How to Draw Santa Claus (Easy Step-by-Step for Kids)

To draw Santa Claus, start with a round face and a fluffy hat brim across the top. Add the floppy hat with a pom-pom, then the eyes, nose and eyebrows. Finish with a curly mustache and a big fluffy beard.

Finished cartoon Santa Claus face with a red hat, white fluffy beard, pink nose and rosy cheeks
The finished Santa Claus
Steps
6 easy steps
You need
  • Pencil
  • Eraser
  • Black marker
  • Red, peach and pink crayons

Updated

Teaching this to a class?

Show one step at a time on the board and wait for the class before the next. The directed drawing for kids page explains how to run it.

How to draw Santa Claus step by step

  1. A round face with a fluffy, cloud-shaped hat brim across the top

    Step 1 of 6: Draw a round face with a fluffy, cloud-shaped brim across the top.

  2. A floppy pointed hat on the brim, bending to the right, with a round pom-pom

    Step 2 of 6: Add a floppy hat that bends to one side, with a round pom-pom at the tip.

  3. Santa's face with two round eyes, curved eyebrows and a round nose

    Step 3 of 6: Draw two round eyes, two curved eyebrows and a round nose.

  4. A curly mustache added under Santa's nose

    Step 4 of 6: Add a curly mustache under the nose.

  5. A big fluffy beard around the bottom of the face with a small smile

    Step 5 of 6: Draw a big fluffy beard around the face and a small smile.

  6. Santa colored with a red hat, peach face, pink nose and cheeks and a white beard

    Step 6 of 6: Color the hat red, the face peach and the nose and cheeks pink.

Tips for little artists

  • Tip: Press lightly with the pencil first. Trace the lines you like with the marker, then erase the rest.

  • Tip: Draw the brim and the beard with small bumps, like a cloud. Bumpy lines look soft and fluffy.

  • Tip: Leave the brim, the pom-pom and the beard white. The white paper does the work for you.

Make it yours

  • Santa with glasses

    Add two small round glasses over the eyes, with a short line between them.

  • Winking Santa

    Draw one eye as a curved line instead of a circle, so Santa looks like he is winking.

  • Santa card

    Draw Santa in the middle of folded paper and write a holiday message under his beard.

Common mistakes and easy fixes

  • The beard covers the eyes

    Draw the beard outside the face line, starting just under the brim. Keep the eyes, nose and cheeks inside the face open.

  • The hat looks flat

    Make the hat bend over to one side and drop the pom-pom lower than the top. The bend makes it floppy.

  • The face looks empty

    Draw the nose big and round. A big nose and pink cheeks give Santa his jolly look.

Fun facts about Santa Claus

  • The legend of Santa Claus goes back to Saint Nicholas, who was born around A.D. 280. (Source: HISTORY (archived))

  • The name Santa Claus came from Sinter Klaas, the Dutch nickname for Saint Nicholas. (Source: HISTORY (archived))

  • In 1881, cartoonist Thomas Nast drew Santa as a round, cheerful man with a full white beard. (Source: HISTORY (archived))

  • NORAD's Santa tracking began with a phone call in 1955. Today, more than 1,000 volunteers answer children's calls on Christmas Eve. (Source: Navy Times)

Questions grown-ups ask

How do you draw an easy Santa Claus?

Draw only his face: a circle, a fluffy hat brim and a floppy hat. Add eyes, a round nose, a mustache and a bumpy beard. The 6 steps above follow that order.

How do you draw Santa's face?

Start with a round face under a fluffy brim. Put two eyes and a big round nose in the middle, then a curly mustache under the nose and a beard around the bottom.

How do you draw a Santa hat easily?

Draw a bumpy brim first, like a cloud. Then draw a curved triangle on top that bends to one side and ends in a round pom-pom.

If the beard came out extra bumpy, that's fine. Santa's beard is supposed to be fluffy. More easy drawings for kids are on the home page.

Step 1 of 6

A round face with a fluffy, cloud-shaped hat brim across the top
Draw a round face with a fluffy, cloud-shaped brim across the top.