The holidays are fast approaching and that can mean only one thing: presents, food, and, wait for it, holiday decorations!
As someone who spends a lot of my time online, I firmly believe that your house isn’t the only thing worth turning into a festive wonderland. In case you haven’t noticed, many websites have been given a Christmas spruce up in time for the holidays — and so should you.
Wishing your audience a merry Christmas and a happy new year is a great way to show them you care. In my opinion, it’s a really nice touch.
Best of all, it’s really easy to do, with loads of great holiday WordPress plugins available.
We don’t have much time to waste, so let’s jump straight in and look at some of the best holiday-themed WordPress plugins. Enjoy!
5sec Snow ($9)
5sec Snow is a plugin that adds falling snow to your website, available for $9 from CodeCanyon — the plugin gets its name because of how easy it is to install.
The snowfall looks beautiful, and there’s an added melting and spinning effect for realism. There are eight “falling style” customization options, and seven flake styles to choose from — this includes wrapped Christmas presents and baubles, plus five different snowflake styles.
Visitors are able to switch the snowfall effect off if they want, and you can also set a date for the plugin to turn off.
If you are concerned about your website’s speed, 5sec Snow is highly optimized. The jQuery code is only 3kb, meaning it won’t slow your website down.
Christmas Magic ($7)
Christmas Magic is another plugin that lets you add snowfall to your WordPress website. In my opinion, it has the most beautiful snowfall animations of any plugin, with distinct snowflake swirling and falling down the screen.
The Christmas Magic plugin also supports audio — you can upload a Christmas song to play in the background, with visitors able to mute the sound if they want. You can also customize the background color and image, as well as how many snowflakes appear on the screen at any point.
Xmas Snow (FREE)
If you’d prefer a free plugin to add a falling snow effect to your website, check out the Xmas Snow plugin.
This plugin doesn’t come with all the fancy customization options 5sec Snow supports, but it does create a simple, stylish snowfall effect on your website.
Plus, it’s really easy to use: simply install the plugin, hit activate, and watch the snow fall!
Simply Snow (FREE)
Simply Snow is another no-nonsense snowfall plugin for WordPress.
The plugin allows you to add a simple snowfall effect to your website, with minimal fuss — simply install and activate.
There are no customization options to mess around with, and this keeps Simply Snow bloat free, which keeps your site running fast.
WP Super Snow (FREE)
Sticking with the snowfall plugins, WP Super Snow is a great little snowfall effect plugin for WordPress.
WP Super Snow allows you to display beautiful snowflakes which fall from the top of the screen. Despite being a free plugin, it also comes with some customization options: you can select snowflake size, falling speed, total snowflakes on screen, and wind direction.
Tribulant Snow Storm (FREE)
Our last snowfall plugin is also the most popular one, with over 44,000 downloads to date.
Tribulant Snow Storm lets you display beautiful falling snowflakes on your WordPress website.
The plugin supports the option for the snow to build up at the bottom of the screen like real snow, which is a great looking effect. You can also choose whether the snow melts away, and whether the snowfall is drawn towards your mouse cursor. The plugin also supports several customization options: snow color, speed of snowfall, amount of snow falling, and amount of snow built up at the bottom of the screen — for a free plugin, that’s a lot of flexibility.
Xmas Lights (FREE)
If you want a Christmas effect on your website but you’re bored of the snowfall, consider the free Xmas Lights plugin — by the same developer as Xmas Snow.
The plugin allows you to add colorful, hanging Christmas lights to the top of your website. Simple, but effective.
Christmas Countdown Widget (FREE)
Looking to add some Christmas cheer to your website without going over the top? Then download the free Christmas Countdown Widget.
The Christmas Countdown Widget plugin lets you place a Santa Claus Christmas Countdown clock on any post or page using a dedicated shortcode, or in any widget area using a dedicated widget — it would go great in a sidebar.
The countdown clock displays the number of days until Christmas, then, on Christmas day, wishes your visitors a “Merry Christmas.” The Santa graphic uses a transparent background, which makes it compatible with any WordPress theme.
Count Everest Countdown ($6)
The Count Everest Countdown is a jQuery script, rather than a dedicated WordPress plugin. However, it allows you to place beautiful, responsive countdown clocks on any WordPress website just by adding the simple script — there is in-depth documentation for anyone who gets stuck.
Of the 12 skins supported, only one is a dedicated Christmas skin — this means there are plenty of different styling options for you to add countdown clocks year round. All skins are fully animated, responsive, and look incredibly stylish.
Setting up is easy: choose your favorite skin, set the target date, and you’re good to go.
Artiss Timed Content (FREE)
Although not strictly a Christmas plugin, Artiss Timed Content lets you create content that appears and expires at a specific time and date. This lets you create Christmas messages that self destruct at a later date, rather than lingering in your blog roll.
Consider the uses for eCommerce stores, too: you could use Artiss Timed Content to release time sensitive discount codes for any visitors on your website at a particular time — say, Christmas day.
To use the plugin, all you have to do is place shortcodes at either side of the time sensitive content.
WP Christmas Class (FREE)
At Christmas, many websites will change their background image to something more festive.
WP Christmas Class lets you add a custom CSS class to your body tag, which becomes activated between two specified dates. This allows you to configure your holiday branding months in advance, with it only activating when the time comes.
Because you can specify the date ranges, the plugin can be used to change your website’s styling at different points of the year — such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Easter.
WP Scheduled Theme (FREE)
The plugins so far add a nice Christmas touch to your website, but your WordPress theme will still be the dominant styling factor of your website. If you want to go all out for Christmas, consider using a dedicated Christmas theme during the festive period.
WP Scheduled Themes lets you schedule a different theme to display over a specified date range. Anyone who visits your site between these dates will see the new theme — this makes it ideal for adding Christmas themes, or any other holiday theme.
Business Christmas Greeting Card ($10)
Business Christmas Greeting Card lets you build beautiful animated Christmas cards for your visitors. The cards are fully responsive and look stunning, with a slick opening animation revealing the message inside — visitors just need to click on the card to open it.
The card is fully customizable — you can change the cover design, inside design, inside message, plus add your business logo to the card. You can also include your own background music — visitors can mute this should they wish. As an added bonus, the background also includes the snow effect from the Christmas Magic plugin free of charge.
Final Thoughts
And that’s your lot! 13 stylish holiday-themed plugins to add some festive cheer to your website.
If we’ve missed any great plugins off this list, let us know in the comments section below, and, most of all, enjoy the holidays!
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