Christmas bead patterns: free designs for the whole family

Santa, elves, reindeer, snowmen and baubles: free Christmas bead patterns to download as a PDF – from one small board to big Christmas pictures.

Short answer: Here you'll find free Christmas bead patterns – Christmas ornaments, Christmas elves (nisser), Santas, reindeer, snowmen and spice cookies. The smallest fit on one board (29×29 beads) and take less than an hour. The biggest are 16 boards. Every pattern can be downloaded as a PDF with the color code in each bead and a list of how many beads you need of each color.

Christmas and beads go together

When it gets dark in the afternoon, the pegboards come out in lots of homes. Christmas motifs are perfect for making in beads: they have clear shapes, strong colors and can be used afterwards – on the Christmas tree, in the window or as a gift. Here are our Christmas bead patterns, sorted by how long they take.

All the patterns are free. You can see them board by board on the screen, or download them as a PDF once you have created a free account.

Small Christmas motifs: one board, under an hour

Motifs of 29×29 beads fill one midi board and suit the smallest hands. They make great decorations for the tree – thread a string through one of the bead holes along the edge once the piece has been ironed.

Red Christmas ornament Christmas bell with ribbon Elf hat Snowman with scarf Snowflake

Medium Christmas pictures: 4 boards, one afternoon

At 58×58 beads (2×2 boards) there is room for details: lights on the Christmas tree, icing on the gingerbread house and a red nose on the reindeer. Join the four boards with a bridge of beads or tape on the back, so they don't slide apart.

Christmas tree with star and ornaments Reindeer with a red nose Gingerbread house with icing Gift with bow Christmas star flower Gingerbread cookies and honey hearts Santa in a sleigh with gifts Penguin with hat Fox in the snow

Large Christmas pictures: 16 boards, a weekend project

Want to make a Christmas picture for the wall? Try one of the large motifs of 116×116 beads. Share the work, so everyone in the family takes a couple of boards – the PDF shows which board goes where.

Waving Santa Sweet elf with porridge Polar bear on ice floe

See all the Christmas patterns together under Christmas and the winter motifs under winter.

Try it: write "a little Christmas elf decorating a Christmas tree" in text to bead board

Looking for a specific Christmas motif?

Maybe your child is wishing for a Christmas elf on ice skates or a Santa eating rice pudding. With text to bead board you just write the idea, and Perleland draws the motif and turns it into a bead pattern with color codes. You get 3 free drawings when you create an account.

Would you rather use a picture – for example a drawing of Santa your child made themselves? Then you can make a pattern from the picture in the tool. It's free.

How to make your Christmas decorations last

• Iron both sides. Christmas decorations get hung up and taken down year after year. A quick ironing on the back makes them much stronger.
• Let it cool under a book. That way the decoration stays flat and hangs nicely.
• Gold and silver add shine. Hama H61 Gold and H62 Silver look great as stars and ornaments. Put them next to dark colors so they shine.
• Make a hole for the string before you iron. Leave out one bead at the edge, and you'll have a neat hole for hanging it up.

If it's your first time ironing beads, read how to iron beads first.

Choose a photo and make your own bead pattern

Frequently asked questions

Which Christmas motifs are easiest for kids?

The Christmas ornament, the Christmas bell and the elf hat. They fill one board and have few colors, so even 5-6-year-olds can follow them – with an adult to do the ironing.

How many beads do I need for a Christmas ornament?

At most 841 beads, if the whole 29×29 board is filled. If you skip the background, you use fewer. The PDF has a color list with the exact number for each color.

Can I make the Christmas patterns with mini or maxi beads?

The patterns are made for midi boards of 29×29 beads. With mini beads you can follow the pattern bead for bead – a mini board is 57×57, so a small motif only fills one corner, and the decoration turns out small and delicate. Maxi boards are only 16×16, so here even the small motifs have to be spread across several boards.

Read next

• Halloween bead ideas – 10 ideas and free patterns
• Bead art with kids – what can children do at each age?
• How to iron perler beads – temperature, time and baking paper – step by step

Free bead patterns for this post

• Gnome baking gingerbread cookies with dough and rolling pin – bead board pattern (58×58)
• Owl with a gnome hat on a pine branch – bead board pattern (58×58)
• Red and white Christmas stocking filled with gifts and lollipops – bead board pattern (58×58)
• Christmas wreath with red bows and pine cones – bead board pattern (58×58)
• Nutcracker soldier in red uniform – bead board pattern (58×58)
• Angel child singing with a hymn book – bead board pattern (58×58)

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