Christmas is one of my favorite times to pull out the paintbrushes. There are just so many fun things to paint, from snowmen and gingerbread houses to colorful ornaments, silly reindeer, Christmas trees, and, of course, a few mischievous Grinch-inspired designs.
I’ve gathered more than 100 Christmas painting ideas to help you find your next holiday project. You’ll find ideas for canvas, rocks, watercolor, pottery, ornaments, wood, mason jars, flowerpots, and plenty of easy projects kids can make too.
Table of Contents
Easy Christmas Canvas Painting Ideas
Canvas is a great place to start when you are looking for easy Christmas painting ideas. You have plenty of room to work, acrylic paint is forgiving, and even simple designs look festive once you add snow, Christmas colors, or a few twinkling lights.
These Christmas canvas paintings range from traditional snowmen and Christmas trees to gingerbread houses, gnomes, and a few fun twists on the usual holiday scene.
Easy Christmas Canvas Painting Ideas
Who says a Christmas tree has to be an evergreen? This colorful Christmas Cactus Painting from Step By Step Painting covers a cactus with Christmas lights for a fun holiday project that is especially fitting for anyone dreaming of a warm Christmas.
This Christmas Wreath Canvas Painting from Elle Byers is a beginner-friendly acrylic project with step-by-step video lessons. The loose greenery and simple wreath shape make it a pretty Christmas painting idea without requiring lots of tiny details.
There is plenty of room to have fun with the candy details in this Gingerbread House Painting. Add gumdrops, peppermints, frosting, candy canes, and as much sugary-looking decoration as you can squeeze onto the canvas.
This Snowman Starry Night Painting puts a cheerful snowman underneath a beautiful swirling winter sky. It has a little more detail than some beginner projects, but the playful style means everything does not have to be perfectly realistic.
A red pickup carrying a fresh Christmas tree is about as classic as holiday decorating gets. Follow the Christmas Tree Truck Painting to create your own snowy version of this favorite Christmas scene.
Those oversized hats and fluffy beards make gnomes surprisingly forgiving to paint. This Christmas Gnome Painting Idea from Me and My Inklings pairs a cheerful little gnome with a Christmas tree for an easygoing holiday project.
Christmas Rock Painting Ideas
Naturally, I couldn’t put together a collection of Christmas painting ideas without giving painted rocks plenty of attention.
Rocks are inexpensive, easy to paint, and just the right size when you want a Christmas craft you can actually finish in one sitting. They also make fun stocking stuffers, handmade gifts, decorations, and kindness rocks.
Christmas Rock Painting Ideas
Grinch Painted Rocks: Easy Grinch and Max Rock Painting Tutorial
Paint Christmas’s favorite grump and his loyal little dog with my Grinch and Max Painted Rocks tutorial. These two belong together, so this project gives you two Christmas rock painting ideas in one.
There are so many ways to change up a gnome that it is hard to stop at just one. My Christmas Gnome Painted Rocks include festive hats, Christmas colors, snowflakes, candy cane patterns, and plenty of ideas for creating your own little collection.
Christmas crafts are allowed to be a little ridiculous. My Silly Christmas Rock Painting Ideas include a tangled-up Rudolph, Santa stuck in the chimney, and a cheeky “Go Elf Yourself” rock.
These Christmas Snowman Painted Rocks are a reminder that no two snowmen have to look alike. Change the hats, scarves, faces, buttons, and expressions and you could easily paint an entire snowman family.
Sometimes you just need a whole bunch of ideas in one place. This collection of Christmas Rock Painting Ideas from Sustain My Craft Habit includes more than a dozen festive designs, making it an especially good one to browse when you cannot decide what to paint.
Plaid Christmas Painted Rocks
A little plaid can make even the simplest Christmas rock feel cozy. Check out the painted rock designs from Creatively Stoned for inspiration on combining Christmas motifs with classic holiday patterns.
Found a few favorites already? Save or pin this post now so you have all of these Christmas painting ideas waiting when you are ready for your next holiday craft day.
Easy Christmas Painting Ideas for Kids
Kids do not need perfect brush control to create great Christmas art. In fact, some of the most fun Christmas painting ideas for kids use fingerprints, forks, shaving cream, squeegees, and other techniques where perfection is definitely not the goal.
These projects work well for family craft nights, classroom activities, Christmas parties, or those long afternoons when everyone is counting down the days until Christmas.
Easy Christmas Painting Ideas for Kids
Little fingerprints become colorful ornaments in this Christmas Tree Thumbprint Art project. It is simple enough for younger kids but still turns out cute enough to display on the refrigerator all December.
Put an ordinary kitchen fork to work with this Fork-Painted Christmas Tree. The fork creates the texture of the tree branches, so kids get a neat effect without needing tiny paintbrushes or complicated painting skills.
This Reindeer Painting for Kids from Projects With Kids has a cheerful, colorful look that is just right for younger artists. Let kids change the background, nose, or accessories and make their reindeer as traditional or silly as they like.
My Christmas Rock Painting Crafts for Kids give you six different projects to choose from, including a candy cane, wreath, Rudolph, angel, elf, and gingerbread man. Fingerprints help create many of the details, which keeps these designs manageable for smaller hands.
Painting with shaving cream is delightfully messy, which is probably exactly why kids enjoy it. These Shaving Cream Marbled Christmas Trees create swirly patterns that make every tree completely different.
Try this easy snowman art for kids using a fun resist art technique and our free snowman template. A simple winter or Christmas snowman craft.
Dragging paint across paper with a squeegee creates surprisingly pretty Christmas trees. This Winter Holiday Tree Squeegee Painting is especially fun for kids who would rather experiment with paint than carefully fill in tiny shapes.
Watercolor Christmas Painting Ideas
Watercolor has a softer look than acrylic paint, which makes it perfect for snowy winter scenes, Christmas greenery, handmade cards, and delicate holiday details.
You do not need to be an experienced watercolor artist either. A few loose brushstrokes and slightly blended colors often make these Christmas painting ideas even prettier.
Watercolor Christmas Painting Ideas
This sweet watercolor reindeer from Mateja Lukezic on Instagram has rosy cheeks, a cozy scarf, and plenty of personality. Try changing the scarf color or adding a snowy background for your own version.
Simple lines and little V-shapes come together to make this pretty Watercolor Snowflake Painting from Jenna Rainey. The soft blue watercolor gives it an icy winter look, and the design would be lovely on a handmade Christmas card.
These Winter Folk Art Trees are bright, colorful, and anything but serious. Mix patterns, colors, dots, branches, and shapes to create a whole forest where every tree looks different.
Turn your painting practice into a countdown with this Watercolor Advent Calendar. Small daily paintings feel much less intimidating than one big artwork, and by Christmas you will have a collection of miniature holiday pictures.
Kids will use easy watercolor techniques to make these colorful watercolor Christmas ornaments. DIY ornament idea and Christmas art project.
Christmas Pottery and Ceramic Painting Ideas
Christmas pottery painting is a fun way to make something you can bring out and use year after year.
Mugs, ornaments, ceramic trees, pet decorations, and little village houses all make wonderful surfaces for festive designs. These Christmas painting ideas range from very simple painted pieces to projects for anyone who feels like getting a little more detailed.
Christmas Pottery and Ceramic Painting Ideas
A plain mug gets a cheerful holiday makeover in this DIY Painted Christmas Mug. It is an approachable project for beginners and would make a sweet homemade gift when paired with cocoa or coffee.
These Hand-Painted Ceramic Christmas Ornaments from Miss Mustard Seed have a beautiful traditional feel. The post features four individually painted ornaments, so there are several designs to borrow ideas from instead of just one.
This Painted Ceramic Cookie Ornament looks like a decorated Christmas cookie without any baking involved. Brown paint, icing-style details, and little sprinkle accents turn a ceramic shape into something that looks good enough to eat.
For something a little more grown-up, try the greenery and metallic details in this Sparkles and Ferns Christmas Ornament. The botanical design gives it an elegant Christmas look without losing that handmade charm.
Pet parents will love this one. These DIY Painted Pet Ornaments can be customized to look like your own cat or dog, turning a simple ceramic ornament into a very personal Christmas keepsake.
Instead of decorating one small ornament, go big with an entire DIY Painted Ceramic Christmas Village. Paint each little house differently and keep adding to the collection over the years for a display that feels completely your own.
Christmas Ornament Painting Ideas
Painted ornaments are one of those traditional Christmas crafts that never really go out of style.
They are small enough to finish quickly, easy to personalize, and once you are done, your artwork gets a place right on the Christmas tree.
Christmas Ornament Painting Ideas
Tiny canvases become Christmas decorations in these DIY Miniature Abstract Painting Ornaments. Use Christmas colors or choose shades that match your own tree and let the brushstrokes stay loose and playful.
Beautiful DIY plaid painted Christmas ornaments. Learn how to add glitter to glass or plastic ornaments and paint them plaid.
Alcohol ink creates bright, flowing colors that are almost impossible to duplicate exactly. These Alcohol Ink Christmas Ornaments are especially pretty if you like colorful decorations with a slightly more artistic look.
Make your own Christmas ornaments with this easy paint swirl technique. Easy enough for kids to make. Makes great gifts!
Christmas Painting Ideas on Wood
Wood automatically gives Christmas crafts a warm, handmade feeling. You can paint wood slices, birch rounds, driftwood, small logs, and all sorts of unfinished wooden pieces.
These Christmas painting ideas also make lovely ornaments and decorations because the natural wood adds texture without requiring any extra work from you.
Christmas Painting Ideas on Wood
Three simple wood slices stack together to create these Wood Slice Snowman Ornaments. Add a face, buttons, scarf, and hat and you have a little snowman that can come back out every Christmas.
This rustic Three Kings Yule Log project turns small natural logs into the Three Wise Men. The bark becomes part of the finished design, so the project has a wonderfully old-fashioned handmade feel.
Fleece Navidad Painted Wood Slice
These Maud Lewis-Inspired Painted Birch Ornaments bring colorful folk-art-style winter scenes to natural wood slices. They are small, detailed, and especially pretty if you enjoy old-fashioned Christmas artwork.
Pieces of driftwood become tiny houses and trees in this Painted Driftwood Christmas Village. I love how the imperfect shapes of the wood make the little village look even more charming.
Christmas Painting Ideas on Pots and Mason Jars
Your Christmas painting does not have to stay on canvas, paper, or flat pieces of wood.
Terracotta pots and mason jars can become cheerful holiday decorations with just a few coats of paint. Better yet, many of these projects can do double duty as decorations, gift containers, or little Christmas displays.
Christmas Painting Ideas on Pots and Mason Jars
These Buffalo Check Painted Pots use classic red, white, and green with a cozy plaid pattern. Group several together for a colorful Christmas display or use them to hold a small holiday plant.
This Christmas Painted Mason Jar project includes three different holiday characters, giving you several ideas from one tutorial. Fill the finished jars with candy, greenery, brushes, or small Christmas treats.
Why paint one Christmas pot when you can make a whole group? These Christmas Painted Terracotta Pots include a snowman, reindeer, and Santa belt design, so you get three completely different Christmas painting ideas in one project.
Which Christmas Painting Should You Try First?
With this many Christmas painting ideas, choosing one might be the hardest part.
If you are completely new to painting, start with something built from simple shapes. A Christmas tree, snowman, ornament, gingerbread person, or easy painted rock is much less intimidating than a detailed winter landscape.
For kids, I would start with one of the process-based projects such as the fingerprint Christmas tree, fork-painted tree, shaving cream painting, or squeegee art. They can concentrate on having fun with the paint instead of worrying about staying inside lines.
If you already feel comfortable with a paintbrush, try one of the Christmas canvas paintings, watercolor projects, pottery designs, or a small painted Christmas village.
And if you cannot decide?
Pick a snowman.
Snowmen are very forgiving. If the circles are a little crooked, just tell everyone he has personality.
Christmas Painting Ideas FAQ
What are the easiest Christmas things to paint?
Christmas trees, snowmen, ornaments, candy canes, gingerbread people, presents, and simple wreaths are some of the easiest Christmas subjects to paint. Most can be created from basic shapes and still look cute even when they are not perfectly symmetrical.
What kind of paint is best for Christmas crafts?
Acrylic craft paint is a good all-purpose choice for canvas, rocks, wood, terracotta, and many ornaments. Watercolor works best on watercolor paper, while paint pens are handy for lettering, faces, outlines, and tiny finishing details.
What can I paint Christmas designs on?
Almost anything that accepts paint can become a Christmas craft. Try canvas, rocks, wood slices, paper, pottery, ceramic ornaments, mason jars, terracotta pots, signs, and unfinished wooden decorations.
Are these Christmas painting ideas good for beginners?
Many of them are. Look for projects with simple shapes, fewer colors, and larger details when you are starting out, then work your way up to landscapes, lettering, and more detailed characters.
Which Christmas painting ideas are best for kids?
Fingerprint trees, fork painting, squeegee art, shaving cream painting, painted rocks, simple reindeer, snowmen, and ornaments are all good choices for kids. Choose larger designs with fewer tiny details for younger children.
How can I make an easy Christmas painting look more festive?
Add a few simple holiday extras. Snowflakes, stars, holly, Christmas lights, Santa hats, candy canes, presents, ornaments, glitter paint, or even a little painted snow can quickly make a basic design feel more Christmasy.
Find Even More Free Craft Ideas
If your craft table is already covered in paint, you might as well keep going.
Rock Painting Guide has plenty of easy painting projects, seasonal crafts, drawing ideas, and free printables to keep you creating long after you finish this list of Christmas painting ideas.
Be sure to join my email list for access to the Freebie Vault, where you can grab more printable craft resources and creative extras.
Free printables from Rock Painting Guide are for personal use only.
And don’t forget to save this post for later. With more than 100 Christmas painting ideas to choose from, you are probably going to want to come back for another project before Christmas gets here.
Happy painting!
