Make Christmas personal with some of our favourite handmade Christmas card and tag ideas. Whether you enjoy painting, craft, drawing or calligraphy, we’ve got a little something for everybody up our sleeve. Find your creative Christmas inspiration below.

1. Snow globe shaker cards

Image credit: Mayholic Design

This beautiful card design by May at Mayholic Design is easier than it looks. Take a folded piece of card and cut a circle out of the front panel. You’ll then need to cut a circle of card slightly bigger than the hole you’ve created and do the same with some acetate. Use craft glue to fasten the acetate to the back of the hole and paint your cut out card circle with a background colour and add some Christmas themed decorations once it has dried. Place dimensional adhesive around the back of your ‘card window’ and put sequins inside before fastening your decorated circle to the back. This makes a fun and memorable handmade Christmas card that your friends and family are sure to enjoy. For the full tutorial, visit Mayholic Design.

Tools and materials:

•   Craft glue
•   Acrylic or watercolour paint
•   Glitter paint
•   Paint brush
•   Card stock
•   Sequins
•   Scissors and stencil knife
•   Dimensional adhesive
•   Pen or stamp for Christmas message

2. 3D Christmas tree cards

Image credit: Lisa Spangler, Studio Calico

If you don’t mind a spot of sewing, try this fun 3D Christmas card design. Take some brown card stock and fold it into the shape of a gift card. Mix some acrylic white paint with a small amount of water and use a paint brush to lightly flick it onto the front of the card to create the impression of snow. Cut out 1-3 triangles from card stock (buy it patterned or create your own patterns with paint or markers). Fold these triangles down the centre and use your sewing machine to stitch them to the paper. Then simply add additional decorations such as stars and seasons greetings. If you don’t like sewing, or would like a more child friendly activity, you can create a 2D version by sticking down your trees with craft glue. You can see the full tutorial on the Studio Calico website.

Tools and materials:

•   Craft glue
•   Acrylic or watercolour paint
•   Glitter paint
•   Paint brush
•   Pen or stamp for Christmas message
•   Brown card stock
•   Sequins
•   Scissors and stencil knife
•   Sewing machine

3. Hand lettering

There is beauty in simplicity. Create personalised gift tags or cards by hand painting your Christmas greetings. All you need to do is cut some card stock to size and write a Christmas message on the front with ink, acrylic paint or a marker. This is perfect for those who love lettering, or those who would like to try their hand at it.

Tools and materials:

•   Paint brush or calligraphy tools
•   Card stock
•   Acrylic paint or ink
•   Hole punch
•   Ribbon

4. Potato stamp cards

Image credit: Brit + Co

There’s more to potatoes than being a delicious savoury snack. Create handmade Christmas cards or gift wrap by making unique potato stamps. Simply cut your design or shape into a raw potato and get stamping. This is a great activity for children to get involved with. If you need some tips on creating potato stamps, Brit + Co have a tutorial with everything you need to know.

Tools and materials:

•   Acrylic paint
•   Paint brush (for applying paint to stamp)
•   Marker (for drawing your pattern to guide your knife)
•   Potatoes
•   Card stock
•   Knife

5. Watercolour gift tags

Image credit: Oleander and Palm

Add a splash of colour to Christmas with these beautiful watercolour gift tags. These handmade gift tags are fun and easy to create. Take some watercolour paper and drip, swirl, splash and paint your designs onto it. Once you’ve let it dry, you can either use a machine to cut out the tags or cut them out by hand. If you need some guidance, check out the tutorial on the Oleander and Palm website.

Tools and materials:

•   Watercolour paint
•   Watercolour paint brushes
•   Watercolour paper
•   Card stock
•   Hole punch
•   Twine or ribbon
•   Scissors 

6. Hand drawn Christmas cards

Image credit: The Lovely Things

For this handmade Christmas card idea, all you need is card stock, pens or pencils and your imagination. If you’re stuck for ideas, Amy from The Lovely Things has created some quick designs to get you started. So grab your red and green pens and start drawing!

Tools and materials:

•   Pens or pencils
•   Card stock
•   Scissors 

7. Christmas cards with sparkle

Image credit: Jessica Spengler

Make your cards stand out with a touch of sparkle. Glitter paint can be used for simple or complicated designs – the level of difficulty is your choice. Paint a simple Christmas tree design on the front of your handmade card or create an intricate pattern. Either way, your card is bound to impress.

Tools and materials:

•   Glitter paint
•   Paint brush
•   Craft glue (for adding decorations)
•   Card stock
•   Ribbon

8.Hand painted gift tags

Image credit: Geneva Vanderzeil, A Pair and a Spare DIY

DIY Handmade Christmas cards and tags don’t need to take up all your free time. Perfect some simple designs and create beautiful ink tags with this idea from Geneva Vanderzeil. Some easy options you might like to try include a heart, a Christmas tree, a snowman, writing, a star or a Christmas bauble. Let your imagination run wild and create personalised gift tags or cards for your loved ones this Christmas.

Tools and materials:

•   Paint brushes
•   Acrylic paint or ink
•   Card stock
•   Hole punch
•   Twine

9. Reindeer tag

This cute and simple tag design is one the children can get involved with. Simply dip your finger in some paint and push it onto your tag to create your reindeer’s head (the little one’s might need to use their thumb). Take a marker and draw the ears, eyes, antlers and nose on. For Rudolf, you can use some red glitter paint to make his nose shine bright.

Tools and materials:

•   Acrylic paint
•   Black marker
•   Red glitter paint
•   Paint brush
•   Card stock
•   Hole punch
•   Twine

10. Hand coloured cards

This colourful Christmas card idea is a great activity for children and adults alike. Simply print off an image or design and colour it in with markers, pencils or watercolour. You can make your colouring as complicated or simple as you like!

Tools and materials:

•   Coloured pencils
•   Coloured markers
•   Watercolour paints
•   Watercolour paint brushes
•   Computer and printer

Let your inner artist free and add a personal touch to your Christmas gifts this year with our list of handmade Christmas card and tag ideas. We’d love to see your designs, so don’t forget to tag @montmarteart or #montmarteart to show us what you’ve created.