- Nursery Toy Shelf
- Church and Candlelight
- Nativity and Stable
- Frosty Window Scenes
- Bells and Music
- Tree and Market
- Outdoor Winter Fun
- Sweets and Treats
- Santa and Toys
- Angels and Rooftops
- Frequently Asked Questions
Vintage Christmas gift tags bring back the look of old 1950s greeting cards, the kind tucked in a shoebox of family keepsakes: rounded shapes, rosy-cheeked characters and little starburst sparkles in cherry red and aqua teal. This set gives you 21 tags, each a tiny finished card with a scene in a medallion, a patterned border and a short greeting, ready to cut and tie onto a gift.
Print the sheets on matte printable sticker paper if you want to peel and stick them straight onto wrapping paper, or use plain cardstock and a glue stick if you plan to punch a hole and loop ribbon through. Print at actual size (turn off any printer scaling) and leave a thin white edge around each tag when you cut, so the border reads clean against dark paper.
Using these images: free for personal projects such as printing, coloring, cards, journals and gifts. Handmade items that include them may be sold up to 30 pieces per design. More than that is commercial use and is not permitted, and neither is selling or sharing the images themselves or passing them off as your own. Please ask before any other use.
Nursery Toy Shelf
Open the set with a little red barn asleep in snow, a horse-drawn sleigh gliding past bare trees, and a church steeple catching the last of the daylight. These three play well together on a farmhouse-style gift, especially one wrapped in plain kraft paper where the cherry red and aqua really pop.
Print this sheet on plain cardstock first if you are new to cutting curved luggage tags, since the straighter edges on the scalloped and round shapes are the most forgiving to start with. Once you feel steady, move on to the fussier shapes further down the set.
This sheet leans into an old toy shop window: a carousel horse mid-gallop, a toy soldier standing guard, a soft teddy bear and a bright toy drum. Hang the teddy bear tag on a gift for a little one, and save the toy soldier for something going to a grandparent who collected nutcrackers.
These four shapes (oval, round, luggage and ticket) give you a good mix to practice cutting curves versus straight corners in one sitting. For a quick gift topper, skip the hole punch altogether and tape the tag flat to the top of the box like a label.
Hang a holly wreath, light a lantern or trim a garland of pine, all here for the gifts that need something classic rather than whimsical, and this trio pairs neatly with the red barn sheet for a single cohesive wrapping theme across a whole pile of presents.
Church and Candlelight
A choir boy mid-carol, an open hymn book and a candle glowing in a brass holder set a quieter, more reverent tone than the toy shop sheet. These three suit gifts for a pastor, a choir member or anyone who keeps the carol-singing side of the season alive.
If you are short on time, the candle tag alone works as a simple card insert: print it small, glue it to a folded blank card, and you have a finished Christmas card without writing a single word.
A snowman postage stamp, a glass bird ornament and a mercury glass ball bring in the shine of old tree decorations, and because the shapes vary (luggage, round, oval) this sheet cuts fast even with small scissors, making it a good one to tackle in a five-minute break between wrapping jobs.
Nativity and Stable
The shepherd star, a gentle lamb and a quiet manger scene form the one sheet in the set with a star-shaped tag, which makes it easy to spot in a stack. These suit gifts tied to the religious side of the holiday, church gifts especially.
Cut the star tag with small, slow snips at each point rather than one long cut, since sharp inward corners tear easily if you rush them. A craft knife on a cutting mat makes those points cleaner still.
Sugar plums, a nutcracker in uniform, a ballerina mid-pose and a tiny music box bring the whole set a theatrical lift, borrowed straight from the ballet that gave the season its sweetest nickname. Four shapes appear here (scalloped, round, ticket and oval), so this sheet gives you good practice before tackling fussier cuts elsewhere.
Give the nutcracker tag to anyone who keeps a shelf of them out every December, and pair the ballerina with a gift for a dancer. If you draw or paint as a hobby, this sheet sits nicely alongside ideas from Christmas Drawing Ideas Pencil for anyone who wants to sketch their own version too.
Frosty Window Scenes
Snow globes, red mittens and icicles turn up cold and bright on this sheet, and the long icicle label fits neatly along the edge of a wrapped box where a round tag would overhang the corner, so keep that shape in mind for narrow or oddly cut gifts.
Poinsettia, amaryllis and Christmas rose give the set its one purely botanical sheet, a soft break from sleighs and snowmen for anyone who wraps gifts in a florist’s paper or ties them with a sprig of real greenery. The scalloped rectangle shape is unique to the amaryllis tag here, nothing else in the set repeats it.
These three suit gifts for a gardener, a florist or simply someone who prefers flowers to Santa on their wrapping. If floral work is your thing beyond December, browse Watercolor Zentangle Flowers for more petal-focused ideas to try.
Bells and Music
A gold bell, a sleigh bell strap, a cluster of handbells and a church bell cover every kind of bell the season rings, four shapes in all: bell, luggage, round and oval. This is the only sheet in the set shaped like an actual bell, so save it for a gift where the shape itself is part of the fun.
Cut carefully around the curve where the bell narrows into its handle, since that inward dip is the trickiest part of the whole set. A small pair of curved manicure scissors can help if your regular craft scissors feel too blunt there.
Plum pudding, a gingerbread house and a star-shaped cookie round out a baking theme perfect for gifts of homemade treats, and this sheet pairs naturally with the candy dish sheet further down if you are wrapping a whole tin of mixed sweets for one lucky neighbor.
Tree and Market
A red truck hauling a tree, a cheerful tree lot and an old wood-panel wagon loaded with firs bring the sheet outdoors, somewhere between a farm stand and a holiday parade. These three suit any gift headed to someone who still drives out each year to pick a real tree.
If you enjoy sketching market scenes beyond gift tags, Christmas Festival Drawing Ideas has more of that same outdoor holiday energy to borrow from.
A snowy owl, a chickadee on a branch and a blue jay in flight give the set its only all-bird sheet, light and bright against the cherry red borders elsewhere, and a good pick for a gift headed to anyone who keeps a feeder going all winter long.
Outdoor Winter Fun
A frozen skating pond, a pair of ice skates and a toboggan mid-slide capture the outdoor side of a 1950s Christmas card, the kind with rosy cheeks and a bright winter sky behind every figure. Three shapes appear here, round, luggage and ticket, so this sheet is a quick one to cut start to finish.
Tie the skates tag onto a gift for anyone learning to skate this winter, and keep the toboggan for a family gift that will see use the very same afternoon it is opened.
A stocking on a hook, a mantel clock ticking toward midnight and a glowing fireplace bring the set indoors for a cosy close to this section, perfect for gifts opened fireside on Christmas Eve rather than under the tree the next morning.
Sweets and Treats
A candy dish piled high, a striped peppermint stick and a handful of gumdrops make this the sweetest-looking sheet in the whole set, all curved shapes (scalloped circle, luggage and round) so it cuts almost as fast as it reads. Stick one straight onto a jar of homemade candy rather than a box, since the round shapes sit nicely on a curved lid.
For more edible inspiration to sketch alongside your tags, Bread Watercolor Ideas covers a whole different kind of kitchen gift.
A kitten peeking from a stocking, a puppy tucked in a wreath and a parakeet perched happily give the set its softest, most giftable sheet for anyone wrapping a present for a pet lover, and this one earns a spot right next to the toy shop sheet if you are assembling a children’s gift with a pet theme too.
Santa and Toys
Santa balanced on a rooftop, a snowy chimney waiting below and reindeer caught mid-flight bring the classic Santa story across three tags, oval, round and luggage. These are the tags to reach for on gifts meant for the youngest readers in the house, the ones still checking the sky on Christmas Eve.
If little ones in your life love to doodle their own Santa scenes, Christmas Doodles: Beginner Ideas has simple drawings worth trying together.
A vintage doll, a jack-in-the-box mid-pop and a spinning top caught in motion round out the toy theme with a slightly older, more collectible feel than the earlier carousel sheet, well suited to a gift for someone who still has a shelf of childhood toys tucked away somewhere at home.
Angels and Rooftops
A frosted window pane, a candle glowing in a window and snowy rooftops stretching into the distance close out the quieter, nighttime side of the set with a long label shape that suits a rectangular gift box especially well.
Print this sheet on sticker paper rather than plain paper if you want to press it flat onto a glossy gift bag, since the thinner backing sits smoother on a curved or shiny surface than cardstock does.
An angel playing a trumpet, a golden harp and a halo-shaped star close the whole set on its most celestial note, and this final sheet pairs beautifully with the choir boy and candle sheet from earlier if you want one unified, reverent theme running across a stack of gifts for family.
What to Do Next
Print the sheets that match the gifts on your list first, cut a few extra of the simplest shapes for last-minute presents, and start tying them onto boxes as you wrap.
Frequently Asked Questions
What paper works best for printing vintage Christmas gift tags?
Matte printable sticker paper works best if you want to peel and stick the tags directly onto wrapping paper or boxes. Plain matte cardstock suits tags you plan to punch and tie with ribbon or string, since it holds a hole punch cleanly without tearing.
What printer settings should I use for these tags?
Print at 100 percent or actual size with scaling turned off, so the tags stay true to their intended dimensions. Choose a high quality or photo setting on your printer to keep the fine outlines and colors crisp rather than faded.
How do I cut out curved shapes like the scalloped and bell tags without tearing them?
Cut slowly around each curve, turning the paper rather than twisting the scissors, and leave a thin white border for a cleaner edge. A small craft knife on a cutting mat handles tight inner curves, like the dip in the bell-shaped tag, better than scissors.
Can I use these tags on both gifts and in a junk journal?
Yes, every tag works as a gift tag tied with ribbon or glued flat, and also as a journal embellishment on a Christmas spread. For more journal page ideas to pair them with, see 29 Free Christmas Junk Journal Pages.
Do I need to write a name on the tags myself?
Yes, the printed tags carry only the short greeting, so there is room on the back or along the edge to add a name, a wish or a date by hand. This keeps every tag reusable for any recipient.