27 Office Door Christmas Contest Ideas That Win Over the Judges

Every office runs this contest a little differently, but the brief is almost always the same: paper, ribbon, lights, and whatever nerve your department has left after a long year. No nails, no glue that ruins the paint, nothing that blocks a fire exit.

What follows are twenty seven whole door designs, each one built only from paper, ribbon and lights, running from the most dramatic down to the quickest fix for the team that forgot the contest was this week. Pick the one that matches how much evening you actually have left, not the one that looks best in the group chat.

Once the door itself is sorted, the rest of the floor still needs dressing. 20 Office Christmas Decorations That Make Monday Mornings Merrier covers the desks and common areas without repeating a single idea here.

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Showstopper Scene Doors

These are the doors that make people stop walking, built to fill the whole frame from top to bottom. Expect an evening or two of cutting, not a lunch break, and a ladder for anything that reaches above the frame.

If your office runs the same contest for Halloween, the construction logic barely changes between seasons. See it play out in 27 Halloween Door Decorations That Win the Office Contest From Ten Feet Away for the same approach in different colours.

Giant Gingerbread House

Walk past this door and the hallway suddenly smells like cinnamon, even though nothing on it is real. That is the trick of a giant gingerbread house: scale alone does the convincing.

Cover the door in brown kraft paper cut into brick shaped panels, working bottom to top so each row overlaps the last. Glue scalloped white paper icing along every seam and the roofline, then cluster paper candy circles wherever the icing bunches thickest. Tuck battery fairy lights behind the icing trim so the glow reads as sugar catching light.

This one wants a team with patience for repetition, not artistic skill. Out of kraft paper, brown grocery bags cut flat do the same job for nothing, and if ladders are a problem, drop the house to waist height and let the top third stay plain door.

Nutcracker Soldier

A door that salutes you is hard to scroll past, and the nutcracker soldier plays on height rather than detail. From the end of the hallway he reads instantly: tall, stiff, unmistakably in charge.

Cover the door in navy paper for the coat, add a white paper crossbelt and pant panel at the base, then mount a tall red and black paper hat above the frame so it breaks the top line. Gold paper circles run down the front as buttons, and a thin string of lights along the hat’s brim catches the eye first.

Two coworkers with a tape measure finish this one in an afternoon, no drawing skill required. If the hat cannot clear the doorframe in a shared corridor, trim it to shoulder height and let the coat do the talking instead.

Fireplace with Stockings

This is the door that makes people stop talking mid sentence, because a glowing fireplace feels like an invitation rather than decoration. It borrows warmth from an object everyone already associates with the season.

Layer brick red paper across the door in overlapping rectangles, then cut a black paper opening for the firebox at the center. Pin three or four cream paper stockings along an imagined mantel line near the top, and tuck a few lights inside the firebox so it glows rather than just sits there.

It suits the team that wants maximum cosiness for moderate effort. Swap the stockings for paper mittens if someone already claimed stockings for their desk decor, and in a narrow corridor, keep the firebox small so the glow still reads from a distance.

Santa’s Sleigh

A sleigh mid flight gives a door motion, which is rarer than it sounds among contest entries that mostly just sit there. This one looks like it is about to leave the frame.

Cut a deep red curved body from paper and mount it diagonally across the door, lining the curved edge in gold paper trim. Pile white paper snow at the base where the runners would land, then loop a string of lights along the top rail to suggest speed and shine at once.

Curves take a steadier hand than straight panels, so hand the cutting to whoever is best with scissors. If the door swings outward and a diagonal shape will not survive opening and closing, flatten the sleigh to a side profile instead.

Christmas Train

A train running the length of a door gives the whole floor something to follow car by car, which matters when three other doors are also fighting for attention. Length photographs better than height here.

Build the engine from red or green paper with black paper wheels along the bottom edge, then curl white paper strips above for steam. Run a single string of lights along the base to mark the track, low enough that it survives the door’s daily swing.

This one suits a team willing to add extra cars down the corridor wall if the budget allows. Short on red paper, green alone carries the whole engine just fine.

Window with Santa Peeking In

There is something a little cheeky about a door pretending to be a window, and judges tend to reward the joke. It also hides a plain door underneath almost completely.

Cover the door in sky blue paper, then cross it with white paper strips to form window mullions. Cut a round paper face peeking through one pane, add a red paper hat and a cotton ball beard, and finish with twinkle lights framing the outer edge.

It rewards a team with one confident face cutter rather than many hands. If cotton balls read too plain, curled white paper strips make a fuller beard for nearly nothing.

Chimney with Santa’s Boots

Two boots sticking out of a chimney tell the whole story without a single face in sight, which makes this one of the quicker big scenes on the list. The joke does the work.

Stack red paper in overlapping brick rectangles up the center of the door to form the chimney shape, then tuck two black paper boots poking out of the top edge. A gold ribbon bow beside them and a string of lights along the top ledge finish it.

This suits a team that already used a fireplace idea elsewhere and wants the same warmth without repeating it. Keep the chimney narrow for a shared corridor door and it still reads from either direction.

Winter Scenery and Holiday Shapes

Once the big scene doors are claimed, scenery gives a smaller team something striking without competing head on. These lean on one strong shape rather than a full story, which makes them easier to finish solo.

Winter Village

A village glowing at the bottom of a dark door reads like a hillside seen from a plane window, and that small sense of distance is what makes it feel expensive. It costs almost nothing.

Paper the door in navy for a night sky, then line the bottom edge with small white and cream paper rooftops of varying heights. Cut a yellow paper window into each house, and scatter a few lights above the rooftops like falling snow caught mid air.

It suits a team happy to cut lots of small, forgiving shapes rather than one big precise one. If cream paper runs out, mix in any pale scrap, the varied shades read as different houses rather than mismatched ones.

Igloo

An igloo is the rare winter shape that still looks solid even when the paper is thin, because the overlapping arcs do the structural work visually. It holds its own next to louder doors.

Cover the door in pale blue, then layer white paper arcs from the bottom up so each row sits slightly inside the last, building toward a rounded dome. Cut a small dark doorway at the base and trace the curved edge with lights.

This one suits whoever on the team is best at consistent, repetitive cutting rather than freehand drawing. In a hurry, wider arcs with fewer rows still read as an igloo from down the hall.

Star Over a Night Sky

Sometimes the simplest image wins because everyone else is overcomplicating theirs, and one bright star against dark paper is about as simple as a scene gets. The contrast does all the work.

Paper the whole door in navy, then center one oversized gold paper star high on the surface with smaller silver paper stars scattered loosely around it. Weave a string of lights between the stars so the glow looks like it is coming from them.

It suits a team with almost no time left before judging. No gold paper on hand, a star cut from a cereal box and spray painted does the same job once the lights are on.

Snowman Face

A face greets people the moment they turn the corner, and a snowman’s is friendlier than most. This door works at any distance, which not every design on this list can claim.

Cover the door edge to edge in white paper for the round face, then add black paper circles for coal eyes and buttons and an orange paper triangle for the nose. Loop a plaid ribbon scarf across the lower half and trace the face’s curve with lights.

It suits the team that wants one clean image rather than a busy scene. Swap the plaid scarf for a solid colour if plaid is already claimed by someone’s ugly sweater door.

Wrapped Present

Wrapping the whole door as one gift is the trick everyone forgets until they see it done, because it looks deliberate rather than lazy even though it takes the least time on this list. It reads instantly from across the room.

Cover the door face in one bold paper colour, run wide ribbon vertically and horizontally like the bands on a parcel, and anchor an oversized bow where the ribbons cross. Tuck a few lights along the ribbon edges so the whole thing catches light.

This suits whoever on the team has zero time and one lunch break. If wide ribbon is not in the budget, two strips of a contrasting paper folded to look dimensional do the same job.

Tree from Paper Handprints

A tree made of hands feels personal in a way a printed one never does, and office contests reward that warmth more than most people expect. It also gets everyone involved, which matters for morale.

Trace and cut green paper handprints from the whole team, layering them wide at the bottom and narrower near the top of the door until they form a tree silhouette. Finish with a gold paper star at the peak and a few lights tucked between the layers.

It suits a department that wants the decorating itself to double as a team activity. Short on hands, repeat a few team members’ prints twice, no one down the hall will count.

Character and Creature Doors

Faces and characters work almost everywhere, from a single narrow hallway door to a wide double one. Pick whichever creature nobody else on the floor has already claimed, since repeats read as copying by the time judging starts.

Polar Bear

A bear’s face is round and simple enough to finish fast, which makes it a good fallback once the bigger scenes start eating the week. It still has presence up close.

Cut a large white paper circle for the face, add black paper circles for the eyes and nose, and tie a red ribbon bow at the neck. Frame the outer edge of the circle with lights so it glows against the door.

This one suits a team of two with an afternoon and nothing else. If red feels too close to Santa’s colours already used elsewhere, a single blue ribbon bow works just as well.

Reindeer

A reindeer face leans friendly rather than formal, which suits a department that wants festive without looking try hard. Antlers alone do most of the recognising.

Cover the door in light brown paper for the face, mount tall brown paper antlers above it, and add black paper eyes with a red paper nose at the center. Run a string of lights along the antlers so they catch attention first.

It suits whoever already has brown paper left from another project. No red paper on hand, a red ribbon bow stands in for the nose just as well.

Penguin

A penguin reads as a shape before it reads as a bird, which is exactly why it works from a distance. Black against white carries across a whole corridor.

Cover the door in black paper for the body, add a white paper belly panel down the center, and cut an orange paper beak and feet. Wrap a ribbon scarf around the neck and trace the body’s outline with lights.

This suits a team that wants something recognisable without a face to get wrong. If orange paper runs short, yellow does the beak just as convincingly.

Elf

An elf gives a door personality without needing a full scene around it, which saves time without looking like it saved time. The hat alone sells the costume.

Cover the top of the door in green paper for the tunic, add red and white striped paper leggings below, and mount a pointed red paper hat above the frame. Finish with a gold paper belt and a string of lights along the hat’s curl.

It suits a team happy to let one striking element, the hat, carry the whole design. Swap the stripes for solid red if striped paper is not easy to find.

Gnome

A gnome’s hat does more visual work than almost anything else on this list, because height and colour together read as finished before the rest of the door is even covered. This one rewards confidence in a single shape.

Cover the top half of the door in a tall red paper hat, glue a fluffy white paper beard beneath it, and finish the body below in a contrasting paper colour with a ribbon belt at the waist. Trace the hat’s edge in lights.

It suits a team that wants a character without drawing a face. If the hat will not clear a shared corridor ceiling, round its tip instead of pointing it.

Playful Novelty Doors

These doors borrow an everyday object and blow it up to door size, which is usually what makes judges laugh out loud in the hallway. None of them need more than an afternoon.

Ugly Sweater

This is the door that lets everyone laugh at their own closet, and it covers a plain door almost by accident while doing it. Bold and busy is the whole point here.

Cover the door in a bold paper colour, then add zigzag rows in a contrasting paper and scatter white paper snowflake shapes across them. Finish the neckline and cuffs in ribbon trim and weave a few lights through the busiest part of the pattern.

It suits a team with strong opinions about pattern clashing and no interest in subtlety. Swap snowflakes for paper reindeer if someone else already claimed snowflakes for their door.

Snow Globe

A snow globe compresses an entire scene into one circle, which makes it feel complete even though it covers less of the door than most entries. Small can still read as finished.

Cut a large pale blue paper circle and set it on a brown paper base, then glue a tiny paper tree and snowman inside the circle with white paper snow dots scattered around them. Trace the globe’s rim in lights.

This suits a team working in a narrow space or with limited paper on hand. Short on a brown paper base, a strip of kraft paper folded into a block does the job.

Hot Cocoa Mug

A mug this size turns a whole door into something almost drinkable, and it leans into the one smell everyone associates with the season without needing anything scented at all. It is warmer than it has any right to be.

Cut a tall red paper mug shape with a paper handle on one side, then layer brown paper cocoa topped with white paper marshmallows at the rim. Curl white paper steam rising above and tuck a few lights along the rim.

It suits a team that wants something playful rather than classic. Swap red for a different mug colour if another door nearby already leans heavily on red.

Gumball Machine

Colour does the heavy lifting here, and a cluster of bright paper circles behind a cellophane dome photographs better than its five minute build time suggests. It is one of the cheapest surprises on this list.

Cut a red paper machine base, stretch a sheet of clear cellophane or pale paper over the top for the dome, and fill it with dozens of small paper circles in mixed colours. Trace the dome’s edge in lights.

This suits whoever on the team loves hoarding scrap paper in odd colours. No cellophane on hand, tissue paper in a single pale shade gives the dome a soft glow instead of a clear one.

Cookie Jar

A cookie jar is cosy without trying hard, and it gives a door a reason to smile rather than impress. It works just as well half finished as it does polished.

Cut a cream paper jar shape with a rounded lid, cluster brown paper cookies dotted with small paper chips around its base, and tie a ribbon bow at the neck. Frame the lid in a short string of lights.

It suits a team short on time but not on charm. Swap chocolate chip cookies for plain circles if dotting each one individually eats too much of the lunch hour.

Quick and Simple Doors

Last minute does not have to mean last place. Every design here finishes in under an hour with paper already sitting in a supply cupboard, and a few, the wreath especially, work just as well on a home front door once the contest is over.

For the desk once the door is sorted, 12 DIY Christmas Decorations Office Desks Can Actually Hold keeps the same low mess, no damage logic going. Once the judges move on, 18 Office Christmas Party Games Your Coworkers Will Not Hate gives the floor something to do with the win.

Advent Calendar With 24 Flaps

Twenty four little doors inside one big door gives people a reason to come back and look again, which not many contest entries can claim. It rewards patience over flash.

Cut twenty four small paper squares and hinge each one on a single edge so it lifts like a flap, arranging them in a grid across the door in alternating red and green. Add a ribbon bow at the top corner and a single string of lights along the top edge.

This suits a team willing to number each flap carefully rather than rush the grid. Short on time, a four by six grid finishes faster than a perfect square and still counts to twenty four.

Ornament Collection

A cluster of ornaments feels finished the moment the first few go up, which makes this a forgiving choice for a team short on confidence. It builds itself as you go.

Cover the door in deep green paper, then glue a loose cluster of large paper circles in red, gold, and white across it, each with a thin ribbon loop at the top like a hanger. Scatter a few lights among the circles.

It suits a team that wants to add more each day leading up to the contest. Run short on gold paper, cream circles with a gold ribbon loop read just as rich.

Paper Plate Wreath

A wreath is the door decoration everyone already expects, and building it from paper plates instead of greenery is the twist that keeps it from looking like an afterthought. It is also the fastest build here.

Layer a ring of white paper plates around a cut out center, tuck green paper leaf shapes between the layers, and mount a red ribbon bow at the bottom. Weave a short string of lights into the ring.

This suits a team that needs one door finished in under an hour. Short on paper plates, circles cut from any white paper stack to the same effect.

Candy Cane Stripes

Sometimes the whole brief comes down to stripes, and this is the door for the team that genuinely has no time left before judging starts. It still looks intentional.

Cover the door corner to corner in alternating diagonal strips of red and white paper, then mount a ribbon bow at the top and run a single string of lights along one edge.

It suits whoever is decorating alone on a lunch break. No red and white paper on hand, any two contrasting colours in stripes read as candy canes once the ribbon bow goes on top.

Frequently Asked Questions

What materials can I use for an office door Christmas decorating contest?

Most contests stick to paper, ribbon, tape and battery powered lights, since office doors are often fire rated and cannot be nailed or drilled into. Always check your building’s specific list before buying anything.

Are there rules for office door decorating contests?

Yes, most buildings require door handles and closers to stay uncovered, exit signage to stay visible, flame-retardant materials only, and no electrical decorations without approval. Facilities usually reviews entries before judging starts.

How do I decorate a door without damaging it?

Use painter’s tape or removable adhesive strips instead of permanent glue or nails, since office doors are frequently steel and cannot be altered. Test a small patch first on painted or laminate surfaces.

What if our office door has to stay propped open during the day?

Decorating the door frame and the surrounding wall as well as the door face keeps the design visible even when the door stays propped open. It also protects the design from getting knocked while the door swings.

What are good judging criteria for a door decorating contest?

A well-rounded scorecard weighs creativity, team participation, use of recycled materials, and overall holiday spirit rather than price or sheer size. That keeps smaller budgets competitive against bigger ones.

What is a good theme for an office Christmas door contest?

Popular themes include holiday movies, winter wonderland, Santa’s workshop, and ugly sweater designs. A design built from shapes rather than licensed characters avoids any copyright grey area entirely.