25+ Christmas Cookie Decorating Ideas to Try This Year

Plain cut-out cookies are just the beginning. With a bowl of icing, a few piping bags and a handful of sprinkles, Christmas cookie decorating turns a simple sugar cookie into snowflakes, reindeer, tiny wreaths and stained-glass ornaments that look far too pretty to eat — almost. If you have never decorated a cookie before, do not worry: the first designs on this list need nothing more than a spoon, a toothpick and a steady-ish hand.

These ideas range from five-minute sprinkle finishes kids can do at the kitchen table to royal icing designs that look bakery-made, and every one starts with the same basic batch of baked, completely cooled cut-outs. That is the real secret of relaxed Christmas cookie decorating: bake one day, decorate the next, and let this list be your plan. Pick a few favorites, set out the supplies for each one, and work through them design by design.

1. Classic Flooded Royal Icing Cookies

This is the starter design every decorator should learn first, because flooding is the base skill behind half the cookies on this list. A neat outline, a smooth flood and a glossy dry finish make even a plain round cookie look professional.

Ingredients

• Baked cut-out sugar cookies, cooled completely
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons meringue powder
• 4–5 tablespoons water, plus more as needed
• Gel food colors of your choice
• Piping bags and a toothpick or scribe tool

Directions

1. Whisk the powdered sugar, meringue powder and water until smooth. Keep one bowl stiff for outlining and thin the rest with drops of water until it ribbons off the spoon for flooding.
2. Pipe a clean outline around the edge of each cookie with the stiff icing and let it set for 2 minutes.
3. Flood inside the outline with the thinner icing, nudging it into the corners with the toothpick.
4. Pop any air bubbles with the scribe and give the cookie a gentle shake to level the surface.
5. Leave the cookies flat and undisturbed until the icing is completely dry and glossy.

2. Piped Snowflake Cookies

Snowflakes are the most forgiving piped design of all, because no two are alike in nature either. A deep blue flooded base makes simple white lines and dots look crisp, wintry and far more intricate than they really are.

Ingredients

• Baked snowflake or round sugar cookies, cooled completely
• Blue royal icing, flood consistency
• White royal icing, stiff and flood consistencies
• Piping bags with small round tips
• Toothpick or scribe tool

Directions

1. Outline and flood each cookie with the blue icing, then let the base dry until firm to a light touch.
2. With stiff white icing, pipe a straight cross over the center of the snowflake, then add a second cross on the diagonal.
3. Add small V shapes and dots along each line, keeping the pattern roughly symmetrical as you turn the cookie.
4. Finish with a dot in the center and a ring of tiny dots near the edge.
5. Dry flat for several hours before stacking so the piped lines stay sharp.

3. Gingerbread Men with Icing Smiles

The classic gingerbread man needs nothing fancy: a smiling face, wavy icing cuffs and a row of candy buttons. This is a wonderful first piping project for kids, because wobbly lines only add to the charm.

Ingredients

• Baked gingerbread men cookies, cooled completely
• White royal icing, piping consistency
• Red royal icing, piping consistency
• Mini candies or sprinkles, for buttons
• Piping bags

Directions

1. Pipe wavy white lines across the ends of the arms and legs to make cuffs.
2. Add two dot eyes and a curved smile with the white or red icing.
3. Pipe two or three icing dots down the belly and press a mini candy onto each while wet.
4. Add a red bow tie or scarf line at the neck if you like.
5. Let the icing set before moving the cookies to a platter.

4. Reindeer Cookies (Upside-Down Gingerbread Men)

Here is the cleverest trick on the list: turn a gingerbread man upside down and his legs become antlers. One cookie cutter gives you two characters, and a single red candy nose turns the whole batch into Rudolphs.

Ingredients

• Baked gingerbread men cookies, cooled completely
• Brown royal icing, piping consistency
• Black royal icing, piping consistency
• Red round candies, for noses
• Piping bags

Directions

1. Turn each gingerbread man upside down so the legs point up like antlers.
2. Pipe brown lines along the legs to outline the antlers, and add small branch lines.
3. In the body area, pipe two black dot eyes and an oval muzzle.
4. Add a dot of icing in the center of the face and press on a red candy nose.
5. Let the faces set completely before serving or packing.

5. Christmas Tree Cookies with Sprinkle Ornaments

A green flooded tree, a scatter of sprinkle baubles and a single star on top — this is the five-minute design that still looks like you planned it. Work one cookie at a time so the sprinkles land while the icing is wet.

Ingredients

• Baked Christmas tree sugar cookies, cooled completely
• Green royal icing, flood consistency
• Assorted round sprinkles, for ornaments
• Star sprinkles, one per tree
• Brown icing, for the trunk (optional)

Directions

1. Outline and flood each tree with green icing, smoothing the surface with a toothpick.
2. While the icing is still wet, scatter round sprinkles over the branches like baubles.
3. Press one star sprinkle at the very top of each tree.
4. Pipe a small brown trunk at the base once the green starts to set.
5. Dry flat until the icing is firm before moving the trees.

6. Wreath Cookies

Piped leaf by leaf, a wreath cookie looks like it came from a bakery window, yet it is only one ring of green icing with berries and a bow. Arrange finished wreaths in a circle on the serving plate for a centerpiece moment, just like the cookies in the photo.

Ingredients

• Baked round sugar cookies, cooled completely
• Green royal icing, stiff consistency
• Leaf or star piping tip
• Red royal icing, for berries and the bow
• Mini red candies (optional)

Directions

1. Fit a piping bag with the leaf or star tip and fill it with stiff green icing.
2. Pipe a ring of overlapping leaves or stars around the cookie, leaving the center open.
3. Add a second, smaller ring inside the first if you want a fuller wreath.
4. Pipe tiny red dots in clusters of three for berries.
5. Pipe a small red bow at the top, or press on a mini candy bow, and let dry flat.

7. Santa Face Cookies

Santa faces are pure assembly: a pale flooded face, big white beard swirls and a red hat band. Pipe the beard in squiggles straight onto the cookie and the whole face comes together in minutes.

Ingredients

• Baked round or Santa-shaped sugar cookies, cooled completely
• Pale flesh-tone royal icing, flood consistency
• White royal icing, piping consistency
• Red royal icing, flood consistency
• Black royal icing, for eyes
• Pink icing or a pinch of pink dusting powder, for cheeks and nose

Directions

1. Flood the whole cookie with the flesh-tone icing and let it set until just firm.
2. Pipe white icing in swirls over the lower half for the beard, adding a moustache curve in the middle.
3. Flood a red band across the top for the hat and add a white icing brim line.
4. Pipe two black dot eyes and a small pink nose.
5. Dab pink cheeks on either side of the nose and dry flat.

8. Snowman Cookies

A snowman is the friendliest face on the tray: white flood, coal-dot eyes and a bright scarf stripe. Give every snowman a different scarf color and the plate looks like a little winter parade.

Ingredients

• Baked snowman or round sugar cookies, cooled completely
• White royal icing, flood consistency
• Black royal icing, for eyes and smile
• Orange royal icing, for the carrot nose
• Bright colored icing, for scarves

Directions

1. Outline and flood each cookie with white icing and let the base set.
2. Pipe two black dot eyes and a row of tiny dots for a coal smile.
3. Pipe a small orange triangle in the center for the carrot nose.
4. Add a colored scarf stripe under the chin, with two short fringe lines hanging down.
5. Dry flat until the faces are fully set.

9. Cozy Mitten Cookies

A mitten is a perfect beginner shape because the whole design is two zones: a bright flooded hand and a white ribbed cuff. Add one tiny snowflake and the cookie looks knitted, cozy and completely intentional.

Ingredients

• Baked mitten-shaped sugar cookies, cooled completely
• Colored royal icing, flood consistency (red, teal or pink)
• White royal icing, piping consistency
• Piping bags

Directions

1. Outline and flood the mitten shape with your colored icing, leaving the cuff band plain.
2. Fill the cuff with white icing and drag a toothpick across it in lines for a ribbed knit look.
3. Pipe a small white snowflake or a few dots on the back of the mitten.
4. Add a thin white outline around the edge once the flood starts to set.
5. Dry flat before serving.

10. Christmas Stocking Cookies

Stockings beg to be personalized: a red flood, a fluffy white cuff and a tiny heel and toe patch. Pipe an initial on the cuff and each cookie becomes a place card for the holiday table.

Ingredients

• Baked stocking-shaped sugar cookies, cooled completely
• Red royal icing, flood consistency
• White royal icing, piping consistency
• Contrasting icing, for heel, toe and tiny gift details
• Piping bags

Directions

1. Outline and flood the stocking with red icing, leaving the top cuff band plain.
2. Fill the cuff with white icing and add short vertical texture lines while wet.
3. Pipe contrasting heel and toe patches at the two curved ends.
4. Add a tiny piped gift, star or initial on the leg of the stocking.
5. Dry flat until fully set.

11. Ornament Cookies

Round ornament cookies are a blank canvas for every piping trick you know: stripes, dots, swirls and a dusting of edible glitter. Flood each one a different jewel color and the platter looks like a box of glass baubles.

Ingredients

• Baked round or ornament-shaped sugar cookies, cooled completely
• Royal icing in assorted colors, flood consistency
• White royal icing, piping consistency
• Edible glitter
• Gray or gold icing, for the ornament caps

Directions

1. Outline and flood each cookie in a different bright color.
2. While the flood is wet, pipe white stripes, dots or swirls so the patterns sink in smoothly.
3. Sprinkle a pinch of edible glitter over the wet icing for sparkle.
4. Pipe a small gray or gold rectangle at the top as the ornament cap.
5. Dry flat until the glitter and icing are fully set.

12. Ugly Sweater Cookies

The one design where clashing is the whole point. Flood each sweater a loud color, pipe on zigzags and stripes, then finish with a tiny tree or star motif — the uglier, the better the cookie.

Ingredients

• Baked sweater-shaped or rectangle sugar cookies, cooled completely
• Royal icing in 2–3 bright colors, flood consistency
• White and contrasting icing, piping consistency
• Sprinkles, for extra pattern
• Piping bags

Directions

1. Outline and flood each sweater in a bright base color.
2. Pipe stripes, zigzags or polka dots in a second color across the body and sleeves.
3. Add a ribbed neck, cuff and hem line in white icing.
4. Pipe one small motif in the center — a tree, star, snowflake or reindeer face.
5. Scatter a few sprinkles while wet and dry flat.

13. Striped Candy Cane Cookies

This is the one shaped-dough design on the list: two ropes of dough, one red and one plain, twisted together so the stripe bakes right in. They look like real candy canes and need no icing at all.

Ingredients

• 1 batch sugar cookie dough, divided in half
• Red gel food coloring, for half the dough
• 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract (optional)
• Flour, for rolling
• Coarse sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Directions

1. Knead red coloring into one half of the dough until evenly tinted, then chill both halves until firm.
2. Roll a small rope of red dough and a matching rope of plain dough, each about as thick as a pencil.
3. Lay the ropes side by side, twist them together gently, and roll once lightly to seal.
4. Curve the top into a hook to form the candy cane and place on a lined baking sheet.
5. Bake until just set at the edges, sprinkle with coarse sugar if using, and cool completely on the tray.

14. Stained Glass Cookies

Crushed hard candy melts in the oven into shiny, jewel-colored windows that glow when the light hits them. Hang these on the tree with ribbon through a small hole, or simply serve the prettiest cookies on the list.

Ingredients

• Rolled sugar cookie dough, chilled
• Assorted hard candies, crushed fine, sorted by color
• Large and small cookie cutters in matching shapes
• Parchment paper or silicone mats
• Ribbon, for hanging (optional)

Directions

1. Roll the dough, cut large shapes, then cut a smaller hole in the center of each one and place on a lined tray.
2. Poke a tiny hole at the top if you plan to hang the cookies.
3. Fill each center hole completely with crushed candy, keeping the colors separate.
4. Bake until the candy has melted into a smooth, glassy pool and the cookie edges are pale gold.
5. Cool fully on the tray — the candy windows harden as they cool — before lifting with a spatula.

15. Marbled Dip Cookies

Dipping is the fastest decorating technique there is: swirl gel color through a bowl of white icing, dip, lift, done. Every cookie comes out with a different marbled pattern, which is exactly why this is many decorators’ favorite Christmas cookie decorating shortcut.

Ingredients

• Baked cut-out sugar cookies, cooled completely
• White royal icing, flood consistency, in a shallow bowl
• Gel food colors, 2–3 shades
• Toothpick, for swirling
• Wire rack over parchment

Directions

1. Drop a few dots of each gel color onto the surface of the white icing.
2. Drag a toothpick through the colors once or twice to make soft swirls — do not overmix.
3. Hold a cookie by its edges and dip the face straight down into the icing.
4. Lift and tilt so the excess drips back into the bowl, then set the cookie on the rack.
5. Refresh the color drops every few cookies and dry flat until set.

16. Watercolor Painted Cookies

A plain white flooded cookie is a tiny canvas, and diluted gel color paints on it just like watercolor on paper. Soft wreaths, holly leaves and washy skies all work — and mistakes blend in beautifully.

Ingredients

• White flooded sugar cookies, dried completely
• Gel food colors, assorted
• Clear extract or a little water, for diluting
• Food-safe paintbrush
• Small dishes or a paint palette

Directions

1. Stir a drop of gel color into a few drops of clear extract in each dish to make your paints.
2. Test the strength on a spare cookie; the color should flow on soft and translucent.
3. Paint simple shapes first — leaves, berries, stars — letting each color dry a minute before adding the next.
4. Deepen edges with a second, stronger coat for a watercolor shadow effect.
5. Leave the painted cookies uncovered until the surface is completely dry.

17. Plaid Cookies

Plaid is only straight lines drawn in two directions, but it reads as pure cozy flannel. Food-safe markers make this nearly foolproof, and the pattern forgives a wobble far better than you would expect.

Ingredients

• White flooded sugar cookies, dried completely
• Red and green food-safe markers, or thin red and green icing lines
• Ruler or straight edge (optional)
• Gold sprinkles, for a finishing dot (optional)

Directions

1. Draw evenly spaced vertical lines down the cookie in red, using a straight edge if you like.
2. Draw matching horizontal lines across, so the two sets cross in a grid.
3. Add thinner green lines between the red ones in both directions.
4. Where the colors cross, the plaid deepens on its own — no extra shading needed.
5. Let marker lines dry for a few minutes before stacking or serving.

18. Hot Cocoa Mug Cookies

A mug cookie topped with white “foam,” a mini marshmallow and a tiny candy cane stirrer is almost too cute to dunk. Serve these on the saucer next to real cocoa for a matched set nobody will forget.

Ingredients

• Baked mug-shaped or round sugar cookies, cooled completely
• Colored royal icing, flood consistency, for the mug
• White royal icing, for the foam
• Mini marshmallows, one per cookie
• Red and white icing, for a tiny candy cane stirrer

Directions

1. Outline and flood the mug shape in your chosen color, leaving the top band plain.
2. Pipe a wavy white band across the top for foam, letting it drip slightly down the sides.
3. Press a mini marshmallow into the wet foam.
4. Outline the mug handle with a line of matching icing.
5. Pipe a tiny candy cane leaning out of the foam and dry flat.

19. Christmas Light Bulb Cookies

Bright little bulbs strung along a black icing wire look like a real string of lights winding across the platter. Photograph them next to actual fairy lights, like the cookies here, and they practically glow.

Ingredients

• Baked bulb or oval sugar cookies, cooled completely
• Royal icing in bright assorted colors, flood consistency
• Gray royal icing, for the caps
• Black royal icing, for the wire
• Piping bags

Directions

1. Flood each bulb cookie in a different bright color and let the bases set.
2. Pipe a small gray cap on the narrow end of every bulb.
3. Add a tiny white highlight dot on each bulb for shine.
4. Pipe a long, swooping black wire across your serving platter or a large base cookie.
5. Arrange the bulbs along the wire so they look strung, and let everything set.

20. Penguin Cookies

Penguins are a simple two-tone design: a black body, a white belly oval and a tiny orange beak. Add a bright scarf and a whole colony of these looks dressed for the weather.

Ingredients

• Baked oval or penguin-shaped sugar cookies, cooled completely
• Black royal icing, flood consistency
• White royal icing, flood consistency
• Orange royal icing, for beak and feet
• Bright icing, for scarves

Directions

1. Outline and flood the whole cookie black and let it set.
2. Flood a white oval in the center for the belly and face patch, wet-on-wet if the black is still tacky.
3. Pipe two black dot eyes on the white face area and a small orange triangle beak below them.
4. Add two orange feet at the base and a bright scarf stripe across the neck.
5. Dry flat until the layers are firm.

21. Polar Bear Cookies

The softest design on the list: an all-white bear face with a simple black nose, dot eyes and the faintest pink cheeks. Keep the details minimal and these look calm, snowy and sweet.

Ingredients

• Baked bear-head or round sugar cookies, cooled completely
• White royal icing, flood consistency
• Light gray icing, for soft shading (optional)
• Black royal icing, for nose and eyes
• Pink icing or dusting powder, for cheeks

Directions

1. Outline and flood the cookie white, including two round ears.
2. While the flood sets, add the faintest gray shading around the ears if using.
3. Pipe an oval black nose in the center with a tiny line down from it for the mouth.
4. Add two small black dot eyes above the nose.
5. Dab soft pink cheeks on both sides and dry flat.

22. Vintage Red Truck Cookies

The beloved farmhouse scene — a red truck hauling a Christmas tree home — fits on one cookie. Use a truck cutter if you have one, or decorate a simple rectangle base and pipe the truck shape on top.

Ingredients

• Baked truck-shaped or rectangle sugar cookies, cooled completely
• Red royal icing, flood consistency
• Black royal icing, for wheels and outlines
• Green icing, for the tree in the truck bed
• White icing, for snow dots and windows

Directions

1. Outline and flood the truck body red, leaving the window area plain, then fill the window with pale icing.
2. Pipe a green Christmas tree lying in the truck bed, with a brown trunk line.
3. Add two black wheels with tiny white hubcap dots.
4. Pipe black outline details around the doors and fenders.
5. Dot white snow over the tree and truck bed and dry flat.

23. Elf Cookies

Elf faces are Santa’s cheerful cousins: a flooded face, a pointy green hat with red trim, and extra-rosy cheeks. Pointed ears piped at the sides make the whole tray look mischievous.

Ingredients

• Baked round or elf-shaped sugar cookies, cooled completely
• Pale flesh-tone royal icing, flood consistency
• Green royal icing, flood consistency, for the hat
• Red royal icing, for hat trim
• Black icing for eyes, pink icing for cheeks

Directions

1. Flood the cookie with the flesh-tone icing for the face and let it set.
2. Flood a pointed green triangle across the top for the hat, letting one tip flop to the side.
3. Add a red trim line along the bottom edge of the hat and a red dot at the tip.
4. Pipe black dot eyes, a curved smile and two pointy ears at the sides.
5. Dab on rosy pink cheeks and dry flat.

24. Santa’s Envelope Cookies

A rectangle cookie becomes a letter to Santa with four flap lines and a wax-seal dot in the middle. Address a few to the North Pole and leave them out with the milk on Christmas Eve.

Ingredients

• Baked rectangle sugar cookies, cooled completely
• White royal icing, flood consistency
• Red royal icing, for the seal and trim
• Gold or red icing, for a heart or star seal
• Food-safe marker, for a tiny address (optional)

Directions

1. Outline and flood the rectangle white and let the base dry until firm.
2. Pipe diagonal lines from each corner toward the center to form the envelope flaps.
3. Add a horizontal line under the top flap for depth.
4. Pipe a red circle in the center like a wax seal and stamp a tiny heart or star into it while wet.
5. Write a tiny North Pole address with the marker if you like, and dry flat.

25. Sprinkle-Loaded Funfetti Decorating

Finish the list with the design every kid asks for: frost generously, then dunk the whole cookie face-down in a bowl of Christmas sprinkles. It is the fastest finish in Christmas cookie decorating, and the crunch in every bite is half the fun.

Ingredients

• Baked cut-out sugar cookies, cooled completely
• White or chocolate icing or buttercream
• Large bowl of mixed Christmas sprinkles
• Small spatula or butter knife
• Tray lined with parchment

Directions

1. Spread a generous, even layer of icing over the top of each cookie, right to the edges.
2. Hold the cookie by its sides and press the frosted face straight down into the bowl of sprinkles.
3. Press gently and wiggle once so every patch of icing is covered.
4. Lift, shake off the loose sprinkles back into the bowl, and set on the lined tray.
5. Repeat, remixing the sprinkles now and then so the colors stay balanced.

Cookie Decorating Tips for Beginners

• Bake and cool cookies fully the day before — decorating day stays fun when nobody is waiting on a hot oven.
• Keep one icing stiff for outlines and one runny for flooding; consistency matters more than any special tool.
• A toothpick fixes almost any mistake while icing is wet — drag it through blobs, pop bubbles and nudge corners.
• Let flooded cookies dry 6–8 hours before stacking or packing, so faces and patterns stay perfect.

Final Thoughts

Twenty-five designs is a lot of cookies, but remember that every single one began as the same plain cut-out and a few basic supplies. Start with the flooded rounds and the sprinkle dips, work up to a snowflake or a Santa face, and by the end of one afternoon your Christmas cookie decorating will look like a bakery display. Mix a few showpieces with a lot of easy finishes, box them up while they are fresh, and share them widely — that is what cookie day is for.

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