Students invited to share holiday spirit in state card contest

Kaeden Lincoln|10/23/2026

Every year, the Idaho Department of Education’s holiday cards feature artwork submitted by students in an annual holiday card contest.

Submissions for the 2026 Holiday Card Contest are open through Monday, Nov. 16.

All public and charter school students, K-12, can participate. Winners will be chosen from two divisions: grades K-6 and grades 7-12.

The department will display winning art on its website and print the artwork on its physical holiday cards.

Submitted drawings should:

Show winter or holiday scenes
Be 8.5 inches by 11 inches
Be hand-drawn in vertical or horizontal orientation

Students can use watercolors, colored paper, markers or a combination of those things, according to a press release.

Pencil drawings and fabric designs are discouraged. Photos, videos and digitally-created entries or entries with copyrighted images will not be accepted.

Access the digital submission form at the department’s website here.

Here are last year’s winning submissions:

Paityn Goodnight’s winning holiday card illustration of a winter cabin with Christmas decorations from 2025. (Idaho Department of Education)

Elaina Tope’s winning holiday card illustration of a snowglobe from 2025. (Idaho Department of Education)

Kaeden Lincoln

Kaeden is a student at Boise State University is working as an intern with Idaho EdNews. He previously wrote for the Sentinel at North Idaho College and the Arbiter at Boise State. The Idaho native is a graduate of Borah High in the Boise School District.