1. Metallic Christmas Short Nails

Christmas nail art by no means has to be tacky. They can still play on current trends and be super chic. We love these metallic nails and we feel vintage glass ornaments totally served as the inspiration. They’re ideal for natural and shorter nails—try it with the nude French color or choose a metallic base for something extra. Experiment with gold and silver glitter together as they compliment each other!

2. A Bit of Mistletoe Nail Art

How sweet and dainty are these mistletoe nails?! We love a natural color for a holiday nail design base on short nails. Instead of your traditional white French tip, have your nail artist create little mistletoe pieces to add a subtle pop of festivity.

3. Snowy Trees Short Nail Art

Here’s an easy way to show off an accent nail or two—all you need is a couple striping brushes. Then, choose a solid festive color (we love dark greens, deep wine colored reds or even navy’s for the holiday season). From there, choose one or two nails to stripe your accent trees onto and adorn with a snowy tip for your nail art design.

4. Holly Berries Short Nails

Another subtle yet still festive look for the season! Everyone will be asking how you found this cuter holly berry nail art idea. This can be done on a nude base, or if you prefer a little extra color on top of a contrasting red or green. The holly berry designs frame your nails almost like a French tip would and they end up looking super chic.

5. Simple Snowflake Short Nail Art

This simple Christmas design can be done with hand drawn snowflakes or even nail decals. We love the selection of festive decals DECO BEAUTY, plus they make creating holiday nail art incredibly easy. If white nails are your thing, you could even paint or sticker silver snowflakes on top to accent. It would be the perfect winter wonderland nail design!

6. Starlight Starbright Christmas Nails

Don’t forget, Christmas nail ideas can be rooted in sparkles and metallic nail polishes too. Plus, you can roll these looks over into the New Year too. These little star bright designs are not only cute, but very easy to achieve at home with a couple nail colors, optional nail decals or rhinestones, and a top coat.

7. Christmas Tree Green Nails

Looking for the perfect shade of green for a holiday manicure? It’s a total staple in your nail polish collection. Don’t be afraid to experiment with festive colors if nail art isn’t quite your thing. Look for deep forest greens, maroon or deep wine colors, or even golds and silvers for a manicure that is still festive and fits the Christmas season.

8. Mini Christmas Collage Short Nails

How cute is this tiny Christmas design! It’s amazing such tiny art can fit on nails this length. If you love the way this looks, see if your nail tech can achieve something similar. Show this as inspo and pick out a clear polish with gold glitter in it. Look how cute the little gingerbread man and snowman are!

Here’s a version from @basecoatstories that is similar and easy to DIY with her tutorial. It will teach you how to create each little icon for your mani. The candy canes are definitely the easiest!

9. Dripped in Gold Short Christmas Nails

How cute are these gold snowflakes nails? They’re glittery and glam, and who can resist a gold nail for the holidays? They will match with everything. We would love to see this design in a pink version to jump on the sugar plum fairy trend too!

10. Gingerbread Christmas Nails

The gingerbread girl holiday aesthetic is all over our TikTok. We love getting into the spirit of these trendy moments. And while the typical gingerbread girl aesthetic would likely opt for mocha colored nails this holiday season, we appreciate this themed manicure using gingerbread colored polish and white polish.

Looking for more inspo to help you take on the latest beauty trends? Take our Beauty Quiz now to get started with your own IPSY beauty subscription. Already an IPSY member? Refer your friends to earn points, which you can use toward products. Either way, don’t forget to check us out on Instagram and TikTok @IPSY.

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