Personalized Christmas ornaments: 3D print names and photos

By Ashish · Nov 1, 2026 · ~10 min · 3D printing

Personalized Christmas ornaments are one of the best things to make with a home 3D printer. A name ornament takes under an hour, costs a few cents in plastic, and every family member gets one with their own name on it. This guide covers two kinds: a flat name ornament with raised letters, and a photo ornament printed as a lithophane that glows when tree lights shine through it. You get the sizes, the slicer steps for a two-color print without an AMS, and the fixes for the usual problems.

Short version. In the free Text to STL tool, type the name and year and pick the Star or Circle plate. Set it to 75 mm wide and 3 mm thick, and turn on a 5 mm keychain hole for the ribbon. Print it flat in PLA at 0.2 mm layers. For two colors on one spool holder, add a color change at the first layer where only the letters print.

Two kinds of personalized Christmas ornaments

Both are flat prints with no supports, so they work on any printer that handles PLA. That includes a Bambu Lab A1 mini, a Prusa MK4 or Core One, or a Creality Ender 3. You can print one of each and hang them side by side.

What you need

• A 3D printer with a bed of at least 180 x 180 mm. Every common printer qualifies.
• PLA filament. A 1 kg spool costs roughly $15 to $25 in the US. One name ornament uses well under 10 g.
• Two colors for name ornaments, such as red and white, or green and gold. Silk and glitter PLA look festive.
• White PLA for photo ornaments. Colored plastic hides the picture.
• Ribbon, twine or ornament hooks. A 1/8 inch (3 mm) satin ribbon fits a 5 mm hole.
• A slicer: Bambu Studio, OrcaSlicer, PrusaSlicer or Cura.

Make a 3D printed name ornament with Text to STL

The Text to STL generator runs in your browser. It turns a name into a solid model with a backing plate behind the letters. It has 12 plate shapes, and three of them suit Christmas well: Star, Circle and Heart.

1. Type the name. Put the name on the first line and the year, such as 2026, on the second. Short names read best.
2. Pick a bold font. Thin script fonts look pretty but break into loose pieces when printed small. If the preview shows gaps, pick a heavier font or make the ornament wider.
3. Choose the plate. Star gives the classic tree-topper look. Circle looks like a flat bauble. Heart works for couples and new babies.
4. Set the size. Width 70 to 80 mm (2.75 to 3.1 inches) and thickness 3 mm. Leave Height at 0 so the width sets the size.
5. Keep the letters raised. Raised letters stand on top of the plate. That is what lets you print them in a second color.
6. Turn on the keychain hole. The default 5 mm hole is right for ribbon and wire hooks. It is added outside the plate on one end.
7. Check the size line under the preview. It shows the real size, the estimated PLA weight and the print time.
8. Download. Pick STL for one color, or the two-color 3MF if you have an AMS or another multi-material system.

Making ornaments for a whole family or class? Use Batch names in the advanced settings. Enter up to 40 names and you get a ZIP with one STL per name, all with the same font, plate and size. Get one name looking right first, because the batch copies the current settings.

Sizes that work

Under about 50 mm wide, small letters lose their inner holes and look blobby. A 3 mm ornament is stiff enough to hang flat and light enough that it does not bend a thin branch.

Two colors without an AMS: color change at layer

Most name ornaments you see online use a simple trick. The plate prints in one color. The printer then stops, you load a second filament, and the raised letters print in that color. This is called a color change at layer, and it needs no extra hardware.

With raised letters, the plate is the bottom part of the model and the letters sit on top of it. At 3 mm thick, the tool makes the plate about 1.2 mm and the letters about 1.8 mm. With 0.2 mm layers, the plate takes about six layers. Always check the real layer in the slicer preview, because the first layer height and your settings can shift it.

Bambu Studio and OrcaSlicer

1. Slice the ornament lying flat, at 0.2 mm layer height.
2. Drag the layer slider on the right up to the first layer that shows only letters, with no plate around them.
3. Right-click the plus icon on the slider. With an AMS, choose a filament change. Without an AMS, choose Add Pause.
4. Slice again and send the print.
5. When the printer pauses, unload the first filament, load the second, purge until the new color runs clean, and resume.

A pause runs before that layer starts, so the letters begin in the new color. On printers without an AMS, Bambu users report that the filament change option does not work, so use the pause.

PrusaSlicer

1. Slice the model and move the vertical slider to the first letters-only layer.
2. Click the orange plus icon. This adds a color change, which writes the M600 command into the G-code.
3. Print. The printer stops at that layer and asks you to swap the filament.

Prusa explains the details in its official color change guide. If your printer firmware does not support M600, use insert pause at layer instead, which pauses before the chosen layer prints.

Print settings for 3D printed Christmas ornaments

A textured PEI plate gives the back of a name ornament a nice frosted look. A smooth plate gives a glossy back. Slow the outer walls a little if you use silk PLA, since it can look streaky at high speed.

Make a Christmas lithophane ornament from a photo

A lithophane is a thin white print where thick areas look dark and thin areas look bright when lit from behind. Hung in front of tree lights, it shows the photo. Here is how to make a round one.

1. Open the Lithophane Maker and load a photo with a clear face and a plain background.
2. Pick the Round shape.
3. Set Diameter to 70 mm (2.75 inches). That is about the size of a large glass bauble.
4. Use Zoom into photo to fill the circle with the face, not the background.
5. Keep Thinnest at 0.8 mm and Thickest at 3 mm. These defaults suit tree lights.
6. Raise Frame width to about 8 to 10 mm. The wider border gives you room for a hanging hole.
7. Check the Backlit preview, then download the STL.

If you have not made one before, read how to make a lithophane from a photo for tips on choosing and cropping the picture. Then use the lithophane print settings for Bambu Lab, Prusa and Ender to slice it. Print it upright at fine layers with 100% infill.

Hanging a photo ornament

The Lithophane Maker does not add a hanging hole, so you add one after printing. Drill a 2.5 to 3 mm hole through the top of the wide border with a small hand drill. Turn the drill slowly so the plastic does not melt. Then thread a thin ribbon or a wire hook through it. A small dab of hot glue holding a ribbon loop to the back of the border also works.

Ornaments only glow when there is light behind them. Hang a photo ornament on the front of the tree with a string of lights just behind it. For a brighter display on a shelf, the lithophane frame and light box guide shows how to build a small LED box.

Troubleshooting personalized ornaments

• Letters print in the wrong color. Why: the pause is on a layer that still has plate in it, or one layer too high. Fix: scroll the slider one layer at a time and pick the first layer that shows letters only.
• A blob of the old color in the first letter. Why: not enough purging after the swap. Fix: push filament through until the new color runs clean, and wipe the nozzle before you resume.
• Small letters fill in or merge. Why: the text is too small for a 0.4 mm nozzle. Fix: make the ornament wider, use a bolder font, or drop to 0.16 mm layers.
• Loose dots or pieces fall off. Why: thin fonts leave parts that do not touch the plate. Fix: use a plate instead of Letters only, or turn on Join loose parts.
• The ornament warps at the corners. Why: poor bed adhesion. Fix: clean the plate with dish soap and water, and add a brim on Star points.
• The photo looks dark on the tree. Why: not enough light behind it. Fix: hang it closer to the lights, or print the next one with the thickest part at 2.5 mm.
• The ornament sags near warm lights. Why: PLA softens at around 140 °F (60 °C). Fix: use LED tree lights only. Keep ornaments away from old incandescent bulbs.

Ideas for ornament sets

• Family set: one Star per person in matching colors, made with Batch names.
• First Christmas: a round photo lithophane plus a small Heart with the baby's name and 2026.
• Pet ornaments: a Circle with the pet's name, or a lithophane of the pet's face.
• Gift tags: 55 mm name tags tied to presents, which become ornaments afterwards.
• Teacher and coworker gifts: the same design in a few colors, with a name on each.

If a lithophane ornament goes down well, a bigger photo lamp makes a good second gift. See how to make a lithophane lamp with an LED, or compare options in shadow lamp vs lithophane. For a wall lamp that throws a tree or star across the room, try a Christmas shadow box lamp.

Frequently asked questions

What size should a 3D printed Christmas ornament be?

About 70 to 80 mm (2.75 to 3.1 inches) across and 3 mm thick for a flat name ornament. That is big enough for an easy-to-read name and light enough for a thin branch.

Can I make a two-color ornament without an AMS?

Yes. Print the plate in one color, then add a color change or pause at the first layer where only the raised letters print. When the printer stops, swap the filament and resume.

What is the best filament for Christmas ornaments?

PLA. It prints easily, comes in red, green, gold, silver, silk and glitter colors, and is stiff enough for a thin ornament. Use white PLA for photo lithophane ornaments.

How do I hang a 3D printed ornament?

Add a 4 to 5 mm hole near the top and thread a 1/8 inch ribbon, twine or a wire ornament hook through it. For a photo lithophane ornament, widen the printed border and drill a small hole in it.

Can you 3D print a photo ornament?

Yes, as a lithophane. The photo is turned into a thin white panel that shows the picture when light shines through it. A round lithophane about 70 mm wide makes a good tree ornament.

Related guides

• How to make a lithophane from a photo
• Lithophane print settings for Bambu Lab, Prusa and Ender 3
• Lithophane frame and light box: how to display a lithophane
• How to make a lithophane lamp with an LED
• Shadow lamp vs lithophane: which to print

Free tools: Lithophane Maker for flat, curved, heart, round and cylinder lamp lithophanes, the Shadow Box Lamp Generator for wall shadow lamps, Text to STL for names and keychains, and 3MF to Web to show your prints on a website. See all tools.