Free Christmas gift tag SVG files

Christmas gift tag SVG files for presents, parcels and craft fairs

A handmade tag is the smallest thing you can add to a present and one of the most noticed. It takes a few minutes, it uses up card you already have, and it turns a plain paper parcel into something that looks considered. Cutting your own also means every tag on the pile can match, down to the color of the ribbon.

Gift tags have one problem that most cut files ignore: they are tiny. A design that looks fine at ten inches can be impossible to weed at three. Every tag in this collection was drawn with that in mind, using bold shapes and heavy lettering with opened-up letter centers, so the file still cuts cleanly at the size a tag really is. Each one comes as a solid version for single-color cuts, an outline version and a layered color file.

Styles in this collection

To and From tags

The Classic To and From tag is a cream luggage shape with holly at the top and two lines to write on. The Kraft Paper tag stands upright with a big red star, the Scalloped tag is a red circle with a ruffled edge and a snowflake, and the Bauble tag is shaped like a tree ornament with a zigzag band. The write-on lines are thin cuts, so a pen follows them easily.

Bold greetings

Merry Christmas, Ho Ho Ho, Joy and Noel say it in a word or two, on a luggage tag, a round tag, an arched tag and a vintage label. Special Delivery looks like a postage stamp. From Santa wears a Santa hat on the corner of the tag, which is the one to use when a child should believe it came down the chimney. Do Not Open Until Christmas warns the curious, the Naughty and Nice file gives you one tag of each, and Handmade with Love is made for craft fairs and homemade gifts.

Tags cut in a shape

Here the outline is the design. There is a Christmas tree with gold ornaments, a gold star with a snowflake, a red stocking with a green heel and toe, a green mitten with a row of hearts, a gold bell with a bow, a gift box with a big red bow and a gingerbread man with icing on his wrists and ankles.

Faces and sets

A reindeer with a red nose rides on a luggage tag, while the snowman head and the Santa face are round character tags that children love to find on a parcel. A round tag with one large snowflake suits gifts that last past December. The Six Christmas Gift Tags Set puts six small tags on one sheet, in red and green, with a star, tree, heart, snowflake, bell and bauble.

Project ideas

• Stacks of matching presents, one design in every color.
• Teacher and neighbor gifts with a tag tied to a jar or a tin.
• Cookie boxes and treat bags with a gingerbread or gift box tag.
• Tree ornaments: a shaped tag cut from wood hangs on the tree afterward.
• Craft fair packaging with the Handmade with Love tag.
• Advent gifts with the Do Not Open tag on the mantel.
• Wine bottle tags tied around the neck.
• Place cards for the Christmas table, with a name on the write-on line.
• Kids’ crafts: cut the shapes and let children decorate them.

Choosing materials

Sizes that work

Each design page lists the smallest size at which every part can be cut and weeded cleanly. The tree, stocking, gift box, snowman, Santa, Joy and Ho Ho Ho tags go down to 1.5 inches, and the star, mitten, reindeer and gingerbread tags to 2.5 inches. Lettered tags need 3 to 4.5 inches, and Handmade with Love needs 5. The set of six is measured across the whole sheet, so cut it at 8 inches or more to get tags about 4 inches wide.

How the color layers work

The first layer is a solid backing behind the whole tag, in a dark green-black on the red, green and navy tags and a soft tan or deeper kraft on the light ones. On the dark tags it outlines every letter so the words stay sharp; on the light tags the letters sit directly on the tag and the backing shows only in the thin lines. On top go the tag color, then a layer for the picture, a layer for accents such as berries, stars and bows, and a layer for the lettering. On most tags the lettering sits in a channel cut out of the tag. On paper, glue the cut tag to a plain backing card and set the letters back in place: the backing shows through the channel and frames each word. In the editor on each design page you can change every color before you download, so a set of tags can match your wrapping paper. Our guide to changing SVG colors shows how.

Making a stack of cardstock tags

1. Pick a design and set the size in the editor. Check the smallest size listed on its page.
2. Duplicate it in your cutting software to fill a 12-inch sheet.
3. Cut with a fresh blade on a sticky mat, and go slowly on heavy card.
4. Lift the tag first, then ease out the small cut-outs with a weeding hook.
5. Back and assemble lettered tags on a second color of card.
6. Thread ribbon, baker’s twine or jute through the hole, and write on the lines or the back.

The fast way: Print Then Cut

For very small tags, or a lot of tags in a hurry, print the color file on cardstock and let your machine cut only the outer shape. There is nothing to weed and no layers to line up, and it works below the smallest size listed for cut lettering. Our Print Then Cut guide explains the steps and the maximum sizes.

Cutting and weeding tips

• Use a fresh blade. Small letters tear on a dull one, especially in heavy card.
• Cut once on thin card, twice on thick. A second pass is cleaner than more pressure.
• Keep the hole clear. If the circle does not drop out, push it through with a pin instead of pulling.
• Reinforce the hole with a small eyelet on tags that will hang from a heavy gift.
• Keep letters in order. Lay them out on the mat as they come up, so each one goes back in its own place.

Pairing tags with other designs

The tags sit naturally beside the Christmas gift designs, which include wrapped boxes and bows for cards and bags. The ugly Christmas sweaters have their own gift tag for a party swap, and the holly designs match the Classic and Joy tags.

Free to use

Every tag here is original, with no characters, brands or logos, and free for personal projects and for up to 500 finished items per design that you sell. There is no sign-up and no email gate. Please share a link to the design page rather than the file itself.