The holiday season is a great time to relax, get cozy, and take time for yourself. There are free tools that will help you boost your Christmas spirit, especially with Linux.

All that is needed is a Linux PC, a little patience, and a willingness to provide yourself with a priceless gift that keeps on giving. What is it? Being proud of yourself for learning a few more skills before we ring in the new year.

Powerful tools such as GIMP, Blender, and Bash scripts are great ways to help put you in the Christmas spirit.

Turn a Picture Into a Winter Scene With GIMP

GIMP is a powerful, yet free, alternative to popular photo manipulation applications. There are so many cool features that you can use to make your images tell a story.

Simply install GIMP on your Linux PC, import any photo into GIMP, and convert the image into a winter scene (including the snow-flocking effect that appears in wintertime photographs).

This short video provides a step-by-step guide to help you understand what effects, features, and levels you'll need to configure to create your own snow-themed masterpiece.

If you're not yet comfortable with GIMP, you'll want to explore the program interface and learn its various elements so that you can become a GIMP pro in no time.

Realistic Snowman and Winter Scene With Blender

Blender is another free and powerful application used with Linux. Whether you're familiar with Blender or have not yet heard of this 3D rendering tool, the video explains every click and action so that you can recreate a detailed winter theme that features a very cozy snowman too.

The tutorial video is nearly an hour, in length. So, be sure to pour your favorite hot beverage and get ready to cozy up with your Linux PC. Even if you don't want to go through the process yourself, watching this Blender instructor is fascinating to see in action.

Not only will you create a professional-looking snowman scene, but you'll also learn how to manipulate textures and shapes. As well, you'll get to understand the intricacies of this 3D tool. To see all the shortcuts, clicks, commands, and steps broken down in a micro manner is quite a spectacle in itself.

If this Blender tutorial inspires you to create more 3D-rendered projects, feel free to read up on our detailed Blender guide that highlights Blender textures, features, tricks, and alternatives for details.

Add a Christmas Theme to Your Linux Terminal

Here's a subtle way to add Christmas characters to your Linux terminal by using a Bash script. If you're comfortable around a terminal window this is a great trick to try. If you're not as comfy with the Linux terminal, then either make a backup copy of your ~/.bashrc file or call in a friendly expert for help.

To make this change, download the code from our GitHub repository. Open the file with your favorite editor, select all text, and then copy. From there, open your .bashrc file and navigate to the bottom. Then, paste in the copied text obtained earlier. Save and exit. Close and re-open your terminal window for the Christmas magic to take effect.

Want to remove these Christmas prompts from your Linux terminal? Open up your .bashrc file once again and remove all the code you placed at the bottom of the file. Save and exit. Then, close and re-open your terminal window to confirm your update was successful.

Are You Comfortable With Your New Skills?

Do you feel confident that you'll be able to create a winter wonderland using GIMP, Blender, and a Bash script? Hopefully, you are not feeling like it's going to take a Christmas miracle to re-create the winter themes to make your Linux environment a little more warm and cozy this holiday season.

With free tools at your fingertips, the only cost for you is time. Feel free to unleash your creative talents in any season or project that you've been dreaming of for a long time. If it helps, this sure beats shoveling snow. Right? Maybe the snow will melt if you spend enough time creating the perfect snowman scene!

Enjoy putting your new skills to the test by trying to do more with your new-found knowledge. Happy holidays!