What are the traditional Christmas colours?

Red, green and gold, often with white. Deeper shades like berry red #B3001B and pine green #1E5631 look richer than pure red and green.

What is a modern Christmas colour palette?

Popular modern looks include emerald with champagne and gold, Scandinavian white with red and grey, and midnight blue with silver and gold.

What colour text should I use on a red Christmas card?

White or cream usually works. Cream on berry red #B3001B scores 6.49:1, comfortably readable. Avoid green or gold text on red.

Can I use these HEX codes in Canva or PowerPoint?

Yes. Both accept HEX codes in their custom colour settings. Paste the six characters, with or without the #, depending on the app.

How do I make a Christmas gradient background?

Use a CSS gradient generator, pick two colours from one palette, choose a size such as 1080 × 1080, and download it as a PNG.

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Christmas Color Palette Ideas with HEX Codes (Free)

Five Christmas colour palettes with HEX codes, from classic red and green to Nordic and midnight blue, with contrast-checked text pairs. Build more free.

Published 29 October 2026 · 5 min read

A Christmas color palette doesn't have to be bright red and green. Below are five ready-to-use palettes, from a classic red, pine and gold to a quiet Nordic look and a midnight-blue night sky, each with HEX codes and the text and background pairs that stay readable. Copy the codes into Canva, PowerPoint or your CSS, or put them into the free color palette generator to adjust and export them.

We checked every "text on background" pair below with the free contrast checker, because festive colours are often saturated and a good-looking pair can be hard to read on a phone.

1. Classic: red, pine and gold

Colour	HEX
Berry red	`#B3001B`
Pine green	`#1E5631`
Snow cream	`#F8F4E3`
Antique gold	`#D4AF37`
Charcoal	`#2B2B2B`

The traditional look, made richer by deep shades instead of pure #FF0000 red and #00FF00 green, which vibrate against each other. Cream instead of white feels warmer and more like paper.

Readable pairs: cream text on red (6.49:1), cream text on pine (7.83:1), gold on charcoal (6.73:1). Red and pine together are only 1.20:1: fine side by side as blocks of colour, never as text on each other. Gold text on pine reaches 4.10:1, so use it for big headings only.

Best for: greeting cards, shop window posters, family photo frames.

2. Modern emerald and champagne

Colour	HEX
Deep emerald	`#0B3D2E`
Champagne	`#E9DCC9`
Brushed gold	`#C9A227`
Mulled wine	`#7A1F2B`
Linen	`#F6F1EB`

A grown-up, premium version of red and green, at home on restaurant menus, hotel offers and wedding-season invitations.

Readable pairs: champagne on emerald (9.03:1), gold on emerald (5.04:1), linen on mulled wine (9.08:1), emerald on linen (10.86:1). This palette is forgiving: almost every light-on-dark pair works.

3. Nordic: white, red and frost

Colour	HEX
White	`#FFFFFF`
Scandi red	`#C8102E`
Frost blue	`#9DB4C0`
Slate	`#5C6B73`
Night spruce	`#253237`

Mostly white with crisp red details and cool greys, inspired by Scandinavian decorations. Lots of empty space is part of the style.

Readable pairs: white text on red (5.88:1), red on white (5.88:1), slate on white (5.51:1), night spruce on white (13.20:1), night spruce on frost (6.11:1).

Best for: minimalist social posts, office party invitations, product photos with white backgrounds.

4. Candy cane and mint

Colour	HEX
Candy red	`#E63946`
Peppermint white	`#F1FAEE`
Ice blue	`#A8DADC`
Mint teal	`#2A9D8F`
Sugar pink	`#FFB4C2`

Playful and bright, good for kids' events, bake sales and school Christmas fairs.

Watch the contrast here. White text on candy red is 4.16:1, which passes only for large text (big headings). White on mint teal is 3.32:1, also large text only, and mint teal on peppermint white is 3.11:1. For small text on red, darken the red to #D62828 (5.00:1 with white). To find a passing shade yourself, put the red in the checker's Text colour, white as the Background, and use the suggested darker red: contrast works the same in both directions, so it also passes as a background for white text.

5. Midnight blue and starlight

Colour	HEX
Midnight	`#0F1E3D`
Night blue	`#1F3A68`
Silver	`#C0C7D1`
Starlight gold	`#E8D5A3`
White	`#FFFFFF`

A night-sky look that suits New Year's Eve too, and works for people who'd rather avoid red and green.

Readable pairs: gold on midnight (11.36:1), silver on midnight (9.68:1), white on night blue (11.26:1). Very safe for text.

Add a gradient

A soft gradient makes a quick background for a story, card or banner. In the free CSS gradient generator:

Choose Linear and set the Direction, for example 160°.
Set two Colour stops, such as midnight #0F1E3D at 0% and night blue #1F3A68 at 100%, or mulled wine #7A1F2B to emerald #0B3D2E.
Use Add a stop for a third colour, like a little gold at the top.
Pick an Image size (1080 × 1080 for an Instagram post, 1080 × 1920 for a story) and press Download PNG, or Copy CSS for a website.

Gradients between two very different hues (red to green) can go muddy brown in the middle. Gradients within one family, or between neighbours, stay clean. See linear vs radial vs conic gradients for the other shapes.

Make your own Christmas color palette

Open the free color palette generator.
Under Build from a colour, enter a festive base, for example pine #1E5631.
Try Complementary for a red-green palette, or Monochromatic for an all-green, wintry one.
Lock the colours you like and press Generate palette (or the space bar) to explore the rest.
Export as a HEX list to paste into Canva or slides, or CSS variables for a site.

Already have a photo you love, like your tree or a snowy street? Pull its colours with the colour picker from image.

Tips for festive designs that work

Use one hero colour. Red and green and gold at equal amounts looks busy. Let one lead (about 60%), one support and one sparkle; the 60-30-10 rule explains why.
Avoid red text on green or the reverse. Besides low contrast, red-green colour vision deficiency is common, especially in men, and those words can disappear entirely.
Gold is a mood, not a text colour on light backgrounds. Use it for borders, stars and big numbers.
Check on a phone. Most cards and posts are seen on phones, often outdoors, where low contrast is even harder to read.
Keep your brand. For a business, add one festive colour to your usual palette rather than replacing it, so your posts are still recognisable. More on this in choosing brand colours.

Celebrating other festivals? See Holi colour palettes and Indian wedding colour palettes.

Start designing

Paste any of the codes above into the free color palette generator to tweak and export them, then check your text pairs in the contrast checker. Everything runs in your browser, free.

Frequently asked questions

What are the traditional Christmas colours?: Red, green and gold, often with white. Deeper shades like berry red #B3001B and pine green #1E5631 look richer than pure red and green.
What is a modern Christmas colour palette?: Popular modern looks include emerald with champagne and gold, Scandinavian white with red and grey, and midnight blue with silver and gold.
What colour text should I use on a red Christmas card?: White or cream usually works. Cream on berry red #B3001B scores 6.49:1, comfortably readable. Avoid green or gold text on red.
Can I use these HEX codes in Canva or PowerPoint?: Yes. Both accept HEX codes in their custom colour settings. Paste the six characters, with or without the #, depending on the app.
How do I make a Christmas gradient background?: Use a CSS gradient generator, pick two colours from one palette, choose a size such as 1080 × 1080, and download it as a PNG.

Color tools

Try the Color Palette Generator

Free, no sign-up, works in your browser. Generate colour palettes at the press of a key, lock the colours you like, or build one from a base colour with analogous, complementary or triadic harmonies.

Open Color Palette Generator