Decorating Christmas sugar cookies is one of my favorite holiday traditions. Whether you’re making cookies to give to friends and neighbors, planning a Christmas cookie decorating party or just spending an afternoon baking with your family, you don’t need complicated techniques to make beautiful cookies at home.

I’ve decorated hundreds of sugar cookies over the years, and I almost always come back to the same things: a sugar cookie recipe that holds its shape, a good batch of buttercream, a handful of piping tips and plenty of sprinkles.

In this post, I’m sharing some of my favorite Christmas sugar cookie decorating ideas using buttercream, along with the exact piping tips and colors I used, my favorite cookie decorating supplies and plenty of inspiration for your own Christmas cookies.

And if you’re brand new to cookie decorating, don’t worry! These designs don’t need to be perfect. Buttercream cookies are supposed to have that soft, textured, bakery-style look.

Why I Decorate Sugar Cookies with Buttercream

Most elaborately decorated sugar cookies you see online are made with royal icing, but I’ve always loved decorating cookies with buttercream.

Buttercream is:

It also gives cookies a completely different look than royal icing. Instead of a perfectly flat surface, you get beautiful texture from stars, swirls, leaves and piping.

It’s especially fun for Christmas cookies because all that texture works perfectly for Christmas trees, wreaths, Santa hats, snowmen and snowy details.

Start with a Sugar Cookie That Holds Its Shape

Before we decorate anything, we need a great cookie!

My sugar cookie recipe is the recipe I’ve used for years. The cookies are soft and buttery but hold their shape while baking, which makes them perfect for cookie cutters.

For Christmas, I love shapes like:

Roll your dough to about ¼-inch thick and chill it before baking. Once baked, allow your cookies to cool completely before decorating.

Make the Buttercream

For decorating, I use my classic buttercream frosting.

You want your buttercream soft enough to pipe easily but sturdy enough that the details hold their shape.

If your buttercream feels too stiff, add a tiny amount of milk.

If it becomes too soft, add a little powdered sugar.

Coloring Buttercream for Christmas Cookies

Gel food coloring is my favorite for decorating because you can create beautiful colors without adding too much liquid to the frosting.

For these Christmas cookie designs, I used colors like:

You don’t have to stick with traditional Christmas red and green either. Dusty pink, sage green, cream and muted red make such a pretty Christmas palette.

Christmas Cookie Decorating Supplies

You really don’t need an entire drawer of decorating tools to get started.

A few basics will cover most of the designs in this post.

My Favorite Piping Tips

Round tips #2–#5:
Great for writing, outlines, Christmas lights, faces and small details.

Round tips #8–#12:
Perfect for larger details, faces, noses and smooth sections of frosting.

Star tips #16, #18 and #199:
Use these for Christmas trees, wreaths, fluffy trim, stars and textured frosting.

Leaf tips #70 and #352:
Perfect for wreaths, greenery and leaves.

Petal tip #150:
Great for bows and ribbon details.

1A tip:
Use this larger round tip for faces and larger areas of smooth buttercream.

You’ll also want:

A Quick Tip for Piping Bags

Fill your piping bag with buttercream and twist the top tightly so frosting doesn’t push upward while you’re decorating.

If you’re using couplers, you can switch piping tips without changing the entire bag of frosting.

Before decorating your cookies, practice a few lines or stars on parchment paper. It helps you get a feel for how much pressure to use.

Easy Christmas Sugar Cookie Decorating Ideas

Now for the fun part!

These are some of my favorite Christmas cookie designs from past Christmas sets. I’ve included the piping tips and colors I used so you can recreate them at home.

Buttercream Snowflake Cookies

Snowflake:

Snowflake cookies are beautiful without requiring a ton of detail.

For this design I used:
White: #18 tip
Dusty Rose: #4 tip

Pipe the buttercream onto the cookie and add your snowflake details. You can also add crystal sugar for a sparkly, snowy finish.

Santa Hat Cookies

These are such a classic Christmas cookie and surprisingly easy to decorate.

Super Red: #4 tip
Dipped in crystal sugar
White: #18 tip

Use red buttercream for the hat and a star tip for the fluffy white trim and pom-pom. Dip the white section in crystal sugar to make it sparkle.

Buttercream Christmas Tree Cookies

Christmas trees are one of my favorite cookies to decorate because you can make every tree a little different.

For this version:

Avocado Green: #199 tip
Chocolate Brown: #4 tip
Sprinkles of your choice

Pipe textured green buttercream across the tree, add a brown trunk and finish with colorful sprinkles for ornaments.

You can also use mini candies, sanding sugar or tiny buttercream dots.

Christmas Wreath Cookies

Wreath cookies are another design where buttercream texture really shines.

I’ve decorated these a few different ways.

Green Wreath

Avocado Green: #18 tip
Dusty Rose: #3 tip

Pipe small stars around the cookie to create the wreath and finish with tiny pink details.

Christmas Stocking Cookies

For the stocking:

Super Red: #4 tip
White: #18 tip

Cover the stocking in red buttercream and use the star tip to create fluffy white trim along the top.

Add sprinkles or a piped initial to personalize each cookie.

Christmas Bow Cookies

These are so pretty mixed into a Christmas cookie platter.

Use:

Dusty Rose / Super Red: #150 tip

The petal tip creates the folds and dimension that make the buttercream look like ribbon.

Angel Sugar Cookies

For the angels:

White: #8 tip
Dusty Rose: #4 tip
Crystal sugar

Pipe the angel with white buttercream and dip portions into crystal sugar for a sparkly finish. Add small pink details with a round tip.

Santa Mug Cookies

This one has a few more details but is such a fun cookie to add to a Christmas set.

You’ll need:

Super Red: #12 tip
Brown: #4 tip
Pale Dusty Rose (Face color): 1A tip
Nose: #12 tip
White: #10 tip (smooth) & #18 tip
Black: #2 tip
Mini marshmallows

Use the larger tips to create the main areas first, then switch to smaller tips for Santa’s facial details.

Finish with mini marshmallows for an extra cute touch.

Letters to Santa Cookies

These little envelopes are adorable paired with Santa cookies.

White: #4 tip
Super Red: #2 tip
Avocado Green: #14 tip

Use white buttercream for the envelope and smaller tips to add Christmas details.

Snowman Face Cookies

For the snowman:

White: 1A tip
Light Green: #4 tip
Darker Green: #10 tip
Black: #2 tip
Orange: #4 tip

Start with the large white section, then add the scarf, eyes, mouth and carrot nose.

Snowman cookies are especially fun because each little face can look slightly different.

How to Make Your Christmas Cookies Look More Professional

You don’t need years of decorating experience to make pretty cookies. A few small things make a big difference.

Stick to a Color Palette

Instead of mixing every Christmas color together, choose three or four colors for your entire cookie set.

For example:

Classic Christmas: Red + green + white

Vintage Christmas: Dusty red + avocado green + cream

Pretty Christmas: Dusty rose + sage + white

Using the same colors throughout your cookies instantly makes the whole collection look more cohesive.

Repeat Your Colors

If your tree has red ornaments, use that same red on your stocking or Santa hat.

Repeating colors makes completely different cookie shapes look like they belong together.

Mix Simple and Detailed Cookies

Not every cookie needs ten minutes of piping.

Pair detailed Santa mugs and snowmen with easy trees, stockings, stars and snowflakes.

You’ll finish your cookie set much faster and it will still look beautiful.

Add Texture

This is where buttercream really shines.

Mix smooth frosting with piped stars, leaves, sanding sugar and sprinkles. Different textures make a cookie box or platter much more interesting.

How to Package Decorated Christmas Cookies

Decorated sugar cookies make such a sweet homemade Christmas gift.

Package them in:

Add parchment or food-safe tissue inside your box and arrange cookies in a mix of shapes and colors.

They’re perfect for teachers, neighbors, friends, coworkers, hostess gifts or anyone who could use a little Christmas cheer.

Host a Christmas Cookie Decorating Party

Instead of decorating all the cookies yourself, turn it into a Christmas activity!

Bake the sugar cookies ahead of time and set up a decorating station with:

If kids are decorating, don’t worry about giving everyone a dozen piping tips. Spreadable buttercream, sprinkles and a couple of simple piping bags are plenty.

For everything you need to plan your own party, read my:

Christmas Cookie Decorating FAQ

Can I decorate sugar cookies with buttercream?

Absolutely! Buttercream is softer than royal icing and won’t dry completely hard, but it’s delicious, easy to work with and perfect for creating textured cookie designs.

What frosting is best for Christmas sugar cookies?

I prefer American buttercream because it’s easy to make, color and pipe. It also works well for both spreading and piping different textures.

What piping tips do I need for Christmas cookies?

If you’re just starting, grab a small round tip, a small star tip and a leaf tip. You can make tons of different Christmas designs with those three styles.

Can kids decorate cookies with buttercream?

Yes! Buttercream is especially great for kids because they can spread it with a small spatula or use simple piping bags and sprinkles.

How far ahead can I bake Christmas sugar cookies?

Bake your cookies ahead and store them in an airtight container once completely cool. You can also prepare your dough in advance and keep it tightly wrapped in the refrigerator until you’re ready to roll, cut and bake.

More Christmas Baking Ideas

Keep the Christmas baking going with:

Best Sugar Cookies Ever
My tried-and-true sugar cookie recipe for cut-out cookies.

How to Host a Cookie Decorating Party
Everything you need to turn Christmas cookie decorating into a party.

DIY Gingerbread Night Kits
A fun, giftable holiday activity for friends and families.

Christmas Crack
An easy Christmas treat that’s perfect for gifting.

Happy Decorating!

Christmas cookie decorating doesn’t have to be complicated.

Start with a great sugar cookie, make a batch of buttercream and choose a few colors and piping tips. From there, have fun with it!

Turn on a Christmas movie, pour something warm and gather everyone around the table. Whether your cookies look bakery-perfect or a little more homemade, making them is half the fun.

Happy decorating and happy holiday baking!

And if you make these Christmas cookies, I’d love to hear all about it!

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