Openclipart is the best free source of Christmas clipart: it holds more than 180,000 vector graphics, all public domain under CC0, all in SVG, and it says you can use them even for unlimited commercial use. For a Christmas border, take a clipart strip or a vintage card image and build the border yourself in Word or Google Docs, because none of these free sources offers ready-made border downloads.
That second point saves a lot of hunting. People search for a Christmas border as if it's a file you download, and then end up on sites where the licence is a mystery. A border is a layout job. Get clean clipart with a clear licence, and the border takes five minutes.
Openclipart: public domain vectors for festive designs
Openclipart was founded in 2004 and is run with the help of volunteer librarians who organise requests and tidy the collection. Every artist releases their images into the public domain under the Creative Commons Zero licence, so there's no need to cite Openclipart, although it's always nice to mention the artist if you're happy to.
Everything is stored as SVG, and Openclipart's own FAQ says SVG files can be scaled, edited or printed without deformation. For Christmas clipart that matters. You can blow a bauble up to poster size, shrink it to a gift tag, or change its colour to match your brand, and it stays sharp.
One thing to check before you download: the pd_issue tag. Openclipart adds it when there's doubt about the provenance or licensing of an image. If you see it on a Santa or a snowman, pick a different one.
Wikimedia Commons and its empty clip art category
Here's a quirk worth knowing. Commons has a Christmas clip art category, and when I checked it was empty, with 0 files and 0 subcategories. It points you to SVG Christmas instead, which held 15 files plus two subcategories: SVG files of Santa Claus with 7 files and SVG Christmas trees with 5. There's no Christmas borders category on Commons either.
The real clipart lives in the bigger categories. Christmas ornaments had 147 files, Snowflakes 109, Christmas decorations 961 and Christmas trees 407. Plenty of it isn't drawn clipart at all, because Commons mixes photos, scans and drawings, so even the SVG Christmas category contains a JPG, The Goblins' Christmas.
Where to find each kind of Christmas clipart
| You want | Where to look | Licence as of October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Any vector Christmas clipart | Openclipart | CC0, commercial use allowed |
| Santa Claus | Commons: SVG files of Santa Claus | Per file on Commons |
| Christmas tree | Commons: SVG Christmas trees, or Christmas trees | Per file on Commons |
| Baubles and ornaments | Commons: Christmas ornaments | Per file on Commons |
| Snowflakes | Commons: Snowflakes, or Openclipart | Per file, or CC0 |
| Vintage card art | Library of Congress Holidays set: Prang's Christmas cards | Described as rights-free |
| Holly from a painting | Cleveland Museum of Art open access | CC0, no credit needed |
That last row is small but useful. When I searched the Cleveland Museum of Art's CC0 works with images, holly returned 5 results and christmas 47. Crop a sprig from a painting and you've got clipart nobody else is using.
How to make a Christmas border from clipart
- Download one or two clipart pieces that repeat well: holly, baubles, snowflakes or a strip of stars. On Openclipart, use the SVG (Vector) button in the Download section, then right-click or control-click and choose Save As.
- Open your document and insert the image. Shrink it to the depth you want for the border.
- Copy it and line the copies up along the top edge, then the bottom, leaving the same gap each time.
- Group the pieces so they move together, and set them behind the text so your words stay on top.
- For a framed look, use the built-in page border tools in your document app and add the clipart in the corners.
For the exact clicks, follow my guides to adding a border in Word and adding a border in Google Docs. They work just as well for a Christmas menu, a newsletter or a raffle poster.
Licence checks before you print anything
Openclipart is the easy one: CC0, commercial use allowed, no credit needed. Commons needs more care. Its reuse guide says some licences require you to credit the creator, some require you to name the licence, and some require edited versions to carry the same licence. If a ShareAlike licence doesn't suit your project, the guide's advice is simply to use a different file.
The Library of Congress pictures are a good shout for vintage card art. Prang's Christmas cards sit in the Holidays set, which the Library describes as rights-free. Keep the item page address with your file so you can show where it came from.
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If you need more general sources outside the festive season, my free clip art sources guide covers the year-round options.
What I'd use for clipart and borders
I'd use Openclipart for almost everything, because the licence is as simple as it gets and SVG means you can recolour and resize without fuss. Skip the search for a ready-made Christmas border, because you won't find a clean one in these sources, and build your own from a few repeated pieces instead. If you want a vintage feel, crop a detail from Prang's Christmas cards and use it as your corner piece. It'll look far more special than the border on every other flyer in town.
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Frequently asked questions
Where can I get free Christmas clipart?
Openclipart has more than 180,000 public domain vector graphics under CC0, all in SVG, and allows commercial use. Wikimedia Commons has Christmas ornaments, Snowflakes and SVG Christmas categories, with a licence on every file.
Is Openclipart free for commercial use?
Yes. Openclipart says you may use all of its clipart even for unlimited commercial use, and there's no need to cite it, although crediting the artist is a kind touch.
Where can I download a free Christmas border?
None of these free sources offers ready-made Christmas borders, and Commons has no Christmas borders category. Build one from clipart in Word or Google Docs by repeating a holly or bauble strip along the edges.
What does pd_issue mean on Openclipart?
Openclipart adds the pd_issue tag when there's doubt about the provenance or licensing of an image. Skip any clipart with that tag.
Why is the Commons Christmas clip art category empty?
When checked it held 0 files and pointed to SVG Christmas, which had 15 files plus subcategories for Santa Claus and Christmas trees. Most usable files sit in the ornaments, snowflakes and decorations categories.
