Desktop Wallpaper Calendars: December 2016 - Festive Christmas Edition

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Vitaly Friedman loves beautiful content and doesn’t like to give in easily. When he is not writing, he’s most probably running front-end & UX … More about Vitaly ↬

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In this post, Vitaly Friedman features desktop artwork for December 2016. Each Christmas wallpaper comes in versions with and without a calendar and can be downloaded for free. Now you only need to decide on your favorite! This monthly wallpapers mission has been going on for eight years now, so we added a little Christmas wallpaper best-of at the bottom of this post with some of the most cheerful, merry and Christmassy designs from previous years. We are very thankful to everyone who challenges their artistic skills and contributes to it each month anew.

New month, new wallpapers! To get you in the right mood for December, designers and artists from across the globe got their ideas bubbling and created unique and inspiring Christmas wallpaper calendars to deck your desktop.

This post features desktop artwork for December 2016. Each Christmas wallpaper comes in versions with and without a calendar and can be downloaded for free. Now you only need to decide on your favorite!

And if that’s not enough choice for you yet, we added a little Christmas wallpaper best-of at the bottom of this post with some of the most cheerful, merry and Christmassy designs from previous years. Happy holiday season!

For more Christmas spirit, you might also want to check out the following posts:

Merry Christmas

Designed by Delphine Pagès from France.

Christmas Wallpaper — Merry Christmas

Christmas Fail

Designed by Doud - Elise Vanoorbeek from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Christmas Fail

Time For Reindeer, Snowflakes And Jingle Bells

“Christmas is a time you get homesick, even when you’re home! Christmas reminds me of Harry Potter and his holidays when he would be longing to visit the Weasleys and have a Christmas feast with them at their table! The snowflakes, the Christmas tree, bundles of presents and the lip smacking feast all gives you a reason to celebrate and stay happy amidst all odds! Life is all about celebration! Christmas is a reason to share the joy of happiness, peace and love with all, your near and dear ones. Team Acodez wishes all a Happy Christmas with our latest design!” — Designed by Acodez IT Solutions from India.

Christmas Wallpaper — Time For Reindeer, Snowflakes And Jingle Bells

Season Of Joy

“I created this wallpaper as I am (and I’m sure many people are) looking forward to this upcoming holiday season to spend joyous time with loved ones. To me, this is a fun-filled holiday season, full of warmth and love. This feeling inspired me to make this wallpaper which helps me to express the feelings I have about this holiday.” — Designed by Suman Sil from India.

Christmas Wallpaper — Season Of Joy

Christmas Selfie

“In this year of selfies, I’ve imagined Santa Claus doing the same. :-)” — Designed by Emanuela Carta from Italy.

Christmas Wallpaper — Christmas Selfie

Winter Wonderland

“‘Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.’ (Edith Sitwell) — Designed by Dipanjan Karmakar from India.

Christmas Wallpaper — Winter Wonderland

Winter Knitting

“December makes me think about warm, knitted sweaters, so I made a wallpaper with a knitted pattern inspired by a sweater I saw when I went shopping with my friends. Because December is all about being warm and cozy together with your friends and family.” — Designed by Melissa Bogemans from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Winter Knitting

All Your Dreams Come True

“Christmas time is the time to spend with your family! And, of course, it is the moment for thinking of the new year and to wish for your dreams to come true! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!” — Designed by Veronica Valenzuela from Spain.

Christmas Wallpaper — All Your Dreams Come True

Let’s Forget Our Differences

“I think that no matter what language we speak, we can all gather during this cheerful time of year when we all get into holiday spirit, no matter our differences. Happy Holidays everyone!” — Designed by Maria Keller from Mexico.

Christmas Wallpaper — Let’s Forget Our Differences

The House On The River Drina

“Since we often yearn for a peaceful and quiet place to work, we have found inspiration in the famous house on the River Drina in Bajina Bašta, Serbia. Wouldn’t it be great being in nature, away from the civilization, swaying in the wind and listening to the waves of the river smashing your house, having no neighbors to bother you? Not sure about the Internet, though…” — Designed by PopArt Studio from Serbia.

Christmas Wallpaper — The House On The River Drina

The Matterhorn

“Christmas is always such a magical time of year so we created this wallpaper to blend the majestry of the mountains with a little bit of magic.” — Designed by Dominic Leonard from the United Kingdom.

Christmas Wallpaper — The Matterhorn

Vintage December

“December — in many places in the world, it is the winter season. The weather becomes chilly, the landscape is all snowy and dry. I was inspired by the cold colors of winter; the browns of the trees and a cold chilly blue; a color we normally associate with winter. I combined the colors with some vintage lettering and old parchment to make up the calendar.” — Designed by the Creativebin Team from India.

Christmas Wallpaper — Vintage December

Season’s Greetings From Australia!

Christmas wallpaper Designed by Tazi Designs from Australia.

Christmas Wallpaper — Season’s Greetings From Australia!

Christmas

“A simple wallpaper for the cold month December. Nothing more, nothing less.” — Designed by Frédéric Hermans from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Christmas

December Through Different Eyes

“As a Belgian, December reminds me of snow, cosiness, winter, lights and so on. However, in the Southern Hemisphere it is summer at this time. With my illustration I wanted to show the different perspectives on December. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!” — Designed by Jo Smets from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — December Through Different Eyes

Hibernation

“December makes me wanna go into hibernation mode.” — Designed by Bibi Treffers from The Netherlands.

Christmas Wallpaper — Hibernation

Snowflakes

“The first thing that comes to mind for me when I think of December is snow - we might not get any in the UK, so I decided to create this wallpaper just in case!” — Designed by James Mitchell from the United Kingdom.

Christmas Wallpaper — Snowflakes

Holiday Spirit

“Christmas is not a public holiday in Turkey, so December 25 passes by just as another day. But I always enjoy watching Christmas movies and seeing people take joy in each others’ company all around the world! We were all once children and still have that child dwelling in us, so I designed a wallpaper to remind everyone of that. Let yourself be a kid again and enjoy the holiday spirit! Merry Christmas to all :)” — Designed by Gokcen Yilmaz from Turkey.

Christmas Wallpaper — Holiday Spirit

Peace On Earth

“Holiday boho floral and reindeer antlers.” — Designed by Denise Johnson from Chicago.

Christmas Wallpaper — Peace On Earth

Trapped Inside A Christmas Ball

“December means coziness, decorations and celebration with friends and family. I opted for a Christmas ball with a penguin trapped inside. Penguins are independent and able to survive harsh winters, although I don’t know how he will be able to catch any fish in the frozen water.” — Designed by Lucas Debelder from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Trapped Inside A Christmas Ball

Christmas On The Clothesline

“In summer, people hang all their laundry on the clothesline outside. In winter it remains empty, but for this Christmas, we decorate it with Christmas accessories that everybody knows. Merry Christmas!” — Designed by Mathias Herrebaut from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Christmas On The Clothesline

Ho Ho Ho

“With Christmas comes time off work, time to reflect on the year that has passed and time to focus on your passions. Allow productivity to take a back seat and enjoy the free time you have to find inspiration in something new. The base of this wallpaper is ‘Ho Ho Ho’, an original painting by Hayden Gigner.” — Designed by Adam Mezzatesta from the UK.

Christmas Wallpaper — Ho Ho Ho

Sweet Childhood Memories

Designed by Robert Vaida from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Sweet Childhood Memories

Share Some Warmth

“To share some warmth with each other and being able to make someone’s colder days a bit warmer is part of the Christmas spirit that starts to live within most of us during December. As someone who loves coffee, I wanted to implement this, as coffee can get people to connect, to start a conversation.” — Designed by Jeremia Verhulst from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Share Some Warmth

Cute Lil Santa

Christmas wallpaper designed by Branco Goossens from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Cute Lil Santa

Winter In Copenhagen

Designed by Margaux Laurier from Flanders, Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Winter In Copenhagen

December Workflow

“A lot of students have exams to study for and working people have a lot of deadlines to finish their work. My wallpaper displays the typical workflow in December: staying inside - finishing work with a good cup of coffee!” — Designed by Jasmina Dahou from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — December Workflow

December Darkness

“December is the darkest month for a lot of people, so I came up with a dark theme. Besides, my illustration is slightly inspired by Alto’s Adventure, an indie game I love for its design.” — Designed by Annika Oeser from Germany.

Christmas Wallpaper — December Darkness

Cozy Winter

“Winter — a cozy period to spend with family and friends.” — Designed by Aurélie Deschacht from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Cozy Winter

Play The Last Song Of The Year!

“December reminds me of listening to vinyls in my room. The B side is where the last songs are played on the vinyl, December is the last month of the year.” — Designed by Gaspar Saldana Sandoval from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Play The Last Song Of The Year!

Wonderful Winter Sunset

“I was looking for a winter-related topic but not the traditional Christmas tree, Santa Claus or gifts, so I designed a winter landscape with the sun setting and a ski runner’s skis peeking out of the snow.” — Designed by Matthias Daelemans from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Wonderful Winter Sunset

New Year’s Surprise

“Do not let small troubles spoil your holiday spirit!” — Designed by Anastasiya from Russia.

Christmas Wallpaper — New Year’s Surprise

Baby It’s Cold Outside

“I was inspired by a picture I took in Austria last year. For me, it really shows the spirit of a cold, cozy month like Decemeber. The wallpaper includes mountains, a chalet, snow, a frozen river, fir trees, icicles… everything that represents December at its best.” — Designed by Birger Morris from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Baby It’s Cold Outside

Silence Of Snow

“When the snow starts to fall, the world becomes hushed. The snow seems to absorb all the noise.” — Designed by Lisa Wyffels from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Silence Of Snow

Winter Calendar

“The month of December, in the form of a calendar in which the objects come out.” — Designed by Lisa Van Pamel from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Winter Calendar

Christmas Wallpaper Best-Of 2010–2015

Some things are just too good to gather dust. Here’s a small but fine selection of some of the best Christmas wallpaper designs that took part in our monthly challenge in the previous years. Please note that these wallpapers are only available without a calendar. Enjoy!

Ninja Santa

Designed by Elise Vanoorbeek from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper Calendar 2016 — Ninja Santa

Christmas All Around The Globe

“Christmas is celebrated all around the globe — in the winter as well as the summer. From north to south, east to west: Merry Christmas everyone! :-)” — Designed by Ricardo Gimenes from Brazil.

Christmas Wallpaper — Christmas Around The Globe

We All Know That One Sweater

“When you look around this time of the year, you’ll see a lot of Christmas sweaters. Some of them are awesome, others well… we all know that one sweater… you know, the one that really has too much Christmas on it.” — Designed by Cédric Bloem from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — We All Know That One Sweater

Christmas With The Digies

“Merry Christmas from The Digies at digitalprofile.io.” — Designed by Rachel Sulek from Wales.

Christmas Wallpaper — Christmas with The Digies

Christmas Invaders

“While December brings darkness outside, we spend a lot of time inside. We take the time to celebrate Christmas in the company of our loved ones, but sometimes we might enjoy the simple joys of playing a computer game. Space Invaders has to be one of the most iconic classic arcade games, so to honour its legacy this wallpaper shows what a Christmas themed Space Invaders game might look like, so, therefore: Christmas Invaders!” — Designed by Wim Verpoorten from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Christmas Invaders

A South Pole Christmas

“Reindeer and elves don’t deserve all the fun in December!” — Designed by Michaela Schuett from the United States.

Christmas Wallpaper — A South Pole Christmas

Xmas Time!

“December is the same to say Christmas so we wanted to keep together all funny elements from this time” — Designed by Colorsfera from Spain.

Christmas Wallpaper — Xmas Time!

House Of The Birds

Designed by Pietje Precies was this christmas wallpaper from The Netherlands.

Christmas Wallpaper — Smashing Wallpaper - December 2012

Cold Outside

“In December it is cold outside, so cute giraffe with scarf. Winter in Africa.” — Designed by Kim Lemin from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Cold Outside

Christmas Wallpaper Time!

Designed by Sofie Keirsmaekers from Belgium.

Christmas Wallpaper — Christmas Time!

Holiday Handlettering

“A hand-drawn snowflake to get you in the holiday spirit!” Designed by Stephen Kistner from the USA.

Christmas Wallpaper — Smashing Wallpaper - December 2012

Christmas Wallpaper Wishes

“Ever since my childhood I have always imagined Santa and snowmen dancing & celebrating for Christmas. Here’s an illustration of that. Merry Christmas to one and all :).” Designed by Bharat Kv from India.

Christmas Wallpaper — Smashing Wallpaper - December 2012

Trailer Santa

“A mid-century modern Christmas scene outside the norm of snowflakes and winter landscapes.” Designed by Houndstooth from the USA.

Christmas Wallpaper — Smashing Wallpaper - December 2012

Candy Cane Monster

A christmas wallpaper designed by Agnieszka Malarczyk from Poland.

Christmas Wallpaper — Smashing Wallpaper - december 11

Snowy Love

Designed by Brad Cerasani from Canada.

Christmas Wallpaper — Smashing Wallpaper - december 10

What’s Your Favorite?

What’s your favorite theme or Christmas wallpaper this month? Please let us know in the comment section below.

Further Reading

Smashing Editorial (cm, mrn)