Christmas Coloring Activities for Preschoolers: 12 Easy Ideas for Ages 3 to 6

What are 12 low-prep Christmas coloring activities?

Each of these needs paper, crayons and at most one more thing from a drawer. Our Christmas coloring pages include a free pack of 13 printable pages, also available as one PDF.

1. Greeting cards. Print a page at half size, or fold a colored page in half. NAEYC suggests providing paper and crayons or markers so children can make cards and "sign" their names (NAEYC). A scribble counts as a signature.
2. Gift tags. An adult cuts a colored Candy Cane or Christmas Ornament page into a rough shape and punches a hole. The child chooses who gets which tag.
3. Paper ornaments. Color, cut around the picture, tape a loop of string on the back.
4. Wrapping paper. Roll out plain paper and let children draw stars, trees and dots all over it. Wrap a small present in it.
5. A paper chain countdown. Cut a colored page into strips. Loop one strip into the chain each day.
6. A coloring tablecloth. Cover the table with paper for a holiday meal and draw a plate circle at each seat. Our Thanksgiving kids' table guide has the steps.
7. Decorate the tree. Give each child the Christmas Tree page and ask them to add their own ornaments with dots, stripes and stickers.
8. A letter with a picture. The child colors a page and tells you what to write underneath. NAEYC suggests writing down a child's story exactly as they say it and reading it back.
9. Window gallery. Tape finished pages along a window or door. NAEYC notes that displaying children's work in a special place tells them it is important.
10. Color hunt. Call out "red" or "green" and everyone finds something on the page to color with it.
11. Count and color. Count the candy canes, buttons or presents on a page before coloring them.
12. A card for a neighbor or helper. Fold, color, sign and deliver it together.

Keep the sessions short. The CDC says most 5-year-olds pay attention for 5 to 10 minutes during activities such as story time or crafts (CDC), so plan for short bursts with younger children too.

Which pages suit toddlers and which suit kindergartners?

Give the youngest children pages with a few big shapes, and save the busy ones for ages 5 and up. Every page in the free Christmas pack is marked easy, medium or detailed on the site.

Age	Pages from the free Christmas pack	Why they fit
2 to 3	Gingerbread Man, Candy Cane, Christmas Ornament	Marked easy: one big subject, few sections
4 to 5	Christmas Tree, Reindeer, Candy Cane with a Bow, Snowman with a Bucket Hat	Marked medium: more parts to color one by one
5 to 6	Santa Claus, Christmas Elf, Christmas Stocking, Gingerbread House, Snow Globe, Reindeer and Sleigh	Marked detailed: smaller areas and patterns

The ages in the table are our own rough sorting, not an official rule. What the sources do say: the American Academy of Pediatrics describes 3-year-olds as able to scribble freely, copy a circle and trace a square, and 4- and 5-year-olds as planning their drawings and copying shapes (AAP). Smaller areas ask for more hand control, so they suit older children.

Print extras of the easy pages. Older children like a quick one too. For more on each age, see coloring for 2-year-olds and coloring for 3-year-olds.

How do you turn coloring pages into cards, tags and ornaments?

Color first, cut second, and let an adult do the cutting for children under 4. The AAP places cutting with safety scissors among the activities of 4- and 5-year-olds, so most 3-year-olds will need help.

Cards

1. In the print dialog, choose two pages per sheet, or print at 50 percent.
2. Fold a sheet of card or plain paper in half.
3. Glue the colored picture on the front.
4. Let the child "sign" inside. NAEYC suggests showing children old cards with phrases such as "Season's Greetings" to copy.

Gift tags

1. Pick pages with one clear shape: Candy Cane, Christmas Ornament, Gingerbread Man.
2. After coloring, cut a loose outline around the shape. It does not need to follow the line.
3. Punch a hole and thread ribbon or string.

Ornaments

1. Glue the colored page to thin card, such as a cereal box, before cutting. It will hang flat.
2. Cut around the picture and tape a loop on the back.
3. Write the child's name and the year on the back. It becomes a keepsake.

One caution from NAEYC's writing on art. When the adult makes a sample for children to copy and everyone's result looks the same, it lists that as "product-focused" art, where children are more likely to ask "Is this right?" (NAEYC). So skip the sample. Let each child pick the page, the colors and where the glitter goes. A purple reindeer is fine.

What are good classroom ideas for December?

Set coloring up as a choice, not a whole-class task. NAEYC's list of product-focused traits includes the whole class doing one art project at the same time. Its tips for the other kind include letting children come and go from their art and choose whether it goes home or stays in the classroom.

Ideas that fit a preschool or kindergarten day:

• A card-making center. Put out half-size pages, folded paper, crayons and envelopes. NAEYC suggests an "office" with paper, envelopes, crayons and stickers to invite early writing.
• A class tree. Each child colors one paper ornament in their own way. Tape them to a large paper tree on the wall.
• Counting pages. Count the items on a page together, then color them. The CDC suggests counting simple, everyday things with 4-year-olds (CDC).
• Dictated captions. Each child tells you one sentence about their picture and you write it underneath.
• A quiet table. A stack of easy pages for children who finish early or need a calm moment.

Comment on what you see, as NAEYC suggests: "Look at all the yellow dots you made." More ideas are in our guide to coloring activities for the preschool classroom.

How do I print a class set?

Print the PDF pack in black and white with scaling set to Fit. The free pages are free to print for personal, home and classroom use, so you can make as many copies as you have children.

• Count children, then add spares of the three easy pages.
• Print the PDF once, then photocopy if your school copier is cheaper than the printer.
• Sort by difficulty into three trays so children can choose.
• For cards and tags, print two pages per sheet.

Our guide to printing coloring pages covers paper size, ink saving and cut-off edges.

What about families who do not celebrate Christmas?

Use winter pages, or pages for the festival your family or class does keep. Many families around the world do not celebrate Christmas, and a mixed classroom usually includes some.

Our winter coloring pages have no Santa and no tree: snowmen, mittens, penguins and polar animals. The free Winter pack has 10 printable pages, also as one PDF.

Winter pack pages	Level
Snowflake, Winter Hat, Sliding Penguin	Easy
Polar Bear Cub, Snowman, Winter Mitten, Snow Sled, Snowman with a Bucket Hat, Penguin Chick in a Hat	Medium
Igloo	Detailed

Every activity above works with these pages. Cards become winter cards, and tags become name tags.

A note for readers in the southern half of the world: December is summer there, so snow pages may feel odd. The holiday coloring pages show pictures for Diwali, Eid, Mid-Autumn, Easter and New Year next to the Christmas ones, and there are separate pages for New Year, Diwali and Pongal.

In a classroom, offering both stacks and letting children choose keeps everyone at the table.

FAQ

What Christmas activities work for a 3-year-old?

Coloring one easy page, sticking it on a folded card and "signing" it. The AAP describes 3-year-olds as able to scribble freely and copy a circle, so keep the shapes big and do the cutting yourself.

How many Christmas coloring pages are free to print?

Thirteen on gullu.app, one by one or as one PDF, plus 10 winter pages. They are free for personal, home and classroom use and may not be sold or republished.

Can preschoolers cut out their own ornaments?

Some can. The AAP lists cutting with safety scissors among activities for 4- and 5-year-olds. For younger children, an adult cuts and the child colors and decorates.

Is coloring a pre-drawn page "real" art?

NAEYC separates process-focused art, with no sample and no right way, from product-focused art. A coloring page sits closer to the second, but you can keep it open by letting the child choose the page and the colors. See are coloring pages bad for kids.

What can we color if we do not celebrate Christmas?

Winter pages such as snowmen, mittens and penguins, or pages for your own festival. The free Winter pack has 10 pages with no Christmas symbols.

Sources

• NAEYC, "Support Writing at Home": https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/support-writing-home
• NAEYC, Bongiorno, L. (2014), "How Process-Focused Art Experiences Support Preschoolers," Teaching Young Children 7(3): https://www.naeyc.org/resources/pubs/tyc/feb2014/process-art-experiences
• HealthyChildren.org (AAP), "Hand and Finger Skills of Your Preschooler": https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/preschool/Pages/Hand-and-Finger-Skills-of-Your-Preschooler.aspx
• CDC, "Milestones by 4 Years": https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/4-years.html
• CDC, "Milestones by 5 Years": https://www.cdc.gov/act-early/milestones/5-years.html