Christmas cards are expensive. Honestly, paying six dollars for a piece of cardstock with a generic glittery reindeer feels like a scam when you could just grab a Sharpie and a blank envelope. But then you try to draw a snowflake. It starts off okay, then suddenly one arm is longer than the others, the symmetry vanishes, and you’ve accidentally drawn a damp-looking spider. We’ve all been there. Finding easy things to draw christmas style shouldn't feel like a high-stakes art school exam.
Drawing is mostly about deconstructing complex shapes into things a toddler could recognize. A Christmas tree isn't a tree; it's a series of messy triangles stacked on a rectangle. A bauble isn't a complex glass sphere with reflections; it's a circle with a tiny square on top. If you can write the letter "U" and draw a shaky circle, you have the foundational skills to decorate every gift tag in your house this year.
The Secret to the Perfect (and Simple) Christmas Tree
Most people mess up the tree because they try to draw every single needle. Don't do that. You’ll lose your mind and the ink will bleed through the paper. Instead, think about the "zigzag" method.
Start at the top with a tiny triangle. Instead of closing the bottom, pull the lines out and create another, wider layer. You basically repeat this three or four times. If the lines are a little wobbly, it actually looks better. Nature isn't perfect. Real Douglas firs are lumpy. Another trick used by illustrators like Quentin Blake is to focus on the silhouette rather than the internal detail. A jagged green triangle with a few red dots is instantly recognizable as a tree. You don't need to overthink the geometry.
Some folks prefer the "Scandi-style" tree. This is probably the easiest thing to draw for Christmas because it’s just a tall, skinny triangle with a few horizontal lines crossing it. Add a star—which is just five messy lines crossing each other—and you’re done. It looks intentional and "minimalist" rather than "I can't draw."
Why Your Snowmen Look Like Melting Blobs
Snowmen are deceptively tricky. We're taught they are three circles. But if you stack three perfect circles, it looks like a corporate logo, not a festive character.
To make a snowman look human and "easy," squash the circles. The bottom one should be a wide oval, the middle one a bit smaller, and the head should be a slightly squashed circle. Give him "twig" arms. Literally just two lines with three smaller lines poking out at the ends.
Here is a nuance most people miss: placement of the carrot nose. If you put the nose right in the center, he’s looking at you. If you nudge it to the left and make it point slightly upward, he’s suddenly looking at the sky, waiting for more snow. It adds "character" without requiring any extra technical skill. Stick to coal eyes—just two messy black dots—and you've nailed one of the most classic easy things to draw for Christmas.
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Festive Greenery That Doesn't Require an Art Degree
Holly leaves look terrifying to draw. All those sharp points and curves.
Try this instead. Draw three small circles in a cluster. Those are your berries. Now, draw two curved lines coming out from the berries. On those lines, draw some "V" shapes. Connect the "V" shapes with slight curves. If that feels too hard, just draw a long, slightly curved line and put tiny little ovals all the way down it. That’s a sprig of boxwood or mistletoe. It takes ten seconds.
Professional illustrators often talk about "suggestive drawing." This is the idea that the human brain fills in the gaps. If you put a red berry next to a green leaf shape, the brain says "Christmas!" even if the leaf looks like a green potato. You aren't aiming for botanical accuracy. You're aiming for a vibe.
The "Letter U" Method for Reindeer and Bells
Reindeer are basically just dogs with sticks on their heads.
To draw a super simple Rudolph, draw a large letter "U." Close the top with a slightly curved line. Add two floppy ears on the sides—think of them like teardrops. Put a big circle at the bottom of the "U" for the nose. Then, the antlers. Don't try to make them symmetrical. Draw a line coming out of the head and branch it off once or twice.
Bells follow a similar logic. Draw an upside-down "U." Close the bottom with a flat oval. Draw a small circle (the clapper) peeking out from the bottom. Add a little "C" shape on top for the handle. If you draw two of these at an angle to each other and add a messy bow on top, you've got a professional-looking motif.
Light Bulbs and String Lights
If you want to fill up space on a page quickly, string lights are the ultimate hack.
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- Draw a loopy, messy line across the paper.
- Every few inches, draw a tiny square on the line.
- Under the square, draw a small oval.
- Add two tiny "shine" lines (just two little scratches of the pen) on one side of the oval.
It’s fast. It’s festive. It covers up mistakes. If you mess up a different drawing on the page, just run a string of lights over it. Suddenly the "mistake" looks like a background element.
Common Pitfalls: Why Simple Drawings Fail
The biggest mistake isn't a lack of talent; it's the tools.
If you use a ballpoint pen, your lines will be thin and shaky. Use a felt-tip pen or a marker. Bold lines hide errors. A thick, confident line looks like a "style choice," whereas a thin, scratchy line looks like hesitation.
Another issue is scale. People try to draw things too small. When you draw small, your hand gets cramped and the details blur together. Go big. Draw a giant candy cane that takes up half the page. A candy cane is just a "J" shape with a second "J" shape next to it, connected at the ends. Fill it with diagonal stripes. If the stripes aren't perfectly spaced, call it "hand-crafted charm."
Mastering the Basics of Christmas Ornaments
Ornaments are the bread and butter of holiday doodling. They are literally just circles.
But a circle by itself is boring. To make it a Christmas ornament, you need that little metal cap. Draw a tiny rectangle on top of your circle. Then, draw a small loop coming out of that rectangle.
To make it look 3D without actually knowing how to shade, use the "C" highlight. Inside the circle, near the top left edge, draw a small, thin "C" shape. It suggests that light is hitting a curved surface. This is a trick used in cartooning for decades because it works every single time.
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Different Ornament Shapes to Try:
- The Icicle: A long, skinny triangle that points down. Add some horizontal "ribs" or swirls.
- The Teardrop: A circle that stretches into a point at the top.
- The Onion: A wide, squashed circle with a pointy top and bottom, common in vintage European decorations.
The Psychology of "Good Enough" Art
There is a real pressure to be perfect, especially with social media showing us hyper-realistic colored pencil drawings of Santa that look like high-definition photos. Forget those.
Easy things to draw for Christmas are about the act of creating, not the gallery-ready result. In fact, "kawaii" art—a Japanese style that focuses on cuteness—relies on extreme simplicity. Two dots for eyes and a tiny smile can make a piece of toast look like a Christmas character.
If you're feeling stuck, look at the work of Mary Blair. She was a legendary Disney artist who used simple shapes and bold colors to create iconic holiday imagery. Her work proves that you don't need complex anatomy or perfect perspective to evoke the feeling of the season.
Actionable Next Steps for Your Holiday Doodles
Start by gathering the right supplies. You don't need an expensive kit. A black fineliner, a red marker, and a green marker are plenty.
- Practice the "blob" method: Draw five random green blobs on a piece of scrap paper. Try to turn each one into a different Christmas item (a tree, a wreath, a gift, a holly leaf, a lumpy elf hat).
- Focus on the eyes: If you’re drawing characters, keep the eyes low on the face. It makes things look cuter and more "holiday-friendly."
- Limit your palette: Stick to three colors. Red, green, and black. Or gold, silver, and blue. Too many colors make a simple drawing look cluttered and messy.
- Embrace the wiggle: If your hand shakes, lean into it. Wavy lines look like "folk art." Straight lines look like they were drawn by a computer. People prefer the folk art.
Once you’ve mastered the basic Christmas tree and the "U-shaped" reindeer, try combining them. Put a reindeer in a forest of zigzag trees. Add some loopy string lights across the top. You aren't just doodling anymore; you're creating a scene. And the best part is, if it looks a little "off," you can just tell everyone it’s "stylized." That’s what the pros do.
Keep your pen moving and don't use an eraser. Mistakes are just opportunities to add more tinsel.