Christmas Widgets for iPhone: Festive and Winter Widget Ideas

Make red, pink or winter blue Christmas widgets with photo and theme apps, recolor the widgets you have with Tinted, and add a holiday countdown.

iOS has no Christmas widgets of its own, so festive widgets come from two places: a widget app where you set your own photos, colors and fonts, and the Tinted icon style, which recolors the widgets you already have. Three or four matching widgets look better than a page full of decorations, and the same setup can stay through January as a winter look.

Make your own with a widget app

Photo widgets: Widgetsmith’s listing ↗ describes photo widgets with filters and borders, and galleries that cycle through an album. Make an album of tree, lights or snow pictures and point the widget at it.
Ready-made themes: Color Widgets ↗ offers user-made themes that combine widgets, icon packs and wallpapers, and lets you style each widget with photos, fonts and colors. Search its themes for a holiday look.
A countdown: the number of days until Christmas is the most popular festive widget. Our countdown widget guide compares apps that show it.

Both apps are free to download with paid extras, so check what each design needs before you build around it.

Color ideas: red, pink or winter blue

Classic red: deep red widget backgrounds with cream text, and a single green accent such as a photo of a tree.
Pink Christmas: pale pink backgrounds with white or rose-gold text, and photos of ornaments or baking.
Winter blue: icy blue or navy with white text. It still fits in January and February, after the holiday photos come down.
Cozy neutral: beige, cream and brown with a candle or blanket photo, for a softer look than red and green.

Pick the colors from your wallpaper so the widgets and background match. In widget apps, set the same font and corner style on every widget.

Recolor existing widgets with Tinted

To make Calendar, Weather and your other widgets match without any app, touch and hold the Home Screen, tap Edit, then Customize, and choose Tinted. Use the eyedropper on your wallpaper or set the color with the sliders, as explained in Apple’s customization guide ↗. Tinting changes icons and widgets together, and Apple’s WidgetKit guidance ↗ says it removes widget backgrounds and turns most images white. If your festive look depends on photo widgets, keep the Default style instead.

Add them and keep the page calm

Add each widget with Edit → Add Widget, following Apple’s widget guide ↗, then touch and hold it and tap Edit Widget to choose the design you made in the app. Try one large photo or countdown widget at the top and two small widgets below it.

For a calmer centerpiece than photos, a slow-moving widget works well in a winter blue setup. Aquarium Widgets ↗, our app, shows an aquarium with fish you care for and an optional clock or month calendar behind them. It is free to download, and the Home Screen widget requires the premium upgrade (a subscription or a one-time purchase).

For wallpapers and full festive layouts, see our Christmas Home Screen ideas, and for warm setups that last all winter, the cozy Home Screen ideas.

Frequently asked questions

How do I get Christmas widgets on my iPhone?

Use a widget app such as Widgetsmith or Color Widgets to make widgets with holiday photos, colors and fonts, then add them from the Home Screen widget gallery.

Are there free Christmas widgets for iPhone?

Widgetsmith and Color Widgets are free to download, with paid extras. You can also tint your existing widgets red or green in the Customize menu at no cost.

How do I make my widgets red or pink?

In a widget app, set the background color for each widget. To recolor all icons and widgets at once, use Tinted in the Home Screen Customize menu.

Can I keep my Christmas widgets after the holidays?

A winter blue or neutral palette works into February. Swap holiday photos for snow or winter pictures in January.