Vintage Christmas Images You’ll Love: Free Art Prints & Illustrations

Add old-fashioned charm to your holidays with these vintage Christmas images. Download free festive illustrations for Christmas cards, crafts, and cosy seasonal decor.

There’s something so heartwarming about vintage Christmas images. They capture the magic of the season with nostalgic charm. Rosy-cheeked children, twinkling stars, holly sprigs, and snowy village scenes that take you straight back to simpler times.

This collection features some of the most beautiful vintage Christmas illustrations and antique holiday prints from old books, postcards, and children’s stories. All content is in the public domain and is completely free to download and print. Whether you’re making holiday cards, festive wall art, or unique gift tags, these old-fashioned images will add timeless charm to your Christmas projects.

Origins of Christmas Celebration

The origins of Christmas celebrations date back long before the Victorian era, rooted in ancient winter solstice festivals that celebrated the return of light after the darkest days of the year. When Christianity spread, these traditions merged with the religious celebrations of the birth of Christ, and many of the symbols we associate with Christmas, such as holly, ivy, candles, and stars, acquired new meanings.

By the 19th century, with the rise of printing and the advent of postcard exchanges, Christmas imagery had become increasingly prevalent. Artists began illustrating cosy family gatherings, joyful carolers, Father Christmas, angels, and snowy countryside scenes. All brimming with goodwill and festive cheer. These charming designs became the foundation for the vintage Christmas images we still love today.

Queen Victoria’s German husband, Albert, introduced many festive traditions we celebrate today, such as decorated Christmas trees.  Henry Cole designed the first Christmas card in 1843.  The practice of sending a card soon caught on; by the 1880s, over 11 million Christmas cards were produced

Victorians also introduced the notion of Christmas becoming centred around the family, with the traditional family Christmas dinner, decorations, gift-giving, and parlour games. 

The Vintage Christmas Pictures

To download and print the vintage Christmas image you want, click on the title above the picture. A higher-resolution image will open in a new tab. You can print the image, save it to your hard drive, or send it to an online printing company. Many of these companies offer gift printing services and traditional paper prints.

For example, the vintage Christmas image could be printed onto a pillow, as I did with the personalised map pillows or printed onto wood slices to make Christmas ornaments

Christmas Images 1-10

1. Santa Claus Sugar Plums

This is a vintage Christmas image for a 1968 advert for sugar plums. Sugar plum is now a pretty defunct term. The Oxford dictionary defines a sugar plum as a comfit. That is a seed, nut, or scrap of spice coated with a layer of hard sugar, similar to the crunchy outer shell of an M&M. Comfits are believed to be one of the world’s oldest sugar confections.

Sugar plums are also mentioned in the Christmas-themed ballet The Nutcracker. One of the dances is called “The Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy.”

2. Merry Christmas Typography

This is a beautiful piece of Christmas typography (1876) published by Currier & Ives. I love the acorns and other foliage wrapped around the text. This would be a great vintage Christmas image to colour in. 

3. Christmas Menu Sign

A vintage Christmas image of Santa Claus and Christmas motifs in the dinner menu of the Tulane Hotel, Nashville (1900).

4. Vintage Christmas Images Santa in Cart

Another vintage Christmas image from a 1900 menu depicts Santa in a cart laden with presents.

5. Christmas Sled With Holy

A 1907 vintage Christmas card image of a Christmas sledge in the snow laden with holy.

Like ivy and mistletoe, Holly is a wintergreen plant used in pagan times to celebrate the Winter Solstice and ward off evil spirits. The holy is a symbol, as it also closely bears the crown. Its spiny leaves and red berries are reminiscent of Jesus’ crown of thorns.

6. 1901 Vintage Christmas Image Father Christmas

This vintage Christmas image of Father Christmas depicts him as a portly, jolly, white-bearded man wearing a red coat with a white fur collar and cuffs.

7. Vintage Father Christmas in Green 1909

In the past, images of Father Christmas sometimes depicted him in a green coat rather than a red one. Today, pictures of Father Christmas nearly always show him wearing red robes.

8. 1901 Vintage Christmas Images Santa Chimney

Another image of Santa in his red robes. This time, he carries a sack of presents and prepares to descend the chimney.

The 1823 poem “A Visit From St. Nicholas,” also known as “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, ” popularised this idea of Santa Claus coming down the chimney.”

9. Vintage Christmas Images Wreath

Another vintage Christmas image from the menu is a wreath of holly leaves. You will find some more wonderful holly illustrations, including vintage Christmas cards.

10. Barnes Ad Christmas Image To Print

A humorous Christmas advert for Barnes featuring Santa.

Christmas Images 11-21

11. Borwick’s Baking Powder Ad

Advert for Borwick’s Baking Powder showing Father Christmas carrying a large Christmas pudding on a tray

12. Santa’s Workshop

A 1909 postcard of Santa Claus in the workshop making toys, with “Wishing You a Merry Xmas”.

13. Peace Christmas Gift

Peace. Your Gift To The Nation. A Merry Christmas. Advertising poster.

14. Christmas Church Scene

Vintage Christmas scene. Illustration of a white christmas with an angel created by Chalfonte Hotel, Atlantic City, from The Buttolph collection of menus (1919).

15. Christmas Scene With Holy

“A Merry Christmas” Postcard from E. Nash (Firm) (1910)

Print 16: Santa With Children

“When We All Believe”, a chromolithograph by Rose O’Neill, from Puck Magazine, 1903.

Print 17: Sunkist Santa

Santa Claus on a Sunkist Ad from 1928.

Print 18: Christmas Bells With Holly

Print 19: Christmas Tree – Theodor Kittelsen

Theodor Kittelsen’s Christmas tree painting beautifully captures the quiet magic of a Nordic Christmas, with its soft glow and snowy landscape. If you liked this painting, consider exploring John Bauer’s fairy tale art.

Print 20: Dutch Christmas Post Card 1880

Print 21: Christmas Snow Drops

Other Image Collections

If you are looking for Christmas images with children, check out this charming collection of vintage Christmas illustrations from children’s picture books.

Many flowers are associated with Christmas, such as poinsettias and Christmas cacti. You can find some beautiful Christmas flower prints here to add to your collection of vintage Christmas images. Or you should check out these vintage snowflake prints.

If you loved these vintage Christmas images, don’t forget to check out these other fabulous collections on Pictureboxblue.com.

• Free Vintage Halloween Postcards
• Vintage Easter Cards
• Circus Posters
• Christmas Inventions Patent Arts

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