26 Holiday Nail-Art Designs That Are Festive but Not Cheesy

Want a Christmas manicure that you can confidently wear past New Year's Day? This red snowflake set is festive and holiday-appropriate, without being too on the nose.

Can't pick one design? You don't have to with these Christmas nails. This set incorporates a snowflake design, a bow, a french tip, and candy cane swirls in one manicure.

Red can feel like the obvious color for your Christmas nails but don't forget about green. This set features different designs on each finger, from plaid to bows and snowflakes.

If red and green aren't your thing, opt for a girly set like this pink and white one. Together, the two colors form popular holiday motifs like a Christmas tree, snowflakes, and an ornament.

Swirl nails are a fun trend on their own, but you can level it up by drawing inspiration for your next design from classic wrapping-paper colors, like red, white, and gold to make it a holiday nail art design.

Give Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer a subtle nod by adding the cartoon to an accent finger. Paint the rest of your nails either a single polish or an equally simple look.

Jack Frost provides the ultimate icy nail inspiration — just take this blue, silver, and white design. You could pick one design from this example and do it on every single nail, or opt to mix and match.

The classic holiday candy gets a nail-art upgrade with this swirl design. Our favorite is the twist on the french manicure, but honestly, we love how all of the designs work together.

This manicure manages to capture all the best parts of Christmas. It includes a Santa-hat nail-art design, snowmen, gingerbread men, and more.

Nothing is cozier than sweater nails, which feature 3D details on an accent finger that match the texture of a knit sweater. Read more about the trend.

Negative-space nails — which feature a design on bare or clear nails — are the ultimate minimalist manicure idea. We especially like this seasonal addition of gold snowflake decals.

You can also opt to add the white sweater detail to a singular accent nail and paint the rest of your fingers a bright cherry red or another fun holiday-themed color.

Holiday nail art doesn't have to be as straightforward as a snowflake on a green and red background. Take this look, for example. The blue, white, and silver shades still give the holiday nail vibe, but it's a vibe you could wear all year long.

We love a classic burgundy manicure in winter, and these gold-star additions (created with a metallic polish and thin nail brush) take the holiday nail art up a notch. This manicure will also work perfectly for New Year's Eve.

Mistletoe nail art doesn't have to be obvious or in your face; instead, try adding the design to the tips of every other nail and paint on a cool ombré design leading up to them for dramatic effect.

Adding subtle holiday details — like the winter berries design here — to a solid nail-polish color like dark blue or green gives your holiday nail art a touch of whimsy without being too over the top.

Matte burgundy nails look especially chic with a singular stenciled detail in a classic wrapping-paper design. You can opt for an accent nail or do it on every single one, the choice is up to you.

The easiest holiday nail art design idea: change up your polish finishes. Take this burgundy and rose-gold manicure, for example, which plays with matte and glitter.

The color red will be everywhere this festive season, but painting on the color in an abstract shape — like just the tip of each nail as shown here — makes this holiday nail art feel fresh.

French manicures look a lot more festive when you incorporate a glitter polish. Bonus points if you add other elements, like a snowflake here and there, to each nail.

An olive-green polish that matches your Christmas tree or wreath is a perfect choice on its own, but adding in a few flecks of scattered gold glitter to a nail or two makes it an extra festive holiday nail art look.

If you want to try the cashmere-sweater nails trend but still want to keep it cozy and simple, we suggest a neutral base color like the beige worn here. These nails can take you through all of the holiday months, and they'll match with every single outfit.

Subtle nail art details on a clean, neutral-colored polish will pair well with any holiday outfit and make great holiday nail art. This example features two different accent nails and a mix of black and gold polish.

Why not give your "french moon" manicure a holiday nail art touch by adding a singular snowflake decal on a single finger? If you're DIY-ing, you can even opt for a nail art sticker instead of drawing the snowflake yourself.

With Christmas trees and a Santa-hat nail-art design, you can't go wrong with this festive manicure.

Give your french manicure the 3D touch with this embossed cashmere-sweater detail on the tips. You can opt for a matte look or something shiny.

Jessica Harrington (she/her) is the senior editor of PS Beauty, where she oversees coverage around makeup, skin care, hair, tattoos, and more. With more than eight years of industry experience, she has interviewed countless celebrities, reported on hundreds of beauty trends, and swatched more lipsticks than she can count. Prior to PS, Jessica worked for publications such as Makeup.com, Skincare.com, and The Zoe Report.

Tori Crowther is a freelance beauty journalist and former PS UK editor.

Renee Rodriguez (she/her) is a staff writer and social producer for PS. She writes across all verticals, but her main areas of expertise focus on fashion and beauty content with an emphasis on reviews and editor experiments. She also produces social content for the PS TikTok and Instagram accounts.