Christmas mood board ideas: 6 directions for 2026
Six Christmas moodboard directions for 2026 with hex palettes and what to collect, plus how to build the board on Pinterest and download it with Unpinned.
Moodboards · Workflow
Quick answer: a Christmas moodboard is one board of images that settles how your Christmas should look, the colours, the materials and the objects, before you buy or make anything. Three steps: save pins to a Pinterest board, curate them into sections, then export the board so you can arrange it, print it or keep it offline. The six directions for 2026 are below, each with a palette you can copy, along with the steps we use to get the board off Pinterest with Unpinned.
Six Christmas moodboard directions for 2026
Two sources shaped this list. Pinterest told Ideal Home that searches for "whimsical Christmas decor" are up 810% and searches for "retro Christmas aesthetic" are up 235%. Hallmark's 2026 Christmas trends add the luxe, handcrafted, nature-led and bright directions.
The palettes are ours. They are a starting point to copy into Figma or Canva, not official swatches from either source. Pick one direction per room or per client. A board that mixes two usually ends up as neither.
1. Whimsical
Photo: Tyler Delgado on Unsplash
Folk patterns, odd shapes, nothing matching too well. Ideal Home ties the jump in whimsical searches to folk-style decorations, and that is the easiest way into it.
| Colour | Hex |
|---|---|
| Candy red | #D7263D |
| Mint | #A8D5BA |
| Butter yellow | #F4D35E |
| Sugar pink | #F2B5C4 |
| Snow white | #FAF7F2 |
Materials: felt, painted wood, paper, pompoms.
Collect:
- Folk-pattern ornaments and stencilled motifs
- Mismatched baubles in odd shapes
- Illustrated wrapping paper
- Lopsided gingerbread houses
- Felt garlands and pompom trims
- Hand-drawn lettering on tags and cards
2. Retro and vintage
Photo: Cris DiNoto on Unsplash
The 235% direction. Ideal Home lists it under vintage-style fruit, and its heritage tartan trend fits here too. Think of a living room from your grandparents' photo albums.
| Colour | Hex |
|---|---|
| Tartan red | #A4161A |
| Bottle green | #1F4D36 |
| Mustard | #D4A017 |
| Bubble-light orange | #E07A1F |
| Cream | #F3E9D2 |
Materials: tartan wool, old glass baubles, brass, ceramic.
Collect:
- Vintage glass baubles and bubble lights
- Ceramic Christmas trees
- Tartan bows and tree skirts
- Sugared and vintage-style fruit
- Scans of old Christmas cards and ads
- Wood-panelled rooms with the tree in the corner
3. Luxe, metallics and tinsel
Photo: Anastasia Pixner on Unsplash
Hallmark calls its version Fa La La La Luxe: jewel tones, deep reds and rich greens, with stained glass, pomegranates and winter florals. We add the metal, gold and brass, with tinsel as one accent rather than everywhere.
| Colour | Hex |
|---|---|
| Garnet | #7B1E2B |
| Emerald | #0F5132 |
| Sapphire | #1F3A68 |
| Antique gold | #B08D57 |
| Champagne | #E8D9B5 |
Materials: velvet, brass, mercury glass, silk ribbon.
Collect:
- Velvet ribbon and oversized bows
- Metal ornaments
- Pomegranates and winter florals on a set table
- Light through stained glass
- Candlelit dining tables
- Gold tinsel used as a single accent
4. Handcrafted
Photo: Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
Pinterest's head of home in the UK told Ideal Home that people want things that feel "handmade, nostalgic and a little imperfect". Hallmark's Handcrafted Holiday puts colours to it: golden yellow, pastels and olive green, with wicker, embroidery and birds.
| Colour | Hex |
|---|---|
| Golden yellow | #E3B23C |
| Olive | #6B7A3A |
| Powder blue | #B9D3E5 |
| Blush | #EBC5C0 |
| Linen | #EFE6D8 |
Materials: wicker, embroidery thread, paper, wool, dried orange slices.
Collect:
- Embroidered ornaments
- Paper stars in a window
- Honeycomb paper trees
- Wicker stars and baskets
- Bird ornaments
- Handwritten gift tags
5. Natural winter wonders
Photo: Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Hallmark's Winter Wonders is the quiet one: moss green and soft clay, doves, moons and stars, evergreen trees. Less decoration, more outdoors brought in.
| Colour | Hex |
|---|---|
| Moss | #5B6B3A |
| Fir | #2F4A3A |
| Soft clay | #C9A38A |
| Bark | #6B4F3A |
| Frost | #E9EEF0 |
Materials: evergreen branches, pinecones, unglazed clay, linen, beeswax.
Collect:
- Snowy forests and frosted branches
- Loose evergreen garlands without baubles
- Clay moon and star ornaments
- Doves
- Pinecones and dried botanicals
- Candlelight on linen
6. Bright Christmas
Photo: Grégoire Hervé-Bazin on Unsplash
Hallmark's Bright Christmas is the opposite of the last one: bright metallics, pinks and periwinkle, tinsel trees, tapered candles and colourful drinks.
| Colour | Hex |
|---|---|
| Hot pink | #FF4FA0 |
| Periwinkle | #8E9BFF |
| Tangerine | #FF8A3D |
| Bright silver | #C7CCD6 |
| Bright gold | #F2C230 |
Materials: tinsel, metallic paper, glossy ribbon, coloured glass.
Collect:
- Pink or blue tinsel trees
- Coloured tapered candles
- Colourful cocktails and mocktails
- Metallic wrapping paper
- Coloured light strings
- Gift wrap in clashing patterns
How to make a Christmas mood board from Pinterest
Collect
Make one board and call it "Christmas 2026". Search for your direction, "whimsical christmas decor" or "retro christmas aesthetic" for example, and save everything that comes close. Do not edit yet. More is fine at this stage.
Start now rather than in December. Pinterest's own holiday guide says festive activity on Pinterest spikes as early as September, so the ideas are already there to save.
Curate
Sort the board into sections. While you are still deciding, use one section per direction and delete the ones that lose. Once you have picked, use one section per job: Tree, Table, Wrapping, Cards.
Sections pay off later. The ZIP carries them as folders, and the PDF gives each one its own pages. The sections to folders guide explains how that carries into Figma and Canva.
Download the full board
- Open the board on Pinterest in Chrome, Firefox or Edge, on desktop.
- Click Unpinned in the bottom-right corner of the page.
- Keep the format on
.zipand click Download.
Every image and video comes down at full size, in one ZIP named after the board. The settings gear lets you switch images and videos on or off, which helps when you only want the stills.
Private boards work too, as long as the board opens in your logged-in Pinterest session. Useful for gift ideas you are not ready to share, or a client board. Paste-a-link sites cannot see a private board at all; how Unpinned compares has the short version.
The free plan covers 50 pins a day, and PDF export waits for Pro. The Pinterest board downloader page has both. New here? Get Unpinned, create a free account, and onboarding installs the extension.
Arrange it in Figma or Canva
Unzip the file, then drag one section folder at a time onto a Figma canvas, or upload it to Canva. Put the five hex codes from your direction next to the images as swatches, and the board is done. Pinterest board to Figma or Canva has both routes in detail.
Print it as a PDF
For a board on the fridge or a sheet to take shopping, switch the format to .pdf. Choose A4 or Letter, and 1, 2, 4, 6 or 9 pins per page. Each section starts on its own pages with its name at the top. Video pins stay out, since paper does not play them. PDF export needs Pro.
On the free plan you can still build the PDF yourself from the ZIP. Pinterest board to PDF has the steps for both.
Keep a list with CSV
The .csv tab gives you the board's pins as a spreadsheet, with each pin's title, link and section in a row. It is the handy one when the board is really a shopping list: every row links back to the pin. CSV works on the free plan and on Pro.
What to use a Christmas moodboard for
Home decor. One direction per room. Take the printed board to the shop and buy to the palette, not to whatever is on the shelf by the door.
Gift wrapping. A small section of paper, ribbon and tags is enough. Pick a few colours from your palette and wrapping stops being a last-minute decision.
Cards and social posts. The palette and the lettering you saved become a template in Canva. Every card, story and post that season then looks like it belongs together.
Brand holiday campaigns. For designers and studios, this is the part that pays. Show a client two or three directions as PDFs and get one approved before anyone shoots or designs a thing. We split every project into a tone board and an ingredients board; our moodboard workflow explains why. Downloaded pins are reference. Anything that ends up in published work needs the owner's permission.
When the tree comes down, the same workflow builds the next board. Our New Year vision board ideas cover NYE and 2027.
FAQ
How early should I start a Christmas moodboard?
October is a good time. Pinterest says festive activity on its platform spikes as early as September, so the ideas are already there, and you still have time to buy or make things before the rush.
How many images should a Christmas moodboard have?
Collect as many as you like, then cut. The final board needs enough to show the palette, the materials and the key objects. If a pin adds nothing new, drop it. On the free plan a board of 50 pins or fewer downloads in one go.
Why not just keep it on Pinterest?
Pinterest works well for collecting. What it will not do is crop, arrange, annotate or print the board as a layout, or open it offline. Download the board with the Pinterest board downloader and you have the files for all of that.
Can I use it offline or print it?
Yes. The ZIP is ordinary image and video files on your computer, so it works offline. To print, use the PDF export in Pro, or make a PDF from the ZIP yourself on the free plan.
Which browsers does Unpinned work in?
Any desktop Chrome, Firefox or Edge. Get Unpinned and start with your Christmas board.