20 Christmas Nail Ideas to Ring in the Holiday Spirit

Close-up of manicure with neutral pink base, white French tips, and red gift wrap bow designs — @disseynails / Instagram

The holiday season is finally here, and we have lots to look forward to. From seasonal coffee drinks to snowy days and shopping for all our loved ones, it's called the merriest time of year for a reason. Every December without fail, one of our favorite parts of the festivities is getting a stunning set of Christmas nails. Once you start looking, you'll see there are countless jolly ideas sure to ring in the holiday spirit—it’s honestly hard to choose a favorite. From this season’s hottest deep red hue to snowflake manis and ribbon-wrapped nails, each design is just as darling as the next. Don’t believe us? Read on to see 20 Christmas nail designs, all of which are sure to get you in the spirit for booking your next mani appointment.

01 of 20

Christmas Sparkles

close up of hand showing off christmas nails with red polish and gold sparkles on top — @lolo.nailedit / Instagram

If you love a classic red mani for the winter season but want to give it some holiday pizzazz, take note of these stunning Christmas nails. To get this exact look, go in with Essie's Forever Yummy as your red base, then add some gold sparkles using Essie's Summit of Style on the top portion of your nail. You can stop there, or to take it a step further, draw on white snowflakes with Essie's Blanc.

02 of 20

Starry Night

Close-up of Christmas manicure with pearlescent chrome white base and gold stars — @phoebesummernails / Instagram

With on-trend nails like these, you won't find yourself under the mistletoe alone this year—just look at the sparkle and shine. You can go a few ways when recreating these nails, one of which is topping a classic glazed donut chrome base with gold star decals. Alternatively, you can paint on a milky, shimmery nail polish like OPI's Kyoto Pearl. Either way, your mani will be absolutely mesmerizing.

03 of 20

Holiday Spirit

close up of christmas manicure with neutral background and green, white, red, and silver dots — @lolo.nailedit / Instagram

Confetti-adorned Christmas nails are our love language, and recreating this look at home is incredibly easy. Just swipe on a natural-looking base color of your choice, then grab some festive colors like red, green, white, and silver to create tiny dots that mimic the effect of confetti.

04 of 20

Ice Princess

close up of Christmas manicure with white base and French tip, bow, snowflake, and pink candy cane stripe accent nails — @overglowedit / Instagram

If you're into more of a glam vibe when it comes to your Christmas nails, you're going to love the icy, maximalist energy this set is giving. What's fun about these is that each nail is different: From classic French to pink candy cane stripes, a snowflake, and even a ribbon-wrapped nail, this feminine manicure is simply gorgeous.

05 of 20

Christmas Red

Close-up of bright red iridescent almond-shaped nails — @melanated.mani / Instagram

One Christmas nail idea that never goes out of style is a vivid, festive shade of red. We love this mani because of the subtle sparkle the red gives, plus the color shift shows hints of orange and copper glitter. The exact shade is Death Valley Nails' Hiss, which just might be making its way into our permanent collections.

06 of 20

Christmas Gift

close up of manicure with light pink base, white French tip, and red ribbon design mimicking shape of present — @disseynails / Instagram

Let's be honest: You're the real gift this Christmas, so why not get nails to match? We love this fun set that features a classic French manicure as the base, but makes it holiday-ready by "wrapping" each nail in a red ribbon with a bow in the center.

07 of 20

Jolly and Bright

Close-up of light green shimmery manicure with white snowflake designs on top and one white french tip — @brushedbyb_ / Instagram

This laurel green shade is just what you need for Christmas nails that stand out from the pack. With a stunning diamond shimmer, Lights Lacquer's I Smell Snow is both jolly and bright. Of course, though, our favorite part is the stunning hand-painted snowflakes.

08 of 20

Merry Mismatch

Close-up of Christmas manicure with light pink base and gingerbread, candy cane and chrome French tip, holly berry, and snowfall designs — @heygreatnails / Instagram

Mismatched nails are always a go-to when Christmas rolls around—they make it that much easier to incorporate all our favorite things about the holiday into one mani. This merry mismatched design is absolutely going on our fingers this year: From an adorable gingerbread person to candy cane tips and even mistletoe, it truly has it all.

09 of 20

Christmas Bows

Close-up of manicure with red base and small gold bow designs — @melanated.mani / Instagram

If you have a thing for bows this year like everyone else on Pinterest, allow us to introduce you to one of the sweetest manis we've ever seen. Start with a few coats of your favorite red polish, then apply the bows—you can create your own with a fine line brush if you'd like, but these dainty gold bow stickers from Deco Beauty's Mon Cheri Pack make the process incredibly easy.

10 of 20

Cherry Wine

Close-up of two hands with deep red manicure and multiple gold rings — @iramshelton / Instagram

Whatever you call these nails—cherry wine, deep red, or something else entirely—one thing remains true: This is the color of the season. Our absolute favorite shade is OPI's Got the Blues for Red —just make sure to paint on three coats for maximum drama.

11 of 20

Festive Accents

Close-up of Christmas manicure with translucent light pink base and wreath, abstract tree, snowflake, garland, and reindeer designs — @brushedbyb_ / Instagram

From a wreaths to trees, snowflakes, and more, what's fun about these mismatched Christmas nails is that you can customize them to your heart's content. Paint each individually, choose one as an accent nail, or do a matching set: The options are truly limitless. Just make sure you have a neutral base color and plenty of festive hues like red and green.

12 of 20

Emerald Green

If red isn't your color, an emerald green shade can feel equally ready to party all holiday season long. You can stick with a solid green color like Olive and June's shade One For You, Two For Me, but we've fallen for Mooncat's subtly shimmery shade Access Denied, which is all the more festive and daring.

13 of 20

Candy Cane

Take a trip down candy cane lane with these festive nails. We love how this mani mixes up the look of each individual nail, with solid red, French tips, and even an abstract design. But the star of the show is the candy cane nail, full of stripes and sparkles galore.

14 of 20

Mix-and-Match

Close-up of Christmas manicure with solid red, white and neutral French tips, snowflake and bubble designs, and gold sparkle accent — @melanated.mani / Instagram

There's no doubt you'll end up on the nice list with a Christmas manicure as fun as this. With some mix-and-match vibes, these versatile nails offer classic French tips, snowflakes, and even confetti polka dots. All you'll need to recreate this look is a base color of your choice, as well as red, white, and sparkly silver polishes.

15 of 20

Monochromatic Christmas

Close-up of black-and-white manicure with solid nails, bow and snowflake designs — @anetaujwary / Instagram

Whether you're a fan of square, almond, round, or short nails, this design will look darling on any shape. We love how this manicure makes black and white work for the holiday season with its snowflake, bow, and sparkle designs.

16 of 20

Snowflake Season

Close-up of neutral shimmer manicure with mistletoe and snowflake designs — @glammertized / Instagram

Winter is here—and whether you plan on hitting the slopes or simply enjoying hot chocolate by the fireplace, you need some snowy nails to match. Start with a rosy neutral base coat and pop on a subtle layer of sheer shimmer, then add hand-drawn mistletoe and snowflake designs (or ask your nail tech to recreate them) for a darling cold-weather finish.

17 of 20

Subtle Shine

Close-up of manicure with sheer sparkly base and gold rings — @overglowedit / Instagram

These shimmery nails are the glazed donut's festive sister, in our humble opinion. The sheer sparkle finish is truly out of this world and makes for an ideal Christmas manicure. The exact shade here is Le Manoir's Oyster Velvet, which comes to life with a magnet.

18 of 20

Ornament Mani

Close-up of manicure with black French tips and colorful 3D gem ornament designs — @brushedbyb_ / Instagram

When the Christmas tree is already up and you're still in the mood for some holiday decoration, why not turn your attention to your nails? A 3D ornament design is a fairly straightforward way to create an utterly mesmerizing mani. Start out with black French tips on a base color of your choice, then pop on some fun gems in oval shapes.

19 of 20

Sparkle Mani

You can't go wrong with sparkles for all your holiday manicure needs. Holo Taco's Bottle Service is a glittery golden hue with a metallic shimmer that belongs on your nails this Christmas.

20 of 20

Snow White

Close-up of pearlescent white manicure on hand with diamond heart ring — @heygreatnails / Instagram

If you're dreaming of a white Christmas, these nails are the perfect way to manifest it. Go for your favorite shimmery white hue, like Dazzle Dry's Pearl, and make sure to do at least three coats to make sure the polish doesn't look streaky.

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