How to Draw Santa Claus in an Easy-to-Follow Grid
Draw this Santa Claus one square at a time: copy each square of the example into the same square of the blank grid. It’s a free printable for ages 5 and up that takes about 30 minutes. The page comes from Kevin Coulston’s book Draw by Grid: Christmas.
- Grid drawing
- Ages 5+
- Grades K–5
- Intermediate
- About 30 min
You’ll need
- Both printed pages (the character and the blank grid)
- Pencil and eraser
- Ruler (optional)
You’ll practice
- Looking closely
- Copying one square at a time
- Proportion and spacing
Free Grid Drawing Page from Draw by Grid: Christmas — Learn How to Draw Santa Claus
The holiday season is a perfect time for kids to slow down, get creative, and enjoy some fun, screen-free activities. Today, I’m excited to share a brand-new free page from my book Draw by Grid: Christmas—a festive grid drawing activity that teaches your young artist How to Draw Santa Claus one square at a time. This free page features a cheerful Santa head with his classic hat, a fluffy beard, a big round nose, happy eyes, and a warm holiday smile.
If your child enjoys drawing Christmas characters and loves structured activities that build confidence, they’re going to have a lot of fun learning How to Draw Santa Claus with this grid page.
About the Book: Draw by Grid: Christmas
The free Santa page is just one example of the cozy, cheerful holiday drawings kids can learn to create in Draw by Grid: Christmas. This book takes a variety of holiday-themed illustrations and breaks each one into simple grid drawings. The goal is to give kids a relaxing, guided way to enjoy drawing during the holiday season.
Inside the book, kids will find winter animals, festive treats, and Christmas-themed characters—all hand-drawn by me, Kevin Coulston. Every page follows the same accessible grid-to-blank-grid format, giving kids all the structure they need to succeed while still feeling like their creativity is front and center.
If your child enjoys learning How to Draw Santa Claus with today’s free page, they’ll absolutely love exploring the rest of the book. It’s packed with festive drawings designed to spark creativity and keep kids busy in the best way.
Learn to Draw Christmas Characters
Why Kids Love the Grid Drawing Method
One of the biggest reasons kids enjoy learning How to Draw Santa Claus with a grid is because the method makes complicated drawings feel easy. When they’re not staring at a whole picture at once and instead working square by square, they feel more relaxed and confident.
Here are a few reasons grid drawing is especially great this time of year:
- It encourages focus without feeling overwhelming.
- It improves recognition of shapes and proportions.
- It helps kids see drawing as a fun process instead of something stressful.
- It gives them a “framework” they can understand and trust.
And once kids successfully learn How to Draw Santa Claus using the grid, they often want to try more pages because they’ve proven to themselves that they can do it.
Other Versions of the Christmas Book
If your child enjoys learning How to Draw Santa Claus, but grid drawing isn’t their only preferred style, this holiday theme is also available in two additional formats:
- How to Draw: Christmas – Step-by-step drawing pages using simple shapes.
- Trace Then Color: Christmas Characters – Tracing outlines before coloring them in, perfect for younger artists.
Each format teaches drawing in a different way, but all three share the same hand-drawn illustrations and festive holiday spirit. Some families pick up more than one version so kids can practice drawing with different methods and sharpen their skills while having fun.
About the Art Books for Kids Series
The Draw by Grid books are part of my larger Art Books for Kids series, which now includes more than 80 titles. From robots to unicorns, dinosaurs to baby animals, monsters to holiday themes, every book is created to help kids explore drawing in a fun, screen-free way.
Browse All 80+ Art Books for Kids
All the artwork in the entire series is hand-drawn by me—no AI art, no shortcuts. My goal is to give kids artwork that feels warm, expressive, and friendly, and that encourages them to keep practicing and discovering what they can create.
Whether kids like tracing, step-by-step drawing, challenge-style prompts, or structured grid activities, there’s a book in the series to match what they love most. And if they enjoyed learning How to Draw Santa Claus from today’s free page, they’ll have plenty of opportunities to keep drawing through the winter season and beyond.
About Today’s Free Santa Grid Page
This free drawing page is designed to help young artists learn How to Draw Santa Claus by breaking the drawing into small, manageable squares. The page shows Santa’s head with all the features kids instantly recognize—his red hat with the fluffy pom-pom, his friendly eyes, his big smile, and of course, that iconic beard.
Learning How to Draw Santa Claus through a grid makes the process surprisingly simple. Kids match what they see in each square and recreate it on the blank grid next to it. This method builds accuracy, attention to detail, and patience, but in a way that feels like a holiday puzzle.
Once kids finish the grid drawing of Santa, they can outline it, color it, decorate the background, or even create additional holiday characters to go with him. The free page will give them a strong starting point and a fun, festive drawing to be proud of.
Free Activity Pages (save and print):
Final Thoughts
Kids love the magic of Christmas, and drawing Santa is one of the simplest ways to bring that magic to life on paper. This free grid page is a perfect introduction—fun, accessible, and rewarding. If your child enjoys learning How to Draw Santa Claus, they’ll find even more holiday creativity waiting for them inside Draw by Grid: Christmas.
Feel free to print the page more than once so kids can practice, experiment with colors, or draw a whole collection of Santas—each one with its own personality. And if they want to explore more holiday and non-holiday themes, the rest of my drawing books are ready whenever they are.
Draw it 3 ways
Every FirstArtBooks theme comes in three formats. Trace it, draw it step by step, or copy it square by square: the more ways kids draw a character, the better they know it.
- How to DrawHow to Draw booksDraw it step by stepNo free page of this one yet. See the How to Draw books (ages 5+)
- Trace Then ColorTrace Then Color booksTrace it, then color itNo free page of this one yet. See the Trace Then Color books (ages 3+)
- Draw by Grid
Copy it square by squareYou’re on this pageSee all Draw by Grid books
Finished? Draw the scene next
- Add a background: draw a snowy street with lights on every house.
- Write one line under your picture to finish this story:
It knocked on the door and…
That’s a picture book page. Draw two more and you have a whole story.
Draw it, then write about it
Give your santa claus in an easy-to-follow grid a name and a job. What makes it happy, and what makes it grumpy? Write two or three sentences.
Print a draw-and-write sheet: a box for the drawing and lines for the story. Primary lines (K–2) · Regular lines (grades 2–5)
Want to make it a whole story? Try the comic story starter or fold a mini-book in Story Studio.
Common mistakes and quick fixes
- The character has no holiday clues.
- Add one clear detail: a hat, a scarf, a bow, lights or a heart.
- The round shapes look lumpy.
- Draw circles in one smooth movement, or trace around a cup or a lid.
- The colors blend together.
- Pick two or three colors for the whole picture, and leave some white.
- Losing track of which square you’re on.
- Number the rows and columns on both grids, and put a finger on the example square while you draw.
More in 10 common drawing mistakes kids make.
Talk about it
For the grown-up: ask one or two of these while your child draws. There are no wrong answers.
- What is your favorite thing about this holiday?
- Who would you give this drawing to?
- What shapes can you find in your drawing?
- What would you change if you drew it again tomorrow?
More ideas in 25 questions to ask kids about their art.
Questions about this grid drawing
What age is this santa claus in an easy-to-follow grid grid drawing for?
Ages 5 and up (about grades K to 5). Kids new to grids can start with just the head, then come back for the rest.
How long does it take?
About 30 minutes. Kids who add their own details or a background often keep going longer.
What supplies do you need?
Both printed pages (the character and the blank grid); pencil and eraser; ruler (optional).
What size does it print?
US Letter (8.5 by 11 inches). Use Print this page or Download PDF above. On A4 paper, choose “Fit to page” in the print settings.
How does grid drawing work?
Copy what you see in one square of the example onto the same square of the blank grid, then move to the next square. Square by square, the whole drawing comes out the right shape.
For teachers: grade, timing and standards
Grades K–5, about 30 minutes. Grid drawing, intermediate level.
National Core Arts Standards (visual arts)
- VA:Re7 Perceive and analyze artistic work: students observe a drawing closely, square by square.
- VA:Cr2 Organize and develop artistic ideas and work: students use the grid method to plan a drawing.
See every lesson by standard, plus the math in grid drawing, on the arts standards map.
Copies: print as many as your class needs. More in the teacher resources and our no-prep sub plans.
Get the free Christmas Drawing Pack
10 printable Christmas pages to draw, trace, color and decorate, sent with your welcome email. After that, Kevin’s newsletter brings new free pages and book news.
Take the idea into a book
Want more characters to draw, trace or color? Explore these related books and see which approach fits your next creative session.
How to Draw: Christmas
By Kevin Coulston
Explore this book →
Trace Then Color: Cartoon Christmas Characters
By Kevin Coulston
Explore this book →
Draw by Grid: Christmas
By Kevin Coulston
Explore this book →Another idea to try
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