The best Christmas theme for Windows is Microsoft’s free Winter Holiday Glow, a 9-image pack of ornaments, holiday cookies and twinkling lights rated 4.7 stars by 505 people.
For something more playful, Ninja Cat Holiday Escape and Snow Sculptures bring the fun, and Warm Winter Nights is the coziest snowy pack in the Store.
Microsoft’s holiday themes lean on winter as much as on Santa, so this list mixes festive packs with cozy cabins, snowy scenes and New Year fireworks. That also means you can keep most of them on well into February.
All 12 picks are free, install in a few seconds, and only change your wallpaper and accent color, which is the highlight color Windows uses on buttons and menus.
Prefer one classic holiday pack? See our Christmas Theme for PC guide. And if your style runs more to characters than snow, try our anime themes guide or the best game themes for Windows.
Got a favorite holiday theme we missed? Tell us in the comments, or reach out to us directly if you need a hand installing one.
🔍 What We Looked For
- Real holiday feel: Lights, ornaments, snow, cozy cabins and fireworks. Packs that only happened to include one snowy photo did not make the cut.
- Ratings from real users: Every pick has at least 4.4 stars on the Microsoft Store, and most sit at 4.7 or higher.
- How many wallpapers you get: The packs range from 9 to 18 images, and we list the count on every card.
- Checked listings only: Every button on this page opens a live Microsoft Store listing that we loaded and checked on November 2, 2026.
How to Install a Christmas Theme on Windows
Every pack in this guide installs the same way. There is no installer file and no third party tool. You need Windows 10 or Windows 11 and a Microsoft account signed in to the Store.
STEP 1
Click the download button on any card below. The theme opens on its store page in your browser.
STEP 2
Choose Get, then let the Store app open and finish the download. Most packs take a few seconds.
STEP 3
Open Settings, go to Personalization, then Themes. Your new pack is waiting in the list.
STEP 4
Click it once to apply it. Windows sets the wallpaper and picks a matching accent color for you.
The Top Christmas and Winter Themes for Windows
Our picks are grouped by mood rather than ranked against each other. A festive ornament pack and a frosty mountain pack do different jobs, so pick the group that fits how you want your desktop to feel this December.
Christmas and Holiday Packs
Ornaments, snowmen, Ninja Cat and New Year fireworks. These are the most festive packs in the Store, and the ones to install first.
Cozy Winter Night Themes
Glowing cabins, warm interiors and knitted textures. Good for anyone who wants the holiday mood without a tree on the screen.
Snowy Winter Landscapes
Frost, mountains, ice and a few happy dogs. These packs work all winter long, not just in December.
💡 Want snow that actually moves? Theme packs use still images. If you want falling snow or a crackling fireplace behind your icons, an animated wallpaper app can play a looping video instead. Start with our Lively Wallpaper guide.
Christmas Themes at a Glance
Every pick on this page in one table, so you can compare what each pack is best at, how many wallpapers you get, and how it is rated, without scrolling back up. Open the panel below to see it.
📊 Compare every Christmas theme in this guide
Every pick here is free to download. Wallpaper counts come from each pack’s own Microsoft Store listing, and star ratings were checked on November 2, 2026.
Five Ways to Get More Out of These Themes
1. Build one holiday slideshow from several packs
Install Winter Holiday Glow, Snow Sculptures and Warm Winter Nights, copy the images you like into one folder, and set it as a slideshow under Settings, Personalization, Background. You get a rotating Christmas desktop instead of one picture.
2. Pick a red or green accent color by hand
Windows picks an accent color from your wallpaper, and with snowy images that is often a pale gray. Go to Settings, Personalization, Colors, and choose a deep red or pine green yourself for a properly festive Start menu and taskbar.
3. Match the pack to light or dark mode
Fireworks on New Year’s, Warm Winter Nights and Snowy Mountains all have dark night skies that look best in dark mode. Chilly Morning, Snow Sculptures and Ice Crystals are bright and white, so they suit light mode.
4. Swap packs as the season moves on
Run a festive pack through Christmas, switch to Fireworks on New Year’s for the last week of the year, then move to a plain winter pack like Chilly Morning or Ice Crystals for January and February.
5. Put your favorite image on the lock screen too
Windows stores theme images under C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Themes. Copy a favorite out, then set it under Settings, Personalization, Lock screen so the holiday look starts before you even sign in.
How to Remove a Christmas Theme After the Holidays
When the decorations come down, the theme can go too. Removing one takes about ten seconds and does not need any extra software.
STEP 1
Open Settings, go to Personalization, then Themes. Every theme on your PC is in that list.
STEP 2
Click a different theme first, so the one you want gone is not the one you are using.
STEP 3
Right-click the theme you want to remove and choose Delete. It disappears from the list.
💡 Two things to know. Windows will not let you delete the themes that came with it, only the packs you added yourself. And deleting a pack takes its wallpapers with it, so copy out any image you want to keep first. You can always download the pack again next December from the same Store page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I get a Christmas theme on Windows 11?
Open a Christmas theme on the Microsoft Store, such as Winter Holiday Glow, and choose Get. Then go to Settings, Personalization, Themes and click the new theme to apply it. Windows changes your wallpaper and accent color straight away.
Are Microsoft’s Christmas themes free?
Yes. Every pack in this guide is a free download from the Microsoft Store and is published by Microsoft. You only need a Microsoft account to download them.
How do I make my own Christmas theme for Windows?
Put your holiday photos in one folder. Go to Settings, Personalization, Background and set that folder as a slideshow, then pick a red or green accent color under Colors. Finally open Themes and click Save to keep it as your own theme.
More Windows software guides: Best Anime Themes for Windows · Best Game Themes for Windows · Christmas Theme for PC
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