15 Super Easy Card Making Ideas for Your Handmade Christmas Cards

Last Updated: January 18, 2023

Handmade Christmas cards

Creating handmade cards is one of the best hobbies, regardless of your age and gender! As long as you have some basic crafting supplies such as paper, cardstock, scissors, and glue, you’re good to go! You don’t have to worry about not having an artistic bone in your body or not being creative enough. With the plethora of card making ideas available online, you can easily whip up a card or two instantly. 

While most card makers create cards as a pastime, just for fun, or to practice their card making skills, others create handmade cards for certain occasions, events, and celebrations. Handmade Christmas cards are one of the most popular kinds of DIY cards. These are quick, easy, and fun to create - you can even make them with your family, friends, and kids! Creating these in batches is also a great way to maximize the use of your paper crafting supplies and save time. You don’t need to worry about long queues in shopping malls or online store deliveries taking too long. These 15 awesome homemade Christmas card ideas will help you easily create one of a kind gifts for your loved ones!

1. Celebrate Winter! 

Who says your Christmas cards should only be about, well, Christmas? The arrival of the holiday season also signals the arrival of winter! If you hate the cold weather, you probably aren’t too excited about it. But if you know someone who enjoys snow, skiing and sledding, warm and fuzzy winter clothes, and a hot cup of coffee or tea, this is one of the best card making ideas that you can try!

card making ideas

In this blog post, Svitlana created not just one but three different bird-themed winter holiday cards. The Season’s Tweetings Stamp and Die Set and Winter Cardinal Stamp and Die Set are perfect for simple and gender-neutral Christmas cards. These sets both feature a well-loved Christmas symbol - the lovely cardinal bird. Plus, if you know someone who also loves birds or nature, this will make for a great gift. The addition of layered snowflakes and leafy wreath in the background make these cards the perfect winter holiday cards!

2. Christmas Tags

Christmas tags are super versatile! You can add them as an accent to your handmade Christmas cards, use them to personalize your gift wrapping, or give it to someone as a homemade gift. Not only are Christmas tags fun and easy to create, you can make a huge batch of it so you’ll never run out. You can even create them while binge-watching your favorite Netflix show!

Handmade Tags Stamp and Die Set

Whether you’re into clean and simple designs or more complex ones, this blog post will provide you with a ton of Christmas tag designs that you can use for your next card making project. Make your life easier with the Handmade Tags Stamp and Die Set - it includes a range of designs and various sizes and shapes of tags. You can also try the Terrific Tags Die Set and the Holiday Tags Stamp and Die Set.

3. Non-traditional Christmas Card

Non-traditional Christmas Card

Sometimes you want to send your warmest holiday greetings to family, friends, or acquaintances but you don’t want the traditional Christmas designs or symbols. You might also find yourself in need of something neutral, non-traditional, or non-sectarian. It’s not impossible to create a DIY holiday card that gives off a Christmas vibe without being too Christmas-y. 

Here’s a really cool Christmas card idea by Aga where she used some washi tapes and a die set. Washi tapes are really handy to have, especially if you’re in need of a quick card or any DIY project. The greens and the reds in the Painted Fantasy Washi Tape and Misty Meadows Washi Tape gave off that Christmas vibe. In her non-traditional Christmas card, she cut out some ornaments using the Brilliant Baubles Die Set, covered them in washi tapes, and added a couple of gorgeous branches in the background using the Holiday Bow Stamp Set.

4. Easy Christmas Cookies

Peace Love Joy Stamp Set

Who doesn’t love Christmas cookies?! Or any type of cookie, for that matter? Let’s be real. Whatever the occasion is, cookies are always a good idea. If you think it’s hard to create a cookie-themed design for your Christmas cards, then think again! This blog post shows you one of the quickest and easiest Christmas card ideas ever! Using the heart and star designs from Peace Love Joy Stamp Set, she was able to turn them into yummy “cookies” by using the Vanilla Cream Ink and Milk Chocolate Ink. Isn’t it incredible how a non-Christmas design can be transformed simply by using the right ink colors?

5. Beautiful Pine Trees

Pine trees are quintessential Christmas symbols. There’s nothing more serene and heartwarming than seeing a row of pine trees covered in snow! With the Plentiful Pine Stamp and Die Set, you can easily whip up a gorgeous scenery featuring pine trees. Laurie has three easy to follow card ideas in this blog post.

Plentiful Pine Stamp and Die Set

6. Holiday Bows and Floral Wreaths

Having a few Christmas-themed supplies is necessary for your holiday card making needs. What’s even better is having an all-in-one card making kit that has, well, everything you need! One of the most popular designs when it comes to handmade Christmas cards is wreaths. You can decorate your wreaths with either bows or flowers. 


This blog post will inspire you to create 4 different holiday cards using the contents of the Bows and Holiday Flowers Creativity Kit. Create cards, tags, or DIY gifts with this incredibly handy kit.

7. 3D Christmas Ornaments

3D Christmas Ornaments

Do you need a break from creating Christmas handmade cards? Here’s a super fun paper crafting idea to try while you’re at it. With just a couple of die sets and some paper or cardstock, you can create your own three dimensional Christmas ornaments in an instant! Using the versatile 3D Star Die, Aga created her own DIY Christmas decor in this blog post. You can always opt for white cardstock, colored cardstock, or create your own patterned and textured paper, just like Aga did. The possibilities are endless! 


The 3D Star Die might seem intimidating at first, especially for beginners in paper crafting, but fret not! It comes with a handy instruction guide to help you assemble your own 3D stars in no time. This die set isn’t just for holiday decor, you can use it to add dimension and interest to your DIY cards - regardless of the theme or occasion.

8. Non-traditional Colors

Non-traditional Colors

Red, green, white, and gold. Are you tired of seeing these Christmas colors on your DIY holiday projects? It’s time to be unique and try some non-traditional color palette! Your card can still give off a Christmas vibe, regardless of the colors or designs. It’s all about the presentation. Aga’s pastel Christmas card idea might raise some eyebrows, but we totally dig it! It’s modern, fun, and one of a kind. Give it a try too!

9. DIY Christmas Photo Album

‘Tis the season to take lots of snapshots with your family and friends! With the amount of photos that you take, you need somewhere to put them. And we’re not talking about Instagram or Facebook. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a physical photo album that you can flip through every now and then? 


This is not exactly a holiday card idea, but the techniques and supplies used in creating this easy Christmas photo album cover can be used in creating your handmade Christmas cards! Needless to say, the Perfect Poinsettias Embossing Folders are perfect for creating that lovely Christmas vibe.

10. Christmas Stockings Card

Fun and colorful Christmas stockings hanging on the fireplace. Nothing screams “Christmas” more than that! Altenew’s Christmas Stockings Stamp and Die Set is super adorable and versatile - you can use them in a variety of ways on your cards.

Stockings Stamp and Die Set

Stamp them as is, use them as a background, or create a warm and fuzzy fireplace scene like Therese did here. The recipient of your Christmas card will surely appreciate the thought and creativity that you put into it.

11. Twas the Night Before Christmas

“‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the yard, a crafter was working on last minute cards.” For those who enjoy witty Christmas references, this is one of the best Christmas card ideas to try. It doesn’t involve a lot of supplies or steps too! You can easily create this one-layer card in under 10 minutes. 

In this blog post, Svitlana only did a bit of masking, stamping, ink blending, and heat embossing to stretch the stamps on her Night Before Christmas Stamp Set.

12. Fun Christmas Paper Ornaments

Let’s take another break from handmade Christmas cards! Now that you’ve got your Christmas card making supplies out, why not whip up another quick and easy Christmas decoration?

 paper ornaments

These adorable Christmas paper ornaments were created by Aga using a few lightweight colored paper (A4, 80 gsm) and the Peace on Earth Die Set. Pretty cool, right? Make sure to check out this blog post for the step-by-step instructions.

13. DIY 3D Christmas Decor

If you enjoyed creating the 3D star holiday ornaments created by Aga, then you’ll surely love this one too! All you’ll need are the 3D Circle Ornament Die Set, Painted Flowers Stamp Set, and a gold embossing powder! As always, this can be used as an ornament, a decor, or an embellishment on your DIY cards!

Painted Flowers Stamp Set

14. Modern Winter Scene Card

Creating the perfect winter scene on your card is another one of those holiday card ideas that people often overlook. Sure, it’s too simple and basic but you can always put a twist to it. Svitlana elevated her modern winter scene by creating a slimline card instead of the standard-sized card in this blog post. In this super trendy holiday card, she used the Plentiful Pine Stamp Set and Peace on Earth Stamp Set.

15. Gender-Neutral Holiday Cards

Are you looking for holiday card making ideas for the men in your life? Or do you simply want to create something that is gender-neutral? We’ve got your back! In this blog post, Aga used one adorable mini stamp set to create 3 different holiday-themed cards. The Small Moments Mini Stamp Set is super flexible so you can create a variety of designs for different occasions with it. Along with the other stamp sets, the green, blue, and gold inks that she used highlighted her gender-neutral Christmas cards perfectly.

Holiday card making ideas

Did you enjoy these incredibly creative and fun Christmas card ideas? Have you tried them already or are you willing to give them a shot? Make sure to visit the blog posts and watch the video tutorials so you can get a better idea of how to create these quick and easy handmade cards. As always, if you want to shop for your Christmas card making supplies now, head over to the Altenew store!


Leave a comment

Please note, comments must be approved before they are published

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.


In This Article