3. Red French Tips Nails
If you can’t get enough of the French tip nail trend, you don’t have to give them up when the holidays come around. This design combines the festive holiday color of red with French tips, and you can add embellishments like a snowflake design or nail gem to really take the look up a notch, along with the metallic red color that looks like holiday tinsel.4. Knitted Nails
The holidays often involve putting on sweaters of all kinds (sometimes ugly ones), and this nail design evokes that cozy feel. The raised texture of the nail design is also a cool feature of the look, and when paired with a glitter design on your other nails, you have a design that can easily take you from Christmas to New Year’s Eve.
5. Pink Holiday Nails
While pink is a color that seems a lot more reminiscent of Valentine’s Day than Christmas, the shade does work for a holiday nail look when paired with snowflakes, candy canes, glitter, and the aforementioned knitted nail trend.
6. Grinch Nails
Whether The Grinch is just your favorite holiday movie or you truly can’t wait for the holidays to be over, this look will have everyone at the holiday party talking. Pair the eye-catching design with some holiday lights to call back to the character stealing holiday decorations.7. Bow Embellished Nails
A nail gem or charm is always a great accessory to add to a nail design, and these bows are perfect for the holiday season. Keep the embellishment on one nail to make it the star of the show, while your other nails can sport a simpler, timeless design.
8. Festive Swirls
Perfect for a nail minimalist or someone that wants a no-fuss, festive look, this design involves a nude base coat topped with red, green, and white swirls (similar to the movement of holiday ribbons) applied at random. You can also try this for different holidays — think orange and black swirls for Halloween, or white, brown, and burgundy for Thanksgiving.
9. Gold Negative Space French Tip Nails
As we mentioned above, French tip nails are still having a major moment, but if you want something a little different try negative space French tips. This involves creating the French tip shape on your nail but without filling in the space. Instead, outline the shape with your favorite glittery gold polish and leave the center unfilled so your nails will look like holiday lights on a bannister.
10. Red Underpainted Nails
This hidden nail design is unexpectedly festive, as it can’t be seen unless you turn your nails over. The best part? You can put the red bottom nail design under any of the nail looks above.
Next: The Best Winter Nails to Heat Up Your Timeline
Written by: Témi Adebowale, Photographer: Chaunte Vaughn, Art Director: Hannah Packer, Creative Producer: Becca Solovay, Visual Designer: Sarah Duvivier, Content Director: Shalwah Evans, Prop Stylist: Catherine Pearson, Prop Assistant: Lindsay Jones