Charming Nordic Reindeer Holiday Decor

Make these simple Scandinavian reindeer for your Christmas decor this year. Easy painted wooden Nordic Reindeer decorations for a mid-century modern holiday. For more holiday decor see my Christmas page.

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My holiday decorations are more on the minimal side this year. Since we downsized our home it was only fitting that I downsize my holiday decorating.

I completely started over with a sparse Christmas tree and fun holiday crafts to go with it! In my previous post, you can see how I have started my holiday decorating Scandinavian style.

My favorite part of that post is these super cute Nordic reindeer! They were super easy to make. Just paint a fun wood deer set from Oriental Trading, add some glitter and a sweet saddle design and you have an adorable holiday decoration.

I painted them with light peach acrylic paint to give them a vintage nordic reindeer look. Here’s how I made them!

How to Paint Nordic Reindeer

Supplies:

As of last week, Oriental Trading Company has discontinued the Wood Standing Deer set shown in this post. Below are a few alternatives to use instead.

Natural Reindeer Set, Natural Wood Reindeer Set, Larger Cardboard Reindeer Set or Wood Reindeer Ornaments
Acrylic Paint: Peach, White
Paint Pen: White
Glitter: White
Small Plastic Bowl & Plastic Spoon
Elmer’s Glue or Another Adhesive that Dries Clear
Sponge Applicator & Paintbrushes

Instructions:

Paint the wood reindeer with peach acrylic paint. The edges of the wood were a brown color and I left them that way. Wipe away any excess paint. Let them dry completely.

paint a Nordic reindeer with a paint pen

Using a white paint pen, draw the face and chest and saddle pattern on the back and front of the deer.

I used white acrylic paint to darken the deer’s chest and face.

Apply Elmer’s glue to the antler pieces with a sponge applicator. Place glitter into a small bowl and using the plastic spoon, scoop up the glitter and sprinkle it over the antlers.

Shake off excess glitter and let them dry. Put the deer pieces together and display them on your holiday vignette! Easy peasy!