How to use these Christmas coloring pages
Coloring is a good wind-down after a busy December day, and it needs almost no setup. Lay out crayons, markers or colored pencils, a pencil for tracing, and print one page per sitting.
- Pick a picture. Let your child choose. A child who picked the snowman will usually stay with it longer.
- Talk about the colors first. For the fireplace scene, look at the small color guide together: a green tree, red ornaments and gifts, gold star and lights, a tan fireplace, a cream kitten and light blue snow. Your child can copy it or invent their own.
- Color the big shapes first, then the small details. This keeps young children from getting stuck on a tiny ornament.
- Trace the word last. Say the word together (tree, snowman, deer, cookie), then trace it starting at the top of each letter.
Most single pictures take 10 to 20 minutes, and many children will happily color the same snowman twice in different colors. The fireplace scene can be spread over two sittings.
Tips by age
Age 3: Expect scribbles that go over the lines; that's normal and it's still building hand strength. Hold the page steady for them and help with the tracing word, or skip it.
Age 4: Encourage them to "stay in the fence" on one big shape, like the tree. Ask what color the snowman's scarf should be.
Age 5 and 6: Use the color guide on the fireplace scene, add patterns to the stockings, and trace the word neatly. Ask them to write their own name at the top.
Make it last
- Cut and hang: cut out the colored tree, snowman and reindeer and tape them to a window or string them as a garland.
- Story time: ask your child to tell a story about the snowman and the reindeer, then write one sentence for them on the back.
- Color hunt: before coloring the fireplace scene, find something in your home in each color from the guide.
- Gift wrap: tape a colored page to a plain parcel as a homemade gift topper.
Coloring pages are just one of the low-mess ideas in our guide to Christmas activities for toddlers. For older children who want to cut, glue and paint, try these Christmas crafts for preschoolers.
When your child is ready for more
Once your child can color a big shape and trace a short word, they're ready for more detailed scenes and longer words. The full book builds in exactly that way, mixing simple single pictures with bigger Christmas scenes.
The Cozy Christmas Coloring Book has 23 pages for ages 3 to 6: 13 big pictures to color with a word to trace and 7 full-page Christmas scenes. Trees, snowmen, reindeer, stockings and gingerbread houses all have thick lines for little hands, and you can print favorites again and again all December long.
Questions parents ask
They suit children aged 3 to 6. The single pictures have thick lines and big spaces, so 3 year olds can color them happily. The fireplace scene has more detail and a color guide to copy, which older preschoolers and kindergartners enjoy. The tracing words are a bonus for children who are starting to write.
Yes. The 5 pages are a free sample from our Cozy Christmas Coloring Book. Choose color or black and white in US Letter or A4 and the PDF downloads instantly. There is no sign-up and no email needed, and you can print extra copies for siblings, cousins or a class party at home.
Both have the same pictures to color. The color version has colored page borders and shows the color guide picture in full color, so your child can copy it. The black and white version saves ink and suits children who want to choose every color themselves.
Chunky crayons are easiest for 3 year olds. Washable markers give bright results on the big shapes, and colored pencils suit 5 and 6 year olds who like detail. Use a pencil for the tracing word. If you print on thicker paper, the pages also take watercolor or a little glitter glue.
The full Cozy Christmas Coloring Book has 23 pages: 13 big pictures to color with a word to trace and 7 full coloring pages. You'll find Christmas trees, snowmen, reindeer, stockings and gingerbread houses, all in big, simple line art for little hands.
