The holiday season is the perfect time to add a personal touch to your cards, gift tags, and decorations with beautiful hand lettering. Whether you're new to lettering or looking for simple ways to elevate your designs, this guide has everything you need to get started.
In this post, I’ll share beginner-friendly tips, my go-to tools, and a free holiday lettering practice sheet to help you create something magical this season!
Why Start Holiday Hand Lettering?
Hand lettering is not only fun but also a thoughtful way to add creativity to your holiday gifts and decor. Imagine adding your own "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" in beautiful script to a handmade card or gift tag. It’s a simple way to impress friends and family while exploring a creative hobby.
The Tools You’ll Need (Beginner-Friendly)
You don’t need expensive supplies to start hand lettering—just a few essentials to make your designs pop. Here is the link to the entire list.
1. Brush Pens
Brush pens are perfect for beginners because they’re easy to use and create smooth, thick, and thin strokes. My top recommendations:
Crayola Broadline Markers- Perfect for beginners, inexpensive and tough nib!
Kuresake ZIG Metallic Brush Pens- If you want some beautiful metallic colors, these are it! Juicy, tough nib and great pricing!
2. Smooth Paper or Cardstock
Use smooth paper to prevent pen fraying. For holiday projects, I recommend:
HP 32 Premium - The smoothest copy paper you can find. Also great for printing my workbooks 😉
Tracing paper - Use tracing paper to practice your lettering over any workbooks.
Cardstock - Astrobrights cardstock is the brightest and prettiest, great for any homemade holiday gifts.
3. Decorative Extras
Washi tape or stickers for added flair
Christmas colored twine for gift tags
Extras:
Drawing light board- great for tracing over my Holiday Lettering Practice Workbook
5 Beginner-Friendly Holiday Lettering Tips
Start With Basic Words Focus on simple, festive words like “Joy,” “Noel,” “Merry,” and “Peace” to practice basic strokes and spacing.
Use Holiday Colors Experiment with red, green, gold, and silver to create that festive vibe. Try blending colors for a gradient effect.
Add Embellishments Enhance your lettering with snowflakes, holly leaves, or stars around the text. Keep it simple to avoid overwhelming the design.
Keep Your Strokes Light Use light pressure for upstrokes and heavier pressure for downstrokes to create dynamic lettering.
Practice Daily Set aside 10 minutes a day to build muscle memory and confidence.
Free Download: Holiday Lettering Practice Sheet
To help you get started, I’ve created a free practice sheet featuring beginner-friendly holiday words and embellishments.
Create Your Own Holiday Cards and Gift Tags
Once you’ve practiced your lettering, use your skills to create unique cards and gift tags! Here’s how:
Letter your design on smooth cardstock.
Add embellishments like washi tape or metallic markers.
Attach your tags to gifts with twine or ribbon.
Shop the Supplies: Get everything you need to start your holiday lettering projects on my Amazon Storefront!
Level Up Your Holiday Lettering
Looking for more tips and inspiration? Follow me on TikTok and Instagram, where I’m sharing 25 days of holiday lettering words this season!
Ready to Start?
Grab your pens, download the free practice sheet, and start creating holiday magic today! Don’t forget to share your creations with me by tagging #MintScriptHoliday on social media. Need more practice sheets? Check out my full Holiday Lettering Workbook.
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