“Christmas is a magical time of the year” is quite the understatement; for some, it’s THE best time of the year, and well worth celebrating outside the month of December.
A period marked by the best of food and even better company, when faith and goodwill abound and the world is illuminated, Christmas is, to the true devotee, as much a state of mind and heart as it is a calendar date.
These Christmas tattoo design ideas aren’t just adornments intended to be shown at the appropriate time and otherwise concealed for the rest of the year. No, they’re a living testament to the man who keeps the spirit alive all year round.
From snowmen to evergreens, a merry stringing of lights to mouthwatering gingerbread men, Christmas tattoos instantly bring on the nostalgic joy so many deny themselves until the allotted month arrives.
Why should the generosity of Santa Claus be felt for only a short period, or the alluringly wrapped present gifted just once a year? What if we all applied the Christmas spirit to every facet of our lives and spread holiday cheer regardless of the seasons?
It may seem odd to dream of Christmas in the middle of summer, but the tattoo wearer begs to differ. He doesn’t need a designated holiday to inspire him to be kind to those in need and likewise show his loved ones how much they mean to him.
There’s a wide array of Christmas tattoos for men, both for the nice and those feeling naughty. For dear old Santa Claus is right – not everyone has been nice. Some have been “naughty” even during the most wonderful time of the year, just like the fictional bad guys that are immortalized in some Christmas tattoo ideas.
For example, this tattoo design shows the mythical abominable snow monster, initially perceived as the villain in the animated TV special Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer in 1964. With the snow monster in the same frame are Rudolph and Yukon Cornelius, a man searching for peppermint mines in the North Pole.
All’s well that ends well, as Bumble the monster turned out to be a lovable giant that’s tall enough to put the star on a Christmas tree in Santa’s Workshop. Little wonder then that some choose to get inked with this adorable cartoon character.
This is the creepy gingerbread man that came to life and tried to kill one of the characters in the 2015 horror-comedy film Krampus. The film is about the lack of Christmas spirit among dysfunctional family members, which prompted the evil Krampus to bring some Christmas objects to life and turn them into monsters that terrorize the family.
On the bright side, having this gingerbread tattoo is a reminder to spread some holiday cheer, or the monsters will come for you. The family in the movie ended up fighting for each other and working together to defeat the evil gingerbread men and other Christmas symbols that turned into monsters.
This green creature is the Grinch, a character created by popular children’s books author and illustrator Dr. Seuss. The Grinch is a grumpy person who hates Christmas in the fictional community of Whoville.
Having a Grinch tattoo is a reminder of the importance of being part of a community, especially during Christmas. The Grinch has been presented in many different ways, even in tattoos. Some stay true to the original image as illustrated by Dr. Seuss while others are based on the live action film, as the ink below shows. Some are also presented as cartoon characters.
This cartoonish tattoo of a lamp with a fishnet-clad leg as base is from the 1983 film A Christmas Story. Simply known as the leg lamp, this has become one of the Christmas symbols, although it was a source of conflict in the film, with the wife objecting to her husband’s wish to display the lamp by the living room window for all to see.
Simple tattoos of a powerful symbol of Christmas can create a huge impact, such as these tattoo designs below.
You can’t get any merrier than snow globes, Christmas balls and other Christmas tree ornaments, candy canes, images of the legendary Santa Claus or his red-nosed reindeer, and other symbols that make for wonderful Christmas tattoos.
Take this neo-realism style tattoo inspired by a snow globe, a Christmas ornament that you shake to watch the snow fall. With all the bright colors of Christmas, it can be a cool upper arm or shin tattoo.
Here are more small Christmas tattoo designs that can depict the true meaning of Christmas as adequately as the massive pieces of body art. Placement is important so it would be wise to consult your tattoo artist on where you can have these etched.
This body art of a terrifying portrait of the Grinch could haunt your dreams, but this is just one of the wide array of tattoo designs in various styles that this Dr. Seuss character has inspired.
This full sleeve tattoo design is all about Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the animated television special in 1964.
Another Christmas favorite is the Home Alone series of movies that started in 1990. The Wet Bandits, a duo of burglars, leave the water running at every house they rob. Only true fans of precocious 8-year-old boy Kevin McAllister would recognize this tattoo design as a subtle representation of that movie.
A small tattoo done simply in black ink to show the dark shapes of Santa and the reindeer pulling his sleigh is nothing short of magical.
You can have this etched near your thumb, as this person did, or you can have this on your rib cage, shoulder blade, or wrist.
What’s Christmas like in Halloween Town? Tim Burton showed us in his 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas. This body art depicts the bizarre characters in this movie, such as pumpkin king Jack Skellington, rag doll monster Sally, and the boogeyman called Oogie Boogie.
“Do you want to build a snowman?” The little girl Anna croons to her big sister Elsa in the film Frozen as she tries to convince Elsa to come out and play. The snowman is one of the most popular symbols of Christmas. Countless versions of the snowman, even in tattoo designs, have been made, but it’s basically made of three large snowballs of different sizes, with the largest representing the body.
Whatever Christmas tattoo design you choose for your ink, whether it’s festive or nightmarish, it’s important that it embodies the true meaning of Christmas for you.