4 of the Best Holiday Manicures for 2019

Forget decking the halls — happiness will be at your fingertips when you deck your nails with these dazzling holiday-themed DIY designs! Read on for how to get the best holiday manicures at home with these easy instructions.

Alexa Blixa

Gild your fingertips with these glitzy ornament-adorned evergreens, which are elegant, eye-catching, and full of festive joy!

STEP 1: Apply two coats of a metallic red polish (Zoya Kimmy, $10, Zoya) onto each nail, then allow them to dry.

STEP 2: Choose two accent nails for each hand. To decorate them, use a green striper polish — China Glaze Stripe Rite in It’s All About Monet ($4.52, Amazon) will get the job done nicely — to paint diagonal lines in the form of a tree. Next, dip a clean striper brush ($5.95, Amazon) into a golden polish, such as Essie’s Million Mile Hues ($8.65, Amazon), and draw a star at the top of each tree. Accent with multi-colored rhinestones (you can get these from a kit, like Cina Nail Creations’ Dial-A-Gem Kit, $7.95, Walmart).

STEP 3: For the rest of your fingers, simply use the striper brush to swipe gold polish onto your tips. Let them dry; seal all nails with a good top coat ($10.50, ULTA).

Julian Bersein

Sweet-As-Candy Tinsel-Striped Nails

Indulge your sweet tooth — sans the calories! — with a mani made of shimmering candy cane-inspired stripes.

STEP 1: Paint all nails with two coats of an opaque red polish (we like OPI in Big Apple Red, $10.50, OPI). Let dry completely.

STEP 2: Use a white striper polish, like China Glaze’s Best in Snow, ($3, ULTA), to draw a thin diagonal line that starts at the cuticle and crosses the nail. Next, draw a thick diagonal line through the middle of the nail, then another thin line closer to the nail’s tip.

STEP 3: Swipe a glittery silver striper polish (try FingerPaints’ Disco Fever, $3.49, Sally Beauty) through the middle of the thick white line. Repeat this pattern on each nail, then seal with top coat ($10.50, ULTA).

Robert Milazzo

Nail-Dotted Snow Flurries

Make it a white Christmas no matter what the weather brings with this festive take on a snowflake mani.

STEP 1: Paint two coats of an opaque red polish, such as OPI’s Big Apple Red ($10.50, OPI) onto all nails. Let dry completely.

STEP 2: To create snowflakes, draw an asterisk onto two nails of each hand using a white striper polish (China Glaze Best in Snow, $3, ULTA). Add small white dots to the end of each snowflake line, then place a clear rhinestone from this Cina Nail Creations Dial-A-Gem Kit ($7.95, Walmart) onto the center of each flake; seal the pattern with a top coat ($10.50, ULTA).

STEP 3: Use the white striper to create various-sized dots on snowflake-free nails; let them dry. Seal with top coat.

Amber Gray

Beautiful Bow-Tied Tips

Give yourself the gift of glamorous nails by “tying” them up in festive ribbon!

STEP 1: Apply two coats of a pink polish, such as Orly’s Pink Nude, ($9.50, Orly) onto all nails; let them dry.

STEP 2: Paint tips with a white striper polish (China Glaze Best in Snow, $3, ULTA ); let it dry.

STEP 3: Use green striper polish, like China Glaze’s It’s All About Monet ($4.52, Amazon) to make ribbon and streamer lines at the base of the white tip on one nail. Repeat this pattern on a second nail using red polish (OPI Big Apple Red, $10.50, OPI); add two teardrop stones — this Acrylic Rhinestone Teardrop, $1.99, Zink Color) and one circle stone from Cina Nail Creations Dial-AGem Kit ($7.95, Walmart) should do the trick. Seal with top coat ($10.50, ULTA). .

This story originally appeared in our print magazine.

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