Christmas cookies for kids to decorate work best when the decorating is the main event. Bake the cookies ahead, set out icing and toppings, and let each child make a batch that looks like theirs. This list sticks to that idea. Every cookie below comes from a real creator, and each one gives kids a clear job: painting, pressing candy into place, twisting dough, or drawing with a marker.
A few zip-top bags, a toothpick, and a muffin tin for sprinkles will cover most of the ideas here. Pick two or three, and leave enough time for the icing to dry before anyone stacks or packs the cookies. For more cookie bases to bake ahead, see these vegetarian Christmas cookie recipes.
1. Snowflake cookies with royal icing
Snowflakes forgive a shaky hand. Each one can look different and still look right. Rose Bakes uses a butter and almond sugar cookie base, flooded in white or shades of blue, with piped snowflake lines on top.
Idea from Rose Bakes: Snowflake Cookies (Sugar Cookies with Royal Icing).
Decorating tip: Use royal icing in two thicknesses, a thicker icing to outline and a thinner icing to fill. A tipless bag with a tiny snipped corner works in place of a piping tip. Best for ages 8 and up for piping; younger kids can add sanding sugar to wet icing.
2. Gingerbread people with buttons and scarves
Gingerbread people are the classic decorating job. The shape tells kids where the face goes, and the rest is up to them. Crayons and Cravings makes a soft, spiced gingerbread dough with molasses and brown sugar, finished with buttons, scarves, and smiles.
Idea from Crayons and Cravings: Gingerbread Men Cookies.
Decorating tip: Use a simple icing of confectioners sugar, milk, and corn syrup in piping bags or squeeze bottles. Best for ages 5 and up. Turn it into a contest and let the family vote.
3. Reindeer cookies with pretzel antlers
This one starts with a heart-shaped cookie and turns it into a face. Messy Little Monster frosts the hearts with cocoa icing, then adds pretzels for antlers, candy eyes, and a red candy nose.
Idea from Messy Little Monster: Reindeer Cookies, An Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe.
Decorating tip: Spread the cocoa icing with a small spatula and let kids place the antlers, eyes, and nose while the icing is still soft. Best for toddlers and preschoolers for placing pieces, with an adult on the baking. Note that the dough recipe makes double what the decorating needs.
4. Ugly sweater cookies
Ugly sweater cookies take away the worry about neat lines. The messier and louder the sweater, the better. Farah Zeb at Because Mom Says floods sweater-shaped cookies in red or green, then adds dots, trees, and stripes with markers, sprinkles, and a brush.
Idea from Farah Zeb at Because Mom Says: Ugly Sweater Cookies.
Decorating tip: Flood the sweater with royal icing and let it dry for a few hours before adding details on top. Use an edible marker for dots and small drawings, and a brush dipped in glitter mixed with a drop of vanilla for stripes. Best for ages 6 and up.
5. Melted snowman cookies
A melted snowman does not need a steady piping hand. Kids spoon a white icing puddle, set a marshmallow on top, and give it a face. Eva Bakes keeps the icing simple, just powdered sugar and water, and her daughter added candy buttons, orange sprinkle noses, and black icing eyes.
Idea from Eva Bakes: Melted Snowman Cookies.
Decorating tip: Pipe a closed puddle shape first, then fill the middle with thinner icing and a toothpick. Add the marshmallow and decorations while the icing is wet. Best for ages 4 and up with help. Standard marshmallows commonly contain gelatin, so use vegetarian marshmallows if that matters for your family.
6. Christmas tree cookies cut from one big cookie
Mandy Applegate bakes one large green cookie in a cake pan and slices it into triangles. Each slice gets a pretzel trunk, a zigzag of frosting, and sprinkles. Kids get a tree shape without a cookie cutter in sight.
Idea from Mandy Applegate at Hungry Cooks Kitchen: Irresistible Christmas Tree Sugar Cookies.
Decorating tip: Use a buttercream style frosting of powdered sugar, milk, butter, and vanilla, tinted a darker green than the cookie. Pipe one tree, sprinkle it right away, then move to the next. Best for ages 4 and up. An adult should do the slicing.
7. Santa cookies with no baking
When time is short, skip the oven. Christy Denney dips peanut butter sandwich cookies in melted white chocolate, one end for the hat and one end for the beard. Red sugar makes the hat, a vanilla chip makes the pompom, and chocolate chips and a red candy finish the face.
Idea from Christy Denney at The Girl Who Ate Everything: Santa Claus Cookies.
Decorating tip: Do all the hat ends first and let them set, then do the beards. A dab of melted chocolate holds the eyes and nose in place. Best for ages 3 and up for placing decorations. This one contains peanut, so check for allergies before you serve it and keep it separate from nut-free cookies.
8. Marbled ornament cookies
Marbling looks skilled and takes almost no skill. Kids flood an ornament cookie in one color, draw lines in other colors on the wet icing, and drag a toothpick through them. Sugar Kissed uses teal, purple, and green, then adds a gold hanger in sparkling sugar.
Idea from Sugar Kissed: Decorated Christmas Cookies, Trees and Ornaments.
Decorating tip: Use one consistency of royal icing that is thick enough to outline and thin enough to flood, and work while the base is still wet. Drag the toothpick in alternating directions for different patterns. Best for ages 8 and up, since the cookies need to dry fully before stacking.
9. Candy cane twist cookies
Rolling and twisting dough feels more like play than baking. Pepper and Sage splits a soft sugar cookie dough in half, colors one half red, and rolls the two colors into ropes. Kids twist them together, bend the top into a hook, and add coarse sugar.
Idea from Pepper and Sage: Fun Candy Cane Cookies.
Decorating tip: The decorating happens before baking here, in the dough itself. If the dough cracks while twisting, warm it in your hands for a moment. Add peppermint extract for flavor. Best for ages 5 and up.
10. Cookie paint for preschoolers
Paintbrushes suit preschoolers better than piping bags. Buttercream Parties mixes powdered sugar, water, and food dye into a thick paint, sets out a brush for each color, and lets kids paint cooled cookies and add sprinkles. The method came from Sharon, a mom mentor in the author’s group.
Idea from Buttercream Parties: Super Easy Preschool Cookie Decorating with Cookie Paint.
Decorating tip: Keep the paint on the thick side so colors stay put and spills are easier to catch. Put sprinkles in cups so kids shake out a few at a time, and give each child a paper towel for wiping brushes. Best for ages 2 to 5.
11. Cornflake wreath cookies, no baking
These wreaths are shaped, not cut. Marye Audet-White melts butter and marshmallows, stirs in green-tinted cornflakes, and shapes spoonfuls into rings while the mix is warm. Kids add red sprinkles for berries and a licorice bow, stuck on with frosting.
Idea from Marye Audet-White at Restless Chipotle: No-Bake Cornflake Christmas Wreath Cookies Recipe.
Decorating tip: Have every decoration ready before the marshmallow mix is melted, because it firms up fast. An adult handles the hot pan; kids shape with greased hands once it is cool enough. Best for ages 5 and up. Standard marshmallows commonly contain gelatin, so use vegetarian marshmallows if needed.
12. Penguin cookies from sandwich cookies
Dipping is the whole technique here. Sarah’s Scoop dips chocolate sandwich cookies in dark candy melts, presses candy eyes into the soft coating, then pipes a white belly and small orange beak and feet once the coating firms up.
Idea from Sarah’s Scoop: Penguin Oreo Cookies.
Decorating tip: Add the eyes while the dark coating is still soft, and wait for it to firm before piping the white belly so the colors do not blend. Use a piping bag with a tiny opening for the orange details. Best for ages 6 and up, with an adult melting the coating.
13. Stained glass cookies
Kids choose the colors, the oven does the rest. Parenting Best cuts a shape from the center of each round cookie, fills it with crushed hard candy, and bakes until the candy melts into a clear window.
Idea from Parenting Best: Easy-to-Make Stained Glass Christmas Cookies Recipe.
Decorating tip: Crush Jolly Ranchers or Life Savers in a sealed bag with a rolling pin, and poke a hanging hole with a straw before baking if you want ornaments. An adult handles the baking and the hot candy, which stays hot after it comes out of the oven. Best for ages 7 and up for choosing colors and filling centers.
14. Stocking cookies with a monogram
Stockings give each child a cookie that is clearly theirs. The Frosted Kitchen floods stocking cookies in red and green, fills the cuff with thick white icing and nonpareils, and adds a monogram traced through tissue paper with an edible marker.
Idea from The Frosted Kitchen: Christmas Stocking Sugar Cookies (Step by Step Tutorial).
Decorating tip: Use flood icing for the body and a thicker detail icing for the cuff and lettering. Let the base dry fully, which can take about 8 hours, before adding the monogram. Best for ages 9 and up, or teens who want a neater finish.
15. Star biscuits with orange icing
Stars are easy to cut and easy to ice. Dannii at Hungry Healthy Happy bakes cinnamon and orange star biscuits, spreads them with icing made from icing sugar and orange juice, and lets kids add sprinkles.
Idea from Dannii at Hungry Healthy Happy: Christmas Star Biscuits.
Decorating tip: Spread the icing with a teaspoon for younger kids, or pipe it for older ones, and add sprinkles while the icing is wet. Cool the biscuits fully first or the icing will slide off. Best for ages 3 and up.
16. Hot chocolate mug cookies
These cookies look like the drink itself. Emma’s Cake Studio cuts sugar cookies into mug shapes, outlines them in white royal icing, floods the middle with brown icing, and presses mini marshmallows into the wet icing.
Idea from Emma’s Cake Studio: Hot Chocolate Mug Sugar Cookies Recipe.
Decorating tip: Use a mug cutter if you have one, or cut the shape with a small knife from chilled dough. Let the brown icing set for about 30 minutes before adding marshmallows, then let the cookies dry fully before packing. Best for ages 6 and up. Standard mini marshmallows commonly contain gelatin, so use vegetarian marshmallows if needed.
17. Draw-on cookies with edible markers
Some kids draw better than they pipe. Suz Daily dips cookies in thin royal icing, lets the icing dry overnight, and hands kids edible ink markers and scratch paper to plan a design first.
Idea from Suz Daily: How to Draw on Cookies.
Decorating tip: Thin the icing until a spoon mark smooths out in a few seconds, dip with a swirling motion, and do not rush the overnight dry. Use a light touch with the markers so the tip does not dig into the icing. Best for ages 5 and up, and good for large groups because there is very little mess.
18. Mini gingerbread house mug toppers
Mini houses give kids a build, not just a flat cookie. Fraiche Living cuts gingerbread into fronts, side walls, and roof panels with a mini house cutter or a printed template, glues the pieces with royal icing, and perches each house on a mug of hot cocoa.
Idea from Fraiche Living: Mini Gingerbread House Mug Toppers.
Decorating tip: Make the royal icing with meringue powder rather than a store-bought icing, which the source found harder to build with. Decorate flat pieces first if you like, then assemble and let the icing harden fully. Best for ages 8 and up, with an adult helping with assembly.
How to set up a decorating station
Cover the table with parchment or a wipe-clean cloth. Put each topping in its own small bowl, or use a muffin tin so sprinkles stay separate. Give each color its own spoon, brush, or bag, and keep a damp cloth nearby. Set out a rack for drying, and leave the cookies alone once they are iced. Royal icing needs hours to harden, so plan the packing for the next morning if you can.
Read labels before you start, especially for peanut, egg, milk, and wheat. Keep nut cookies on their own tray. An adult stays on oven, hot candy, and hot marshmallow duty, and kids do the placing, painting, and drawing.
Frequently asked questions
What icing is easiest for kids?
For the youngest kids, cookie paint or a soft buttercream spread with a knife is easiest. Royal icing suits older kids who want lines and flooding, and it dries hard enough to stack.
Can I use store-bought dough or cookies?
Yes. Several ideas in this list are built for it, including the Santa cookies, penguin cookies, stained glass cookies, and draw-on cookies. Bake or buy plain cookies ahead, cool them fully, and spend your time on the decorating part.
How far ahead can we decorate Christmas cookies?
Plain baked cookies keep well in an airtight container, and you can freeze undecorated cookies and thaw them before decorating. Once iced with royal icing, let the cookies dry fully, often overnight, before stacking them with parchment between layers.
What should I do about allergies?
Check every label, including candy, sprinkles, and sandwich cookies. The Santa cookies in this list contain peanut. Keep nut-free cookies separate, and ask about egg, milk, and wheat needs before you set out toppings.
Do the cookies need to look perfect?
No. The ugly sweater cookies and the melted snowmen look better a little crooked, and snowflakes are meant to differ from each other. If a cookie floods over the edge, call it a design choice and move on.
Can toddlers join in?
Yes, with the right job. Toddlers can paint with cookie paint, press candy eyes and noses into soft icing, and shake sprinkles from a cup. Keep them away from the oven, hot candy, and piping bags that need a firm squeeze.
Wrapping up
Pick the cookies that match the ages at your table and bake ahead. The cookies kids remember are usually the ones they made themselves, lopsided icing and all. Once the icing has dried, pack a few up as gifts. For cookie ideas made to give away, see these edible Christmas gifts worth making.
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