Nice List Certificate
A certificate from Santa with your child's name on it, or one for every child. Ready to print.
Your certificate
One certificate, landscape A4
Make yours
Type several names, one per line (a family, or a whole class), and the PDF has one certificate per name, each on its own page. Long names get smaller to fit.
One real thing they did, e.g. “sharing your toys with your cousins” or “being brave at the dentist”. With several names, every certificate gets this line; leave it empty for none.
The elf signs on the left and the date moves into the text above.
Print it
- Print at 100% (“Actual size”), landscape.
- White card of 160 to 250 g/m² (60 to 90 lb cover) feels like a real award.
- The colour-in design prints in black lines only: let your child colour it.
Nothing leaves your device. The certificate is drawn in this page and the PDF is built in your browser. Names are not saved or uploaded; reloading the page starts again from the example. The page counts one anonymous “PDF downloaded” or “PNG downloaded” event, with none of your words in it.
How to make a Nice List certificate
- Type the name the way your child is used to seeing it written: “Emma”, “Emma Rose” or a nickname. For brothers and sisters, or a class, put one name on each line.
- Write the “for” line, or leave it empty. You can start with or without the word “for”; the certificate adds it once.
- Check the date and the signature. The date starts on today, written the way your browser writes dates (December 24, 2026 in the US, 24 December 2026 elsewhere). Tick the Head Elf box if you want a second signature.
- Pick a design and the paper, then press Download PDF. The PNG button saves the certificate you see as a 300 dpi picture, for printing from a phone or sending to a grandparent.
Writing a whole letter as well? The letter from Santa maker writes a personal letter in Santa's handwriting with the child's good deeds and wish, and its PDF already includes a smaller certificate page; this page is for when the certificate is the gift, or for printing one for every child at once.
Questions
Is this Nice List certificate a free printable PDF?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no paid version, and the PDF has your child's name typed in by the page, not a blank line to fill in by hand as on most templates. Everything is drawn in your browser, so making ten more costs nothing. The PDF is built from 300 dpi pictures of each certificate, which is sharp at any home printer's resolution; the words are also in the PDF as hidden text so it can be searched.
A4 or US Letter: which should I choose?
Choose the paper that is in your printer. US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) is the size in the United States and Canada, and the page starts on it when your browser is set to US or Canadian English; A4 (210 × 297 mm) is the size nearly everywhere else. The certificate is laid out again for each size, not shrunk, so the border keeps an even margin of 8 to 12 mm and nothing at all is drawn in the outer 6 mm that home printers cannot reach. Print at “Actual size”; “Fit to page” only makes it a little smaller.
Can I make one certificate for each child?
Yes, and in one go. Put each name on its own line and the PDF holds one certificate per name, each on its own page, in the order you typed them, with up to 60 names: enough for a classroom. The arrows under the preview step through them before you print. The “for” line, the date and the signatures are the same on every page, so for different reasons per child, make one PDF per child instead.
What should I write on the “for” line?
Something your child actually did, in their words if you can. A specific deed means more than “being good”, because it tells them what was noticed: “for helping your little brother every morning”, “for sharing your Lego with Sam”, “for trying broccoli” or “for being kind to the new girl in your class”. For a class, pick something everyone did, such as “for a year of kindness in Class 2B”. It holds up to 90 characters, and a long line wraps onto two or three lines and gets smaller rather than being cut off.
How do I sign it as Santa?
The page signs it for you in a flowing handwritten script, so it does not look like your own handwriting. Type “Santa Claus”, “Father Christmas”, “S. Claus” or any other name in Signed by. Tick the Head Elf box to add a second signature, with the elf's name you choose, on the left. If you would rather sign by hand, clear the box and the signature line prints empty; a gold or red gel pen looks good on the gold seal and parchment designs.
Which design should I pick?
Gold seal is the formal one with a gold seal and ribbons. North Pole post has an airmail border and a North Pole stamp with a postmark showing your date. Colour it in is black line art with hollow letters for the name, for a child to colour, and uses almost no ink. Ink-saving is thin grey lines on white. Vintage parchment has a deckled cream sheet and a red wax seal, and Modern minimal is mostly white with a red seal. All six are drawn by this page; there is no clip-art and no film or cartoon character in them.
Is it a real certificate from Santa?
No. It is a keepsake for play, the kind of thing parents and teachers have long made for children in December. It is not an official document, and the page does not claim any list, database or check behind it.