Create my route
draw my loop

Christmas GPS art: trees, reindeer and Santas drawn on real streets

Christmas GPS art is a run or a ride planned so that the recorded track draws a festive shape on the map: a tree, a reindeer, Santa's face. In the drawings below, a tree takes about 10 km on foot, a reindeer 8 to 12 km, and a detailed Santa 12 to 50 km. Here are real Christmas drawings recorded on Strava, the shapes ready in the studio, and how to plan yours before the 25th.

Draw a Christmas route

16 Christmas drawings already run or ridden

Each one is a real activity from Strava, published in the Draw My Loop gallery. Open one to see the full route and how far it went.

A few to start with: a 10.5 km Christmas tree run in Woking, England, a 12.2 km Santa run in Salem, in the United States, and an 8.2 km Rudolph in Castricum, in the Netherlands. For a long day out, one cyclist drew the red-nosed reindeer over 128 km around Paris, and another rode 192 km in Adelaide for the Grinch.

Browse the whole gallery

Christmas shapes ready in the studio

These shapes are already in the studio's shape library. Place one over your neighbourhood, resize it to the distance you want, and the outline snaps to streets and paths you can follow.

  • Christmas tree
  • Star
  • Snowflake
  • Present
  • Sweet

In the studio, open Shapes and search for “tree”, “star”, “snowflake”, or “gift”. There is no reindeer or Santa in the library yet: draw one with the pencil, or upload a picture and the Image Tracer turns it into a single line.

Draw a Christmas route

How to plan a Christmas GPS art route

  1. 1

    Pick a shape your streets can draw

    Straight lines need long straight streets, so a tree or a star is easiest where the streets form a grid. Round shapes like a bauble or Santa's beard suit areas where the streets bend. Zoom out before you choose: the layout of your area matters more than the shape.

  2. 2

    Size it to the daylight you have

    Around the winter solstice, Paris gets about 8 hours 15 minutes of daylight and London less than 8 hours. A 10 km drawing on foot, with stops to check the route, fits in a morning. A 40 km ride needs an early start.

  3. 3

    Check the route before you go

    Look at the distance and the elevation profile in the studio, and zoom in on the tricky corners. In winter, some parks and towpaths close at dusk, and streets with a Christmas market can be packed in the evening.

  4. 4

    Export the GPX and follow it

    Download the GPX and load it on your watch, phone or bike computer. Start recording, follow the line, and the drawing appears on your activity map once you save it.

Ideas for the festive season

A Christmas morning run

A tree or a star of 5 to 10 km before lunch, posted while everyone is opening presents. Short enough to fit in, and people notice it.

An advent series

One small drawing per run through December. In Bulle, in Switzerland, a runner opened an advent series with a 9.8 km Christmas boot on day one.

A relay with your club

Split a big picture into legs and give one to each group. GoodGym York ran a 24-hour Santa relay where the laps drew a reindeer, a turkey and a sleigh.

A card for friends and family

Export a picture of your drawing from the studio and send it as a Christmas card, whether or not you have run it yet.

Questions

How long is a Christmas GPS art route?

Most of the drawings on this page are 5 to 15 km on foot. Simple shapes are shorter: the angel run in London is 4.5 km. Bike drawings are bigger, from a 38.5 km snowman in Eindhoven to rides of more than 100 km.

What is the easiest Christmas shape to draw with GPS?

A tree: a zigzag of straight lines with a trunk at the bottom. It still reads well when the roads don't match perfectly, and people recognise it straight away. A star comes next. Faces and reindeer need more streets in the right places and more distance.

Can I draw Christmas GPS art on a bike?

Yes. Bike drawings can be larger and more detailed, like the 43.7 km tree in Skokie or the 128 km reindeer around Paris. Choose the cycling profile in the studio so the route follows roads you can ride, and check one-way streets at the turns.

Will the drawing show up on Strava?

Yes, the map of your activity shows the line you recorded. GPS can drift by a few metres between tall buildings or under trees, so keep small details at least a street apart and the shape stays readable.

Do I need an account?

No. You can design the route, check the distance and export a picture without signing up, and your first GPX download is free without an account too. A free account lets you keep downloading and save your routes.

Draw your Christmas route

Start from a tree or a star, place it over your streets and see the distance straight away.

Open the studio