Months before Christmas arrives, people start preparing for the holidays. For some, this means going up into the attic to pull out last year’s decorations. But for others, this means pulling out the tools and getting started on their plywood Christmas art. There’s something nostalgic and beautiful about plywood Christmas decorations. We’ve rounded up some of the best Christmas woodworking and crafty yard art patterns. Take a look through our top picks, and then get your tools and start crafting!
Free Christmas Yard Art Patterns
When it comes to Christmas yard art, there are tons of patterns to choose from. However, only some of those patterns are free. If you’re interested in making your plywood decorations for a low cost, you should check out some of the best free Christmas yard art patterns.
When looking for a pattern for your woodcraft, think about the size of the pattern, the intricacy of it, and the meaning of the design. They should also match with your other Christmas decorations. We’ve split up the patterns into categories to make it easier to find the right design:
Nativity Lawn Art Patterns
If you love nativity sets, check out these unique nativity lawn patterns:
Small Nativity
If you have a scroll saw and some wood, you can make this small nativity set. It’s great for indoor use.
Baby Jesus
All you need is a piece of plywood and some creativity for this depiction of Baby Jesus. Simply blow up the image and use it to trace your design on plywood.
Manger Scene
This intricate image features everyone in the manger. If you’re creative, you can use this image to make a large yard art scene.
Jesus in Manger
For a small, simple decoration, cut out this image of baby Jesus laying in his bed of straw.
Santa Yard Art Patterns
Celebrate the holidays with Santa Claus, and check out these patterns:
Wooden Reindeer Plans
Santa won’t get very far without his reindeer! Choose this yard art pattern and make a cute cutout of a reindeer.
Cartoon Santa
This cartoonish Santa is ready to celebrate the holiday. It’s a great template for any yard decoration, small or large.
Funny Christmas Yard Art Patterns
Want a little humor this holiday season? Try one of these patterns:
Santa Stop Sign
If you don’t want Santa to miss your house, this sign is perfect. The stop sign tells Santa to stop in an eye-catching way. It’s colorful and whimsical.
Holiday Penguin
This adorable holiday penguin is happy to celebrate the holidays. With a simple but bold color scheme, this is one of the funny Christmas yard art patterns that’s sure to impress.
Giant Greeting Card
Made out of plywood, this giant greeting card is both humorous and cute. Because of its large size, this yard art is hard to miss.
Silhouette Christmas Yard Art
Sometimes, a silhouette is enough to get your point across.
Three Holiday Shadow Silhouette Cutouts
This link takes you to directions for three different holiday silhouettes designed to be cut small and projected onto a flat surface (like the walls of your home) with a small focused light. Whether you choose one of the angels or the choir boy, you’ll spread happiness with these silhouettes.
Christmas Tree
Who doesn’t love a silhouette of a Christmas tree? If you want to get creative, you can paint or decorate this pattern as a tree.
Christmas Present
Come holiday season, every yard needs a Christmas present silhouette. This design makes it easy for you to cut out your silhouette.
Gingerbread
If you cut this out accurately enough, someone might try to take a bite out of your gingerbread. Keep it as a silhouette or add color to make it more decorative.
Elf
This elf silhouette will inspire smiles and maybe even some giggles. It’s a simple pattern that doesn’t take much work.
Christmas Yard Art Patterns to Buy
If you want something a little more intricate, you can purchase your Christmas yard art patterns. You can get as complicated or as simple as you want.
Licensed Yard Art Patterns
These unforgettable Christmas characters are perfect for the holidays!
Grinch
Embrace the holiday classic film and let the Grinch steal Christmas this year. This Grinch pattern is funny and brings back memories.
Stealing Christmas Lights PDF Yard Art DIY Woodworking Plans
Once completed, your light-stealing Grinch will stand 3ft tall by 4ft wide. This digital file includes instructions & tips, all pages needed to make your own, example page, and the detail pieces of his face, limb outlines, and fur trim. Skip the wait and get started right away with your own printer!
Peanuts
Make a whole cast of Peanuts characters caroling for your lawn with this set of nine woodwork patterns. The largest figure stands 40 inches high.
WHIMSICAL CHARLIE Brown Carolers Woodworking Pattern, 9 patterns in set
Easy to follow instructions, plus a materials list & a FULL color picture to copy when painting. These are full size patterns. All you need is sheets of plywood, a few colors of paint and other small supplies.
Nightmare Before Christmas
Making Christmas is easy when you have Jack Skellington plans for your yard decor. This full-sized print pattern makes a finished decoration just over 4 feet tall, but it can easily be resized for larger or smaller displays.
jack skellington sitting on pumpkin
nightmare before Christmas woodworking pattern stands 4 FEET High EASY TO MAKE Brand New in the package.
Intricate Patterns for Outdoor Christmas Displays
Although these displays are difficult to make, they're well worth the effort.
Motorized Santa
This animated display might be intricate, but it’s also beautiful. You don’t need too many materials to make it, and it’s sure to impress.
Starry Trees
These bold tree-shaped decorations are formed from stacks of star shapes. For an experienced woodworker, this pattern would be a cinch, but ti may proove challenging to the novice.
Simply Stellar Christmas Trees
Place indoors or out, our decorative 26-tall and 48-tall plywood trees will add cheer to your yuletide season. Easy to make in an evening using a portable jigsaw or bandsaw, these stunning cutouts stand on their own, sharing your joyful holiday mood with every one who sees them.
Stuck Santa
This year, Santa had a few cookies too many and got stuck in this chimney. When you’re done with this display, Santa kicks his feet from the top of your chimney.
Easy Rider Clauses
With this pair of plans, you can make a fun motorized cutout of Mrs. and Santa Claus on their second-favorite vehicle.
Lighted Christmas Yard Art Patterns
These displays use lights to make them better and brighter than ever.
Candy Cane Lantern
There’s something everyone loves about a light up candy cane. This bright, traditional display is a must-have for your collection, and it's sure to stand out at a whopping 78 inches tall.
Giant Candy Cane Lantern
Cast a friendly glow over the holiday season with this 78-high lawn ornament light. For ease of construction, we've listed a mail-order source for all the wiring supplies and hardware. Once completed, the cane easily mounts to a fence post.
Tannenbaum
If you want a traditional lawn decoration, make this tree with LED candles. It’s simple, but elegant.
4-foot Lighted Christmas Tree
Inexpensive lighting makes this a unique and beautiful holiday decoration. Perfect for displaying in your front yard to bring cheer to the neighborhood or in your family room as a holiday accent.
Snowflake
For a small addition to your collection, make this light up snowflake. The cutout itself is as easy as it gets.
Snowflake Nite-Lite Woodcraft Pattern
This fun snowflake design is made from plywood and miniature lights using only a hand-held jigsaw, a drill and our full-size pattern. Makes a wonderful holiday display for your front yard. (approx 48 in diameter)
Conclusion
Any one of these Christmas yard art patterns is sure to impress. Once you pick your favorite patterns, it’s time to get started with your woodworking. If you have any patterns or advice to share with us, comment below!