This year I haven’t had time to do Christmas nail-art tutorials prior to the big day.
But, since I know that a lot of nailphiles will be busting out the lacquer, I’ve put together this post on Holiday & Winter Nail Art Ideas featuring some looks I’ve done in the past.
In this post, I’ve also linked each manicure to its corresponding nail-art tutorial, which features step-by-step written instructions and photos. All, except for one, have tutorials. Plus within some of the posts are links to reviews of the individual nail polishes.
Hope that you’ll come up with something great for your holiday manicure! (I actually have been juggling a few designs in my head, but I still haven’t decided which to paint. I’ll be sure to share my Christmas manicure sometime after December 25th.)
Santa Nail Art
I celebrate Christmas, and ever since I was a kid, Santa Claus was the Man of the Month. 😉 When all the kids were putting out milk and cookies, I seriously considered leaving salad and water because (as I told my parents), I was worried about Santa’s health!
This was definitely one of my favourite Christmas nail-art designs because it was simple and fast to do, yet it clearly looked like Santa’s suit.
You’ll have a lot of fun wearing this manicure!
Click here to see my Santa Nail Art Tutorial or on the below image.
Reindeer Nail Art
As a kid (and even now), I think the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is very endearing. It teaches people that what some perceive as imperfections can be flipped around into strengths.
Try out this simple design, and remind yourself this holiday season that it’s okay to not follow the herd.
Click here to see my Reindeer Nail Art Tutorial or on the below image.
Penguin Nail Art
This was one of the winter nail-art designs I did that got a lot of compliments from strangers everywhere. And it was one of my all-time favourite nail looks I’ve ever worn.
The great part about it is that it’s a lot easier to paint than you’d expect!
Click here to see my Penguin Nail Art Tutorial or on the below image.
Martini Nail Art
Say, “Cheers!”, and celebrate the New Year with a fun manicure!
You could easily convert the shape of the glasses and put it on top of a creme base to class it up and make them look like champagne glasses instead.
Click here to see my Martini Nail Art Tutorial or on the below image.
Snow Bunny Nail Art
After painting the penguin design, I had to put another animal in a snowy setting. This was the result.
With a slight tweaking of the ears, you could transform the bunnies into kittens! Either way, you’ll come up with something super cute.
Word of caution: This design was wayyyy more time-consuming than the penguin design!
Click here to see my Snow Bunny Nail Art Tutorial or on the below image.
Candy Cane Nail Art
This is pretty much as basic and as literal as you can get when it comes to candy cane nails. It’s fast to do in a jiffy, and you could put the little candy canes over virtually any existing manicure. This would be great for when you’re in a pinch.
Click here to see my Candy Cane Nail Art Tutorial or on the below image.
Snowflake Nail Art
To me, the most wintry scene needs blue and white. It makes me feel chilly just looking at it. (Need to grab a cardigan…)
This is a look anybody can do. You don’t need prior nail-art experience. The more abstract it looks, the better. And the result is a winter wonderland you can take with you wherever you go.
Click here to see my Snowflake Nail Art Tutorial or on the below image.
Red Fiend Nail Art
I chose to highlight this design to remind you that holiday and winter looks don’t have to be so literal or predictable. Feel free to experiment and have fun by not sporting the exact same design on all of your nails.
Click here to see my Red Fiend Nail Art Post or on the below image.
I hope that you’ll have fun wearing whichever nail design you end up painting! 🙂 And if you decide to recreate any of these (or add your own twist), please feel free to post them on my Facebook wall so everyone can see your creativity at work and be inspired!
Wow! That had to take some time. Very well done Mary!
Hey Robbie!
Thanks so much for your support…hehe, and I noticed that you retweeted this post more than once! 😀 You’re awesome!
Aw, these are adorable! I don’t do Chrismtas nail art much because I’m Jewish, but I love looking at other nail artists’ stuff!
Fedoraharp recently posted: I haven’t died, I promise!
Hey Fedoraharp!
I’m glad that you can still appreciate the Christmas nail art. Some people get ‘offended’, but I think that if you can at least just admire it as art (even if you don’t celebrate or believe in the holiday), it shouldn’t be offensive. After all, Christmas is about sending positive, happy messages! So I’m really happy that you aren’t one of the ‘offended’ people.
I LOVE the martini nail art, will def need to steal the idea for my new years nails. 🙂
Lynette recently posted: Christmas Tree Mani ♥
Hey Lynette!
I’m flattered! 🙂 Please take photos of your manicure and share it with me on my facebook wall, via e-mail, or on your blog. I’d love to see how yours turn out!
Aw, this is lovely! I adore the penguins, they are so chubby and cute 🙂 Any nail art with small eyes make me happy though, even though they could be consider childish. But I couldn’t care less, I like wearing them! 😀
Gelic’ nail art recently posted: Snow flake nail art
Hey Gelic’ nail art!
Hehe, chubby animals are always really cute. 😉
I’m with you on that – even if nail art looks childish, it doesn’t bother me. As long as it makes me happy, it’s a winner.
Oh my goodness those penguines are too cute!!!! 😀
Lizzy recently posted: Pure Ice #NailBasel Challenge
Hey Lizzy!
I had so much fun ‘bringing them to life’. 🙂
Thank you Mary for these ideas!! I would like to try the Martini one and the snowflake, but they are all really great!!^___^ And have also a Merry Xmas!
Paola recently posted: ABC Challenge X – Xmas tree
Hey Paola!
You’re very welcome – it was a lot of fun, and I’m sharing them in this round-up post so others can have a good time, too. 🙂
Hope you have a Merry Christmas, too! 🙂
All of these designs are so cute–I especially love the reindeer with their little red heart noses :).
Hey Jessica!
Aww, thanks! I really enjoyed borrowing Santa’s reindeers…hehe!
the martini one was my favorite!!!
maria emma recently posted: Xmas time!
Hey Maria Emma!
Cheers! 🙂 It’s fun to paint, and you can really customize everything about it for a completely different look. Glad you liked it!
Oh how fun! I am going to change my polish today and I was trying to find one last Christmas design to do and here you are with a lot of great ideas! I love love love the color polish you used as a base for the cane nails. It reminds me of the beautiful vampy colors that came out in the OPI Germany collection. I think I may just have to do the Santa suit nails though since I have so many gorgeous reds are rarely wear them. But the penguins are cute too, I think I can do those in January with a snowflake theme. And I am definitely going to do the little champagne glass nails for New Years! Thanks girlie these are just perfect!
Hey Cindi!
Aww…I’m extremely flattered that you’re going to try out so many of the designs! 🙂 If you take photos, please share them with me because I’d love to see how yours turn out. Feel free to post them on my Facebook wall or e-mail me them. 🙂 It’s always inspiring to see nail looks that others do.
Have fun painting! 🙂
the penguins are so so cute!!
Hayley Shea recently posted: Sinful Colors Prosecco – Part 1
LOVE all of your holiday nail art ideas-thanks!