Santa Reading SVG

About this design

Every year, someone reads “The Night Before Christmas” aloud, and here Santa takes a turn. He sits with an open book resting on his lap, his round glasses perched on his nose and his beard flowing over his coat. A sack of gifts leans beside him. The open pages are a large cream area, so the book becomes the bright focal point.

The scene has two pieces but twenty-five small cut-outs, in the glasses, beard, fur trim and book pages. Because of that detail, it does not pass our automated cut checks at small sizes and is listed for print and web. It cuts well from about 7 inches tall.

Color layers

• Backing in cream, which forms the book pages, beard and trim
• Design in red, with those areas cut out

Best uses

• Book plates printed on sticker paper for Christmas books.
• Library and classroom posters for a holiday reading challenge.
• Christmas Eve story box labels.
• Printed bookmarks.
• Sublimation tote bags for library trips.
• Large layered wall art for a reading corner.

Size and printing tips

For cutting, use 8 inches tall or more and a fresh blade, and weed the glasses and beard first. For printing, download a PNG at 300 DPI; book plates look great at about 3 inches tall.

Step by step: book plate stickers

1. Download a PNG at 300 DPI, about 3 inches tall.
2. In your design software, add “This book belongs to” and a line for a name.
3. Duplicate it to fill a sheet of printable sticker paper.
4. Print, then cut with Print Then Cut or scissors.
5. Stick one inside the cover of each Christmas book.

Color ideas

• Red and cream, the classic
• Green and cream for a vintage storybook feel
• Navy and gold for an elegant library poster

Good to know

The book’s pages are wide open, which makes them a perfect place to add a few words in your software, such as a child’s name or “Once upon a Christmas”.

Design notes

The scene was drawn as a quiet, cozy moment, so it pairs well with warm colors: deep red, cream, forest green and gold. It also prints well in a single dark color on cream paper, like an illustration in an old storybook.

Pairs well with

The Santa in His Armchair is a cozy companion that cuts more easily, and the Santa Beard and Glasses shares the round glasses.