Free Holiday-Inspired Icon Sets And Vector Elements

Original Source: https://smashingmagazine.com/2021/12/free-holiday-icons-vector-elements/

With the holidays just around the corner, what better way to celebrate than with some free goodies? We sifted through the web (and our archives) to find winter- and Christmas-themed icon sets and vector elements that’ll give your creative projects some holiday flair. And, psst, they are perfect if you’re in need for some last-minute Christmas cards, gift tags, or wrapping paper, too.

All icons and design elements in this collection can be downloaded for free, but please remember to consult their licenses or contact the creators before using them. A huge thank-you goes out to all designers who share their work with the community, not only at this time of the year! You rock! Have a happy holiday season, everyone!

A Modern Christmas

A hipster Santa on an electric scooter, a Christmas llama, and a car that masters a risky balancing act to transport a pile of Christmas gifts on its roof — the Christmas Illustration Pack by Iconscout has some surprises built in that’ll make you smile. 14 illustrations are included in the pack, in SVG, PNG, and EPS formats. You can use them for free with attribution.

Hand-Drawn Christmas

If you like it cute, this hand-drawn freebie by Freepik and Flaticon might be for you. In it, you’ll find 70 adorable Christmas elements like snowmen, tree ornaments, bells, garlands, stars, pinecones, gift boxes, animals, and much more. They come with a nice color palette (which is editable, by the way) as well as in a lined version. Available in PNG and SVG formats, the elements are completely resizable, too. Perfect for some print-at-home coloring pages to keep the kids busy.

Merry And Bright

A set of 20 vector icons that are bound to bring some holiday joy and happiness to any project comes from the folks at Zippypixels. The icons shine with a fun color palette in combination with a flat style and circle shape and come in AI, EPS, SVG, and PNG formats. You can use them for free in personal projects with attribution.

Pixel-Perfect Line Icons

If you want to give your e-commerce or product site a little Christmas makeover, the Pixel-Perfect Line Icons that Andrey Rubin designed for Kit8 could be for you. They give UI icons a fun Christmas twist — imagine the shopping cart turning into Santa’s sleigh, the notification bell being adorned with a ribbon, and the message bubbles that usually indicate customer support turning into Christmas tree decorations. The icons come in EPS, AI, and JPG formats.

Christmas Stamps

For his Corona edition Christmas icons, Žarko Cvijović chose a motif that brings people closer together even if they are far away from each other: postage stamps. The 12 stamps show traditional Christmas motifs with a modern twist and come in three different styles (lined, bold lined, colored lined). Available as an AI file.

Pictogram

Angels, elves, Santa, the Three Wise Men, and, well, normal people caroling or preparing Christmas dinner — the Pictogram Christmas Collection by Freepik includes 50 holiday-themed characters. They come in three different styles (colored, lined, and colored lined) and are fully editable in both AI and EPS formats.

Christmas Joy

Roast turkey, gingerbread men, reindeer, and that comfy Christmas sweater that waits in the back of the closet to be dug out. With 110 icons in total, Anastasia Kolisnichenko’s Christmas icon set has everything a Christmas lover’s heart could ask for. The icons are available in AI, PSD, PNG, and EPS formats and you can customize stroke width, size, color, and shape to your liking. The license allows you to use the illustrations for anything you want, also commercially.

Geeky Christmas

To give the season of reindeer and elves a bit of a geeky glam, Tatiana Lapina designed 54 geeky Christmas vector graphics. Among them, you’ll discover characters from Star Wars and famous computer games, geeky tech stuff, even a delivery drone to deliver the presents. The illustrations come in SVG, AI, EPS, PDF, and PNG formats and are free to use in personal and commercial projects.

Christmas Tales

With their storybook-like look, Manuela Langella’s icon set stirs those familiar warm feelings. In this set, you’ll find 24 icons in total, among them some unique motifs such as Santa stuck in a chimney as well as the obligatory cookies and milk and stockings hung by the fireplace. The icons come in six formats (AI, PSD, EPS, PDF, SVG, and PNG) and can be customized not only in size, color, and shape but, thanks to full layered Illustrator and Photoshop assets, also assembled in any way you like. Free to use for private and commercial projects.

Advent

Another one from the creative mind of Manuela Langella, is the Advent icon set. It features 25 icons to celebrate the Advent season: decoration, food, and even Santa’s little helper is there to join the party. The download includes AI, EPS, SVG, PNG, and PDF formats that you can modify to your liking. A Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license allows you to use the set in private as well as commercial projects.

Sketchbook Christmas

You’re looking for something that is a bit more, well, subtle? Then these hand-drawn icons by createvil could be right down your alley. Their detailed pencil-sketch style is bound to spread some nostalgic winter vibes. Available in EPS format.

Ho Ho Ho!

James Oconnell’s Ho Ho Ho icon set features ten Christmasy line art icons with a nifty twist: some lines are dotted while others are highlighted with an accent color. The centerpiece of the set is a squiggly “Ho Ho Ho” framed by snowflakes. The icons are available in AI format and you’re free to use them as you please.

3D Christmas Decorations

Christmas is the season of giving, and what better way to illustrate that than with, well, hands? Icons8 offers a stunningly realistic set of 3D Christmas graphics of hands giving and receiving gifts and holding Christmas decorations. All graphics come in five different skin tones and two styles and are available in PNG and 3D formats. You can download the icons for free but please remember to link to Icons8 when using them.

Festive Christmas

Do you prefer a more minimalistic approach? Then George Neocleous’ festive Christmas icon set is for you. It includes 20 vector icons in EPS format, with both color and grayscale versions available. These are free to use without any restrictions in personal and commercial projects.

Lovely Christmas

Ever dream of spending the holidays in a cabin in the woods? You go out to cut the Christmas tree, spend time sitting by the fireplace, and drink tea as you watch the snow fall. That’s the feeling that Freepik captures with their Lovely Christmas Icon Set. Classic, calm Christmas colors and the choice of motifs bring some wintery flair to your designs. The 20 icons are available in EPS and AI and can be used for free in personal and commercial projects as long as you credit the designer.

Glyph Color Christmas Icons

It’s rather unusual to see Santa by the chimney side by side with Nativity Scenes in the same icon set. But the Glyph Color Christmas set designed by Maverick Studio at Christmas HQ has it all. It contains 36 holiday icons in SVG, Figma, Sketch, and PNG formats.

Tidee Christmas Icons

A minimalist but clever take on traditional Christmas motifs comes from the Icojam design duo Stan and Andy. Their set of 25 Tidee XMAS icons complements the more than 1,300 icons strong Tidee icon set and is available in AI, EPS, SVG, and PNG formats.

Holiday Spirit

RocketTheme’s Christmas icon set shines with its love for detail: the little cracks in the gingerbread man, the bubbles on the milk, the chiffon bow wrapped around the present. There are ten icons in the set in total, all of which come as 256×256 PNGs. A Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License allows you to use them in both commercial and private projects, but please be sure to credit the designer.

Vintage Christmas Elements

If you have a sweet spot for the mid-century style, this Vintage Christmas Element Collection might be for you. The vector is available in AI and EPS formats and features beautifully wrapped gifts, Christmas decorations, and, of course, a tree. You can use it for free in personal and commercial projects, but please attribute the designer.

Bold And Colorful

This fun and cartoonish icon set comes from Andrey Stelya. The fresh colors and the unusual way of applying them by shifting the underlying color layer outside the line art, gives the icons a modern feel. The set includes twelve icons and comes in SVG and PNG (90×90) formats.

Sweater Weather

A set of elements that celebrate the perks of cold winter days comes from the folks at Freepik. Think a woolen sweater and hat, a nice cup of tea, a gingerbread man, and some holiday decorations. The set is available as .EPS and free for personal and commercial projects as long as you give attribution. And if you’re looking for more motifs in the same style, also be sure to check out this collection with a teapot, iceskates, and more.

Sophisticated Line Art

Now this is a versatile set! Olha Filipenko created 78 icons in AI format with everything winter and holiday-themed: sweets, snowflakes, candles, ornaments, even a cute little postage stamp. There are so many ways to use the minimalistic line art with a unique and sophisticated twist.

Holly Jolly Badges

“Merry Little Christmas”, “Let It Snow”, “Ho Ho Ho”, and “Holly Jolly” — these badges combine bold typography with a lovely hand-painted look. The badges come in EPS format and can even be used commercially as long as you give attribution. How about printing them out to decorate your Christmas mail?

Pixel Art

Pixel time! Anna Sereda’s icon set looks as if it came straight out of a Christmas arcade game. There are 16 little pixel artworks in the bundle for you to use in personal and commercial projects. Available in AI, EPS, PSD, SVG, PNG, and JPEG formats.

Christmas Magic

This fine small set comes from Dasha Ermolova. It includes four motifs – a snow globe, a stocking, a Christmas wreath, and a ball ornament. The EPS is free to download. Minimalistic line art with nice little details.

Watercolor Leaves And Branches

Even though nature is sparse in winter in many parts of the world, there are little treasures you can find on your walk through the forest: pine cones, fir needles, acorns, for example. To celebrate their beauty, Freepik released an icon set with watercolor leaves and branches. They are available in AI and EPS formats and can be used for personal and commercial projects. Attribution is required.

Gingerbread Times

What would Christmas be without cookies? Anna Zhemchuzhina created a lovely little set of six gingerbread-inspired icons that look as if they came freshly baked out of the oven. Available as PSD.

Nostalgic Holidays

Designed by the folks at Freepik, this cheerful set consists of 16 AI and EPS icons with a unique nostalgic ’50s charm. You can use them for free in both personal and commercial projects, but please remember to credit the designer.

Snow Flurries

Christmas and snow go together like bread and butter. To add a bit of those snow flurries to your projects, Teela Cunningham has hand-drawn a set of snowflakes and turned them into vector graphics. The download includes AI and EPS files. For private use only.

Classics Revisited

Another set that pairs minimalistic line art with some lovely details comes from Žarko Cvijović. These twelve icons cover classical Christmas motifs (a present, a snowman, reindeer, a candle, a sleigh, and more) and are available in EPS format.

Santa

A hint of gold and a face hidden behind a fluffy white beard, the Santa illustrations by rawpixel.com will add a magical touch to any project. The vector is available in EPS format and can be used for personal and commercial purposes with attribution.

Winter Beauties

Holly, pine cones, and fir branches, the folks at rawpixel.com dedicated a set of design elements to these natural winter beauties. They are available in EPS format.

Decorations

Playful and bold are probably the words that best describe this bundle of Christmas illustrations. Available in EPS format, you can use them for private and commercial purposes. Attribution is required.

Watercolor Winter

If you’re looking for design elements with a handmade touch, this set of watercolor vector elements has got you covered. It comes as an .EPS file and makes a perfect fit for some last-minute gift tags.

A Storybook Christmas

With its simple but friendly style, the chubby Santa in Pikisuperstar’s set of vector elements wakes memories of storybook illustrations. You can download and use them for free in both personal and commercial projects. Attribution is required.

Flower Wreaths

Another perfect fit for some last-minute print-at-home gift tags are these flower wreaths with their light color palette and hand-drawn style. You can also use them commercially if you want, but please remember to give credit.

Silent Night

A muted color palette of red, green, and gold makes this lovely set of vector elements shine with a calm and friendly look. The elements can be downloaded in EPS format and used in both personal and commercial projects as long as you give attribution.

Black And Gold

This black and gold vector background by the folks at Freepik shines with shimmering accents that give the hand-drawn designs a magical touch. The vector is available in AI and EPS formats and can be used in private and commercial projects with attribution.

Neon Christmas

Who said neon colors and Christmas don’t go together? Actually, they do quite well. Shining bright, these neon design elements are available in AI and EPS formats. You can use them for free in personal and commercial projects as long as you give credit to the designer.

Did We Miss Anything?

Have you designed a free winter- or holiday-inspired icon set yourself? Or maybe you came across one that is just too good not to be shared? We’d love to hear about it in the comments below!