6 Christmas Nail Designs That You Can Easily Do at Home

Anyone can pull off these festive Christmas manis.

Wrapping your hands around a piping hot beverage is a requisite for the holiday season, and the cute and cozy factor goes way up when said hands feature a cheery Christmas manicure. Think tiny snowflakes, peppermint swirls, Fair Isle designs, and wintry whites.

We ask celebrity manicurists to walk us through a handful of easy Christmas nails that anyone can recreate at home. So put on some holiday jammies, pour yourself a cup of hot cocoa, and get ready for cute nail overload.

Silver French

Let’s start off super-simple with a silver-tipped French mani. “This classic wintry take on the French mani features a bit of sparkly silver,” says Rachel Apfel Glass, celebrity manicurist and founder of GLOSSLAB. To re-create, she says to start with a clear base coat.

From there, you can create your French manicure using sparkly silver nail polish. You can use manicure tape, hand paint the tip, or use a French manicure stamping tool, like Dornail's Clear Silicone French Tip Nail Stamper. Bonus: These Christmas nails will match everything you wear.

Pastel Snowflakes

For a sweet holiday nail look, try this pastel snowflake manicure. Start with a layer of white jelly (semi-transparent) nail polish and let it dry. Pick three opaque pastel polishes along with a white nail polish color, which you’ll use for your snowflakes.

“Add two different snowflakes using the first two polish colors on your nail without overlapping them,” says Alena Monson, a nail artist influencer and founder of Whats Up Beauty and Nails. “You can hand paint snowflakes using a detail brush, but it is much easier to use a stamping plate.” (Try the TwinkledT Snowflake Stamping Plate.)

Simply apply polish to the plate, scrape off the excess, pick up the image with a silicone stamper, then roll it slowly over your nail to transfer the design. After all the snowflakes, add a layer of white jelly nail polish over the entire nail, let it dry, then repeat with two more colors.

“Make sure to place new snowflakes slightly overlapping the ones you applied first, this will give a multidimensional effect,” says Monson. “Finally, seal with a clear top coat and you're done!

Candy Shoppe Nails

This adorable holiday manicure gives us shades of cheery pink and features peekaboo peppermint candies on the underside. (If you don’t have long nails, you can opt for painting the peppermints on the top side of your nail). Start by cleaning the underside of your nail, then apply a pale pink nail polish to both the top of the nail and underside.

On the top, create a red French tip. On the underside, “apply multi-size dots for each candy and let it dry,” says celebrity manicurist Julie Kandalec, founder of the Julie K Nail Academy. Using a precision nail brush, “add four to five thick swirls to each candy and let it dry. Then add a thin line to the candy art for extra dimension.” Finish with a matte topcoat on the underside and a shiny top coat on the top of the nail.

Monochromatic Holiday Nails

For a minimalist approach that requires very little effort but still offers a bit of drama, lean into a monochromatic nail moment. Just choose five to 10 similar nail polish colors and paint each nail its own hue, says Amy Ling Lin, CEO & founder of sundays. “Select colors from the same color family with one color that stands out,” she says. For example, maybe it’s a range of reds with a creamy beige, or a series of metallics with one that sparkles. Arrange the colors beforehand to get a feel for how the colors will look on your nails. 

Fair Isle Sweater Nails

This holiday manicure might look a bit tricky, but it’s easier to recreate than you think thanks to a handy stencil. Start by applying a base of red nail polish, says Monson. Next, place a strip of sweater nail vinyl stencils across the nail, making sure it sticks well to the sides as well. (Try What’s Up Beauty Ugly Sweater Nail Sticker Stencils). “Apply white nail polish over the nail stencil and remove it immediately while the nail polish is still wet, then seal with a clear top coat,” Monson says.

Wintry White

Trying to come up with the easiest holiday nail design of them all? Just go for a minimalist approach and create a classic wintry white manicure, says Glass. Use three coats of your preferred white and you’re good to go. A creamy white will feel a bit softer, a stark white lends a little drama, and a shimmering white feels especially sweet.

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