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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.
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Christmas Sparkles
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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 ($10) as your red base, then add some gold sparkles using Essie's Summit of Style ($10) 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 ($10).
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Starry Night
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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 ($11). Either way, your mani will be absolutely mesmerizing.
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Holiday Spirit
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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.
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Ice Princess
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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.
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Christmas Red
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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 ($14), which just might be making its way into our permanent collections.
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Christmas Gift
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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.
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Jolly and Bright
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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 ($11) is both jolly and bright. Of course, though, our favorite part is the stunning hand-painted snowflakes.
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Merry Mismatch
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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.
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Christmas Bows
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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 ($10) make the process incredibly easy.
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Cherry Wine
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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 ($11)—just make sure to paint on three coats for maximum drama.
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Festive Accents
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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.
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Emerald Green
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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 ($9), but we've fallen for Mooncat's subtly shimmery shade Access Denied ($14), which is all the more festive and daring.
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Candy Cane
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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.
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Mix-and-Match
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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.
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Monochromatic Christmas
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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.
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Snowflake Season
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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.
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Subtle Shine
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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 ($22), which comes to life with a magnet.
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Ornament Mani
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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.
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Sparkle Mani
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You can't go wrong with sparkles for all your holiday manicure needs. Holo Taco's Bottle Service ($14) is a glittery golden hue with a metallic shimmer that belongs on your nails this Christmas.
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Snow White
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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 ($22), and make sure to do at least three coats to make sure the polish doesn't look streaky.
7 Candy Cane Nail Ideas That Aren't Cheesy
