Festive Christmas Face Painting Ideas

Kelli Cowart — 11 December 2022 —

If you are about to face paint for Christmas and need the prettiest, most popular design ideas, you’re on the right page.

Our guide will focus on the most requested face painting designs and a ton of tutorials to help you nail this holiday season.

~ Quick Navigation Content Guide ~

Easy Christmas Face Painting Ideas
Christmas Tree
Holly Berries
Poinsettia
Reindeer
Rudolph
Snowman
Ice Queen
The Grinch
Santa
Other Christmas Face Painting Ideas
Fine Art
Transforming Your Regular Designs for Christmas

Are you new to face painting? ✅ Do yourself a favor and find top designs, fast and easy face painting, and great video tutorials all in one place on our Ultimate Face Painting Ideas Guide!
Face paint ideas guide with a preview of seven different designs

Easy Christmas Face Painting Ideas

The crowds can get a bit wild when you are working on an event. Several design options are available if you are working on a significant holiday event and need to crank out the candy canes at top speed.

two women, a boy and a child wearing different christmas face paint designs

Here are a few tutorials of simple face painting designs to begin with:

 

 

More tutorials on YouTube:
Christmas Holly Face Paint Tutorial
Gingerbread Man Face Painting

Consider designs that only require a few brush strokes and a poof of glitter to make your little clients eyes light up. Think quick snowman cheek art with 2 circles as the base and a quick one-stroke hat.

Add a cute smile and Frosty is ready to roll. Or maybe a metallic base with a stencil and swirls applied on top. The options are endless and the more you paint and practice them, the quicker your nimble little elf hands will work!

three women and a child with christmas face paint designs

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Christmas Tree Face Painting

These beautiful evergreens can be interpreted in so many ways. Whether creating a beautiful full face look or speeding up your line by utilizing a fun one-stroke design, feel free to incorporate jewels, glitter balms, liquid bling and more to deck your tree out. Don’t limit yourself to full Christmas trees, incorporate beautiful pine branches into your designs as well!

three christmas face paintings - two painted on faces and one on an arm

Here’s a super easy Christmas tree tutorial by Simona Rad:

 

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A post shared by Simona Rad (@radsimona17)

Holly Berries Face Painting

When painting these beautiful green leaves, elaborate with swirls, stencils and liquid bling to transform a simple holly cluster into a glorious work of art.

four girls wearing different mistletoe face paint designs

Onestroke holly leaves can be tricky if you don’t angle your brush correctly, be sure to practice your strokes so that you can quickly pump them out on the job.

an image of illustrated leaves and an image of those leaves painted on an arm

Or learn how to paint these easy holly face painting designs from Olga and Ashlea:

 

 

Poinsettia Face Painting Design Ideas

These beautiful red blooms are a great way to add a floral element to your designs.

four women with different christmas face paintings on them

Check out our “Tools for perfect Double Dip Flowers” article and find out how to incorporate these beautiful buds into your work for eye-pleasing details!

Don’t feel the pressure to only use poinsettias in your designs, red or ghost roses with holly leaves or evergreen branches would also be a gorgeous addition to your holiday offerings.

five women with flowers face paintings and an image of a flower belly painting

Try your hand at these tutorials:

 

 

Or at this step-by-step:
five images that showcase the steps of making a red leaves christmas face paint

Reindeer Face Painting Design Ideas

These adorable flyers will light up your customers’ faces as sure as Rudolph’s nose. Create quick cheek/forehead art as well as the classic full-faced reindeer. Having a variety of options keeps your customers happy and keeps you from bored with your 1,000th reindeer of the weekend.
four children with different reindeer face paint designs

two girls and two women with rudolph the reindeer face paintings on them

Rudolph Face Painting Tutorials and Ideas

four girls wearing different reindeer face paint designs

two girls and two women wearing different reindeer face paint designs

four images of different reindeer face paintings

 

More tutorials on YouTube:
Christmas Reindeer Face Paint Tutorial
Reindeer One Stroke
Fast Reindeer One Stroke Face Paint Tutorial
Deer Reindeer Makeup and Face Painting

Check out our “Secret tips to obtain a flawless design in face painting” article and learn how to get your designs Instagram worthy… we all wanna be Instagram famous, right?

four girls with rudolph the reindeer face paint designs

image of a woman with christmas face painting around her right eye and a image of a man with christmas themed face paintings above his eyebrows

☃️ Snowman Face Painting Design Ideas

Add some funk to your Frosty! Don’t be afraid to experiment with fun hats and placement for your snowman…or lady. From classic snowmen to beloved characters and your own creative spin… the options are endless!

a woman and three girls with snowman face paint designs

a woman and three children with snowman face paint designs

two women and four children wearing different snowman face paintings

Check out these snowman video tutorials:

 

 

 

You’ll be able to create a bunch of varieties of your frosty guy by simply playing around with his facial features. Here’s an inspiration board for you to save.

different snowman designs with various expressions and emotions

Tip: Check out this fun and super quick Snowman Face Painting design tutorial by Kristin Olsson.

smiling boy looking at the camera at an angle with a snowman and stars face painting on the left side of his face

… and this snowman tutorial too. You can see how using a star stencil and some simple shading really make this design pop!
five images of a process of making a snowman face paint around the eye

Learn how to paint this Olaf design by Olga Murasev:

four girls wearing snowman from frozen face painting designs

Ice Queen Face Painting

The official unofficial Christmas princess. Snowflake and ice designs are always popular and she is, well… the queen of ice!

Get creative with your variations, this truly the time to play around with creative ideas for this Frozen beauty. Here are a few designs to inspire you, but we cannot wait to see what YOU come up with.

four girls with ice princess face paintings on their faces
Tip: Take a look at another fantastic tutorial from Kristin – the Ice Princess step-by-step.

image of four girls with different ice pricncess face paintings on their faces

Try your hand with these tutorials for the “Frozen” Elsa Crown and Snowflake Princess.

 

four little girls with different ice princess face paint designs

three girls with different ice princess face paint designs

You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch Face Paint

This Dr. Seuss classic will bring a smile to even the naughtiest child in your line! From full face to cheek art, the cheermeister of Mt. Crumpit is sure to have all the Whos in your line giggling.

four images of people having different grinch face paintings

four images of different versions of the grinch face pain designs

Try your hand at these Grinch design video tutorials:

 

 

 

four children wearing different grinch face paint design

Gillian Child also created a very fun and easy Grinch step-by-step:
nine images showing the process of creating the grinch face paint on a blonde woman

Santa Face Painting

You can’t have Christmas without jolly old Santa Claus. Whether you’re adding his iconic hat over a child’s eyebrow, or transforming them with a full beard, these designs are sure to get you on the Nice List.

four different christmas face painting ideas of santa clause face paint
four different santa clause face paint designs on 4 different kids and girls

Check out this Santa tutorial:

 

Or try these lively variations of the Santa Claus face painting designs:
two women and two children wearing different santa clause face paint desings

Other Christmas Face Painting Ideas

Elves, penguins, polar bears, Christmas lights and decorations… there are many more ideas to sparkle up your party with themed designs.

an image of four people - two people wearing an elf face painting, one wearing a christmas bear and the fourth wearing a raindeer faca painting

Check out these fun tutorials:

 

 

This chilly willy fella will surely make a splash (get it?!) at any event. A cute lil guy on the forehead or cheek, or a full mask design are great options for your winter board. Get your sponges and snowflake stencil out to recreate this Olga Murasev Pretty Penguin design.

 

four different christmas face paint designs. two are one girl and the other two are on two different girls

Yeti – a frosty giant will be a great addition to the category of “there’s never enough boy’s designs!” Try your hand at Kristin Olsson’s yeti… then let loose and create one of your own!

three images of a boy with the first three stages of a christmas face painting being made on his face
three images of a boy with the last three stages of a christmas face painting being made on his face

These step-by-step photos are a great way for you to gain understanding of layering colors, shading and a proper order of operations while painting. At the International Face Paint School, you will get comprehensive knowledge of shading, color theory, positioning and more.

Fine Art

Face painting isn’t limited to swirls, cartoons… or even the face. The human body can become a living canvas. The creativity and beauty inspired by these designs are breathtaking. While these aren’t practical for on-the-job work, unique designs like these pump up your portfolio and are great for photo shoots and private client sessions for special projects.

two girls and four women wearing christmas face and body paint designs
Tip: Don’t limit yourself! Get creative with your canvas. Allow yourself to be inspired by nature, works of art, beautiful patterns and the beauty of the human body.

Transforming Your Regular Designs for Christmas

Don’t altogether remove your butterflies, princess crowns, kitty cats, skulls (Yes, skulls. Take a look at Vanessa Mendoza’s design below for a fun twist) and other popular designs from your holiday portfolio.

Find creative ways to incorporate Christmas or Frozen colors, snowflakes and other holiday elements into your regular offerings. There will not be a good time for a Spiderman.

four women, two girls and a boy with a christmas face painting designs

Adding classic Christmas colors or a split cake of frosty blues can transport your summer butterflies into winter wonderland creatures.

an image of a woman with three different christmas face paint designs on her
Tip: Learn how to paint these three Christmas butterflies from Annabel’s tutorial.

 

It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
We really have the best job. We get to create living art, light up children’s faces and get paid to party! Even if you don’t normally dress up while you’re working, consider really embracing the holiday spirit. Throw on some festive leggings, an ugly Christmas sweater, or even go all out with an elf-inspired ensemble.

images of people wearing christmas costumes and christmas face paintings
Tip: Your attention to detail and fun adds that much more value to the service you are providing. Think of your appearance and setup as a bit of a “fishing lure”. You want to grab kids’ attention to bring them into your booth!

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas and a magical face painting experience this holiday season!

 

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 — Kelli Cowart

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