When Real Simple asked us to create a DIY holiday gift idea for their site, Sherry did an enthusiastic little victory dance and we put together a quick tutorial for a seasonal welcome mat you can slide under a Christmas tree or use at the front door.
The full how-to appears on Real Simple, but the project itself is straightforward: a budget-friendly Ikea doormat, painter’s tape, outdoor-rated or enamel spray paint, and about ten minutes of work. It’s an easy way to create a festive, personalized mat without much fuss.
Once the spray paint haze clears, you’ll be left with a clean, simple design like this:
Using a good quality indoor/outdoor spray paint should keep the design firmly in place after it dries. Paints intended for exterior use are designed to withstand rain and snow, so you don’t need to worry about tracking painted footprints inside. Many commercial welcome mats are spray painted, and they naturally wear over time like any mat. Enamel spray paint is one of the most durable options, but outdoor-approved spray paint without the “enamel” label can also perform very well; that was what we used, and it’s held up nicely since we made ours a few months ago.
We actually made a second DIY welcome mat as a backup, so we’re sharing that alternate design here as well. It uses the same basic technique as the reindeer antler version but requires less taping and a bit more paint time. For this attempt we used a large round Ikea mat.
We aimed for a snowglobe effect: white snowflakes on an icy blue background. First we sprayed the entire mat with a couple of coats of white paint and let it dry. Then we cut painter’s tape into asterisk shapes of varying sizes and pressed them onto the white surface to form simple snowflakes. The look is intentionally uncomplicated—clean shapes that read clearly at a distance.
With the tape firmly pressed down, we applied two coats of blue spray paint over the entire mat, allowed it to dry, and peeled the tape to reveal the snowflake pattern:
We didn’t get a perfectly even blue coat because some of our tape edges lifted slightly during the process—an issue caused by repositioning the tape multiple times while taking step photos. To avoid that, press your tape down firmly and leave it in place once applied, or replace any tape that loses adhesion with fresh tape. If you don’t like the result, you can always repaint the mat white and try again.
Making doormats felt like a great handmade gift idea because they’re useful and universal—most people have a door and could use a new mat. It’s also fun to surprise someone by placing a finished mat on their porch with a note. Have you tried a doormat project? If you’re looking for inspiration, we love creative variations like hand-painted house numbers and other personalized designs.
Update: You can view our favorite holiday decor picks on our site—many options are budget-friendly and under $15.