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8 Christmas ASCII designs: trees, gifts and decorations

Copy a Christmas tree, gift or decoration as text. These designs use ASCII characters only; NOEL without a diaeresis keeps the card within that repertoire.

All eight designs

8 designs available

Small tree

ASCII
   *
  /\
 /oo\
/____\
  ||

6 columns × 5 lines

A narrow tree for a message.

TXT file

Layered tree

ASCII
    *
   /\
  /__\
  /  \
 /____\
 /    \
/______\
   ||

8 columns × 8 lines

Three layers of branches.

TXT file

Gift

ASCII
  >o<
+--+--+
|  |  |
+--+--+

7 columns × 4 lines

A parcel with a central ribbon.

TXT file

Candle

ASCII
  (
  )
 | |
 | |
_|_|_

5 columns × 5 lines

A stylised flame above a candle.

TXT file

Snowflake

ASCII
\ | /
--+--
/ | \

5 columns × 3 lines

A symmetrical five-column design.

TXT file

Bauble

ASCII
  |
 .-.
( * )
 `-'

5 columns × 4 lines

A four-line hanging ornament.

TXT file

Garland

ASCII
o-*--o-*--o-*

13 columns × 1 lines

A festive one-line divider.

TXT file

NOEL card

ASCII
+----------+
|   NOEL   |
+----------+

12 columns × 3 lines

A short title inside a frame.

TXT file

Choose the right size

DesignColumnsLinesUse
Small tree65A narrow tree for a message.
Layered tree88Three layers of branches.
Gift74A parcel with a central ribbon.
Candle55A stylised flame above a candle.
Snowflake53A symmetrical five-column design.
Bauble54A four-line hanging ornament.
Garland131A festive one-line divider.
NOEL card123A short title inside a frame.

Two examples explained

Small tree

   *
  /\
 /oo\
/____\
  ||

The small tree is at most six columns wide. Its star sits above the branches; the two trunk strokes occupy two columns. This is not a tree emoji: preserve the shape by copying every line into a monospace block.

NOEL card

+----------+
|   NOEL   |
+----------+

The card has ten interior columns. NOEL takes four, with three spaces on each side. JOYEUX NOEL takes eleven characters including the space and does not fit: widen all three lines. Replacing the text without adjusting the borders breaks alignment.

Customise the composition

For a more readable card, place the drawing first and an ordinary text message below it. You can add a separate FIGlet title, but measure its width before framing it. A festive message does not need a full-page image; a short design fits conversation better.

Copy and check

  1. Copy the complete design or download its TXT file.
  2. Paste into a code block or monospace editor.
  3. Check leading spaces and width on a phone.
  4. Keep a descriptive sentence when the drawing carries information.

Markdown blocks · Accessible description

Scope and sources

These designs are variants of simple shapes, without claims of historical authorship. RFC 20 defines the ASCII repertoire. A text file does not enforce the reader’s font: on the Web, HTML preformatted text preserves the structure. For a pasting problem, follow the alignment diagnostic.

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