palette (a plate works); paints in red, green, blue, yellow, and white; a water jar and paper towel; and optional extras like metallic gold paint, glitter, stencils, and painter’s tape.
Tips that make a Christmas painting look finished:
- Sketch lightly first with a pencil so you know where the big shapes go.
- Mix your greens. Green straight from the tube looks flat; add a touch of red or brown to deepen it.
- Paint snow with color. Shadows on snow are blue or violet, and highlights catch the warm light.
- Work back to front: sky, distant trees, middle ground, then the details in front.
- Save the brightest white for last: highlights on ornaments, snow on branches, and the center of every light.
Canvas sizes for Christmas gifts
| Size | Good for | Frame or print guide |
|---|---|---|
| 5x7 in | Cards and small gifts | Fits most desk frames |
| 8x10 in | Ornaments, single subjects | 8x10 photo size guide |
| 11x14 in | Tree forests, cabins | Standard paint-night size |
| 16x20 in | Landscapes and statement pieces | 16x20 photo size guide |
Want to frame it? See our DIY Christmas picture frame ideas for frames you can decorate to match.
More Christmas Ideas
- Christmas drawing ideas: 60 things to draw for Xmas, from doodles to realistic scenes.
- AI Christmas photo: turn a photo into a festive portrait, including a watercolor style.
- AI holiday photo generator: seasonal looks for every holiday.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are easy Christmas painting ideas for beginners?
Start with single objects on a plain background: a watercolor ornament, a snowflake, a penguin in a scarf, a holly sprig, candy cane stripes, or a tree silhouette with dots of glitter. They take under an hour, need only a few colors, and look good even if the brushwork is loose.
What should I paint for Christmas?
The most popular things to paint for Christmas are trees, snowy cabins, poinsettias, ornaments, Santa, reindeer, snowmen, and Christmas lights. Pick by surface: a canvas suits a snowy landscape or tree forest, watercolor paper suits cards and florals, windows suit snowflakes and lettering, and smooth rocks suit penguins and reindeer.
Which paint is best for Christmas paintings: acrylic, watercolor, or oil?
Acrylic is the easiest all-rounder: it dries fast, covers mistakes, and works on canvas, wood, glass ornaments, and rocks. Watercolor is best for cards and soft florals but is less forgiving. Oil gives the richest snow and candlelight but takes days to dry, so start early if the painting is a gift.
What are good Christmas painting ideas for adults?
Popular Christmas painting ideas for adults include a snowy landscape at sunset, a still life of mugs and cookies, a tree forest with palette-knife snow, northern lights over a cabin, and a candlelit window. They suit a quiet evening or a paint-and-sip night with friends.
How do you paint Christmas lights that glow?
Paint on a dark background, then add each bulb as a small dot of color. While it is still wet, or with a soft dry brush once it dries, add a halo of the same color thinned with white around the bulb, and finish with a tiny dot of pure white in the center. The contrast between dark and light is what makes it glow.
What paint should I use on windows, and does it come off?
Liquid chalk markers made for glass are the easiest choice and wipe off with a damp cloth. Washable tempera paint mixed with a few drops of dish soap also comes off easily. Test a small corner first, avoid tinted or coated glass, and paint on the inside if the window gets rain or frost.
How do I seal painted Christmas rocks?
Let the acrylic paint dry completely, then apply two thin coats of a clear acrylic sealer, either brush-on or spray, letting each coat dry. Use an outdoor-rated sealer if the rocks will sit in a garden. Keep painted rocks at home or in your own yard, since many parks ask visitors not to leave them.
Can I turn a Christmas photo into a painting?
Yes. Upload the photo to the photo to watercolor or photo to oil painting tool on EzImgMaker, pick a style, and download a painted version you can print, frame, or use as a reference for painting by hand. The AI tools are free to try with the credits you get when you sign up.
Is a painting a good Christmas gift?
A handmade painting is one of the most personal gifts you can give, especially a scene that means something to the person: their house in the snow, their pet in a scarf, or a view from a holiday trip. A small 8x10 canvas or a framed watercolor card is plenty.
Product names mentioned are generic. Check the label on window paints, enamels, and sealers for the surfaces they are made for.