10 Creative Holiday Greeting Card Ideas (& How to Make Them)
Looking for unique holiday greeting card ideas? Explore ten creative designs and techniques that will delight you and your loved ones!
The holiday season is a time for warmth, joy and connection, and there’s no better way to spread all three than with a handmade greeting card. Creating your own cards adds a special, personal touch that store-bought cards just can’t match, so your holiday wishes will feel even more meaningful.
Up ahead, you’ll find a curated list of ten creative holiday card ideas, each of which you can learn to create in a Skillshare class. Whether you want to dabble in watercolors, get playful with vibrant acrylics or explore the art of hand lettering, these classes offer the perfect mix of techniques and inspiration to help you bring your holiday vision to life (and delight each and every one of your recipients while you’re at it).
Poinsettia Bouquet
About This Project:
In this project, you'll create a hand-painted watercolor poinsettia bouquet that combines classic holiday florals with soft, elegant brushwork. This technique gives the card a festive and high-end look while still retaining the fluid and organic feel of watercolor.
What You’ll Make:
The final card will feature a beautifully painted poinsettia bouquet with shades of vibrant red, deep green, earthy brown and eye-catching gold and silver accents. Your poinsettia will be surrounded by sprigs, berries, leaves and pinecones for added dimension and visual interest.
Who Teaches It:
You'll learn how to complete this greeting card under the guidance of Joly Poa, a Philippines watercolorist who's been painting with watercolor since 2013. She offers a variety of Skillshare classes on watercolors and gouache and even teaches art on Skillshare.
Why It’s Perfect for the Holidays:
This card design resonates with the festive season, both in subject and color. Thanks to a classic Mexican legend, poinsettias are classic symbols of Christmas. Paired with the elegance and timelessness of watercolors, the result is a card that’s perfect for heartfelt holiday greetings.
Take the Class: Watercolor Christmas Projects: Learn to Paint 12 Holiday Cards
Robins On a Branch
About This Project:
This delightful greeting card project guides you through painting a serene scene of three watercolor robins perching on the branch of an evergreen tree. Using a loose, natural watercolor technique, it captures the charm of winter wildlife and is chock-full of rich colors.
What You’ll Make:
The final card will feature three watercolor robins adorned with vibrant orange and dark blue feathers, sitting on the lush green branch of a pine tree.
Who Teaches It:
This project is taught by Nina, a watercolor artist and art therapist who teaches classes geared toward beginner- and intermediate-level students. She's a skilled instructor who will walk you through the steps of blending color, creating contrast and adding fine details to bring your robins to life.
Why It’s Perfect for the Holidays:
Robins have long been associated with the Christmas season, making them a beloved subject for holiday greeting cards. This design reflects the quiet beauty of the holiday season and will result in a timeless, nature-inspired card that conveys warmth and peace.
Take the Class: Winter Illustrations in Watercolors: 3 fun projects for Christmas cards
Gingerbread House
About This Project:
If you want to create a whimsical, festive and sweet greeting card, this gingerbread house design will be right up your alley. With a combination of intricate details and soft washes of color, this card captures the fun and charm of holiday treats.
What You’ll Make:
The final card will showcase a cozy, hand-painted gingerbread house decorated with icing accents, a colorful tiled roof and a Christmas tree visible through the second-floor window. The warm browns of the gingerbread are complemented by pink, blue and white details, while green foliage and red berries add a distinctly festive feel.
Who Teaches It:
You'll create your gingerbread house masterpiece with the help of Irina, a teacher with dozens of Skillshare classes and more than 25,000 students. Originally from Moldova and now based in Connecticut, Irina started exploring the world of watercolor at the age of four and has been painting ever since.
Why It’s Perfect for the Holidays:
The gingerbread house is an instantly recognizable symbol of holiday cheer and nostalgia, and is sure to evoke fond memories of holiday baking. With its warm colors and playful decorations, this card perfectly captures the joyful spirit of the holidays.
Take the Class: Watercolor Holiday Cards - Create Joyful Mail Art
Festive Snow Globe
About This Project:
Do you prefer to work with acrylics rather than watercolors? No problem. This holiday card features a hand-painted snow globe created with acrylic paint for a vibrant and detailed look. Using layering and highlighting techniques, this snow globe captures a festive winter scene with depth and color that will wow recipients.
What You’ll Make:
Your final card will depict a beautifully detailed snow globe containing a winter wonderland scene. You can achieve the globe's glassy look with highlights and shading, which will give it a three-dimensional look. Meanwhile, the snowmen, cozy houses and snow-covered trees inside the globe will add whimsy and additional detail.
Who Teaches It:
This festive class is taught by Hayley Hawkins, a Kentucky-based artist with over 15 years of painting experience. She's proficient at working in oils, acrylics, watercolor and gouache alike.
With her in-depth knowledge, she'll guide you through the steps of creating an enchanting snow globe.
Why It’s Perfect for the Holidays:
The snow globe is a nostalgic holiday symbol that evokes warmth and wonder. With its tiny winter scene and sparkling snowfall, your card will remind recipients of holiday traditions and magical moments.
Take the Class: How to Paint a Snow Globe - Christmas Acrylic Painting Tutorial
Christmas Tree
About This Project:
Another project using acrylic paints, this card features a serene Christmas tree in a snowy forest beneath a starry night sky.
What You’ll Make:
Once you've completed your card, it will showcase a green Christmas tree nestled among snowy trees under a blue, star-filled sky. Gentle washes of color bring out the snowy landscape and sky, while red ornaments make the Christmas tree stand out from the background.
Who Teaches It:
Meet Mohini Sinha, a certified acrylic painting instructor originally from Patna, India. After spending a decade working for top IT companies, Mohini's childhood love of art was reawakened, and she became a full-time artist in 2022. She specializes in painting landscapes, and that skill is reflected in the beautiful holiday cards she'll help you create.
Why It’s Perfect for the Holidays:
This card's imagery embodies the wonder and tranquility of the Christmas season. The soft blue sky, sparkling stars and colorful Christmas tree evoke a peaceful yet festive feeling that's perfect for sending warm holiday wishes.
Take the Class: Christmas Holiday Cards
Holly Pattern
About This Project:
For this project, you'll create a festive, hand-painted pattern of red and green holly using watercolor techniques. The holly design painted against a soft green background makes for an elegant, seasonal pattern that is simple, sophisticated and perfect for just about any recipient.
What You’ll Make:
The final card will sport a delicate watercolor pattern of vibrant green holly leaves and vibrant red berries, all arranged against a subtle light green background. Each holly leaf and berry is individually painted to capture the organic shapes and variations in color.
Who Teaches It:
This project is taught by Dhritikana Nath, an artist, educator and entrepreneur from Delhi, India. As a small business owner and experienced instructor, Dhritikana excels at teaching students how they can use simple techniques to create truly impressive watercolor paintings.
Why It’s Perfect for the Holidays:
Holly is a traditional holiday symbol, and its bold reds and greens immediately evoke the festive spirit. This design’s combination of lively colors and simple elegance makes it a versatile card for sending holiday cheer to anyone.
Take the Class: Be Creative - Exploring Watercolor Patterns to Holiday Card Making
Cute Baby Deer
About This Project:
This project combines watercolor and ink techniques to create an enchanting image of a fawn standing in a peaceful, snow-covered forest. The mix of watercolor’s soft, fluid colors and ink’s delicate linework brings a gentle yet detailed touch to a heartwarming winter scene.
What You’ll Make:
Your card will feature a brown baby deer surrounded by gently falling snowflakes and tree branches adorned with bright red berries. Watercolor washes capture the muted colors of snow and the warm hues of the fawn, while fine ink lines add detail to the deer's features and the branches' leaves.
Who Teaches It:
Your instructor for this class is Irina, the same teacher from the gingerbread house card featured above.
Why It’s Perfect for the Holidays:
The baby deer in a snowy forest embodies the innocence and beauty of the winter season, making it perfect for holiday greetings. Its gentle appearance and quiet surroundings convey a sense of peace and warmth, resulting in a memorable design that recipients of all ages will appreciate.
Take the Class: Easy Holiday Cards in Watercolor and Ink
Winter Wreath
About This Project:
This holiday greeting card project focuses on painting a unique watercolor wreath composed of blue-toned foliage, berries and pine needles. The cool, wintry color palette gives this wreath a modern and sophisticated feel, perfect for refreshing traditional holiday colors.
What You’ll Make:
Once your card is finished, it will display a circular watercolor wreath decorated with plenty of light and deep blue leaves, icy-hued pine needles and clusters of cool-toned berries. Each element is painted with subtle layers and gradients to create depth and softness. The wreath’s cool color palette gives it an icy elegance, with each brushstroke adding texture and dimension to the card.
Who Teaches It:
This class is taught by Joly, who also teaches the class featured at the very beginning of this list.
Why It’s Perfect for the Holidays:
The wreath’s blue foliage and berries offer a fresh take on holiday decor, which makes it ideal if you're looking for a winter-inspired but non-traditional design. With frosty blues and icy white accents, this design captures the beauty of the season without relying on typical reds and greens.
Take the Class: Watercolor Christmas Projects: Create Wreaths and Holiday Cards
Ornament Wreath
About This Project:
Create this card and you'll learn how to paint a vibrant watercolor wreath made of multicolored glass ornaments nestled among pine needles. The combination of reflective ornaments and lush greenery creates a classic, joyous holiday look that feels festive, cozy and bright.
What You’ll Make:
The card you make will feature a circular wreath composed of round glass ornaments in an array of holiday colors—reds, greens and golds—accented by soft, feathery pine needles painted in sage green. Each ornament is painted with delicate highlights and shading to capture glassy reflections, while the pine needles add natural texture and contrast.
Who Teaches It:
You'll learn how to paint this wreath under the tutelage of Emily Marie, a watercolor artist from Wisconsin. She was an elementary school teacher before starting her art business, and now uses both Skillshare and in-person workshops to share her skills with the world. Emily Marie is also an avid dog lover, and if you are too, you'll want to check out her Skillshare classes on watercolor pet portraits.
Why It’s Perfect for the Holidays:
This wreath of colorful ornaments and pine needles embodies the cheerful and traditional side of the holiday season. With its playful, classic design, your greeting card will undoubtedly bring joy and festivity to anyone who receives it.
Take the Class: Holiday Greeting Cards in Watercolors: Paint your own Christmas Cards
Joyous Hand Lettering
About This Project:
This gorgeous greeting card project focuses on creating a hand-lettered design featuring the words “merry and bright” illustrated in a whimsical cursive style. The letters are formed from a pine garland adorned with strings of colorful Christmas lights, resulting in a festive and playful design that combines typography and illustration.
What You’ll Make:
Your card will display the phrase “merry and bright” written in a graceful cursive font that resembles a pine garland. The garland text is decorated with tiny, multicolored Christmas lights, which add vibrant pops of red, yellow and blue against the green pine. Soft shadows and glimmering highlights enhance the text's three-dimensional effect, while the colorful lights give the card a cheerful touch that makes it feel lively and inviting.
Who Teaches It:
This class is courtesy of Shannon Layne, an artist, hand letterer and teacher from Barbados. She's a multi-talented artist with Skillshare classes on watercolors, lettering and Procreate, so if you love the way your hand-lettered greeting card comes out, you're sure to enjoy her other classes, too.
Why It’s Perfect for the Holidays:
The combination of lush pine garland and twinkling Christmas lights perfectly captures some of the most recognizable decorations of the holiday season. The hand-lettered style adds a personal, handmade touch, while the vibrant lights and greenery lend warmth and cheer.
Take the Class: Fun and Festive Hand Lettered Christmas Cards
Bonus: Beautiful Holiday Envelopes
About This Project:
Why not deliver your handcrafted holiday card inside an equally beautiful envelope? This project involves creating a festive red envelope featuring elegant brush calligraphy for the recipient's address, accented by several vintage-inspired, Christmas-themed stamps.
What You’ll Make:
Your envelope will feature beautifully hand-lettered calligraphy in white ink on a bright red envelope, which creates a classic, eye-catching contrast. Along the top corner, a collection of Christmas-themed stamps in various sizes and designs adds a nostalgic and festive touch.
Who Teaches It:
This class is taught by Kimberly Shrack, a calligrapher and illustrator who's worked with major brands like Crane & Co. and Anthropologie. She's created Skillshare classes for beginner, intermediate and advanced calligraphers alike, and with her instruction, your greeting card envelopes are sure to spark holiday cheer.
Why It’s Perfect for the Holidays:
This festive envelope design sets a joyful tone before the card is even revealed. It serves as a delightful way to spread cheer and show how much you care, and proves that even minor details can make holiday greetings truly memorable.
Take the Class: Merry Mail Art: Level Up Your Holiday Cards
Get Creative with Your Holiday Cards This Season
Creating your own holiday cards is a joyful way to celebrate the season and spread cheer far and wide. From watercolor landscapes to festive hand-lettering, each design brings a unique touch that will make your holiday greetings extra special.
Whether you’re new to paper crafts or an experienced greeting card designer, these Skillshare classes and their talented instructors can help you explore creative techniques and find inspiration to craft cards that are as memorable as they are meaningful. So gather your art supplies, try out some fun designs and share your handmade cards with friends and family this holiday season.
Looking for greeting card ideas for any time of year? Skillshare has plenty of classes to get you started:
- How to Create & Print Greeting Cards with Your Own Artwork
- Intro to Block Printmaking: Create a Set of Greeting Cards
- Painting Flowers in Gouache: Make a Floral Greeting Card
- Explore Your Creativity: Create a Playful, Personal Greeting Card
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Carrie Buchholz
Carrie Buchholz is a freelance writer who lives in Northern Colorado with her husband and dog.
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