Christmas coloring book ideas: 25 themes for kids, grandkids and grown-ups

The short answer: pick one Christmas world and stay in it for the whole book — a snowy village, Santa’s workshop, Christmas animals, gingerbread everything. Then match it to the reader: big, simple shapes for children under 8, more to color for 8–12, and fuller scenes for teens and adults. Twelve designs is a comfortable book; a paperback for Amazon KDP needs at least 24 printed pages.

Below, every idea is written as one sentence you could hand to an illustrator or type into a coloring book maker. Change the details to suit the person you are making it for: their pets, the snowman they built last year, the town they live in.

For young children (Kids 4–8)

One big subject per page, thick outlines and no tiny areas. In BookArc that is the Bold & easy style.

1. 1Santa’s workshop: elves wrapping presents, toy trains, rocking horses and a sleigh full of gifts.
2. 2Christmas animals in sweaters: a fox, an owl, a bear and a penguin, each in a cozy knitted jumper.
3. 3Snowman friends: snowmen with scarves, top hats, carrot noses and little snow dogs.
4. 4Reindeer at play: reindeer sledding, skating, and asleep in a straw-filled stable.
5. 5Christmas trucks and trains: a red truck carrying a tree, a toy train round the tree, a snow plough.
6. 6Cookies for Santa: a plate of cookies, a glass of milk, stockings and a sleeping cat.
7. 7Penguin Christmas: penguins building igloos, wearing Santa hats and opening presents on the ice.
8. 8My first Christmas tree: one big tree per page, with simple baubles, a star and presents underneath.

For older children (Kids 8–12)

Whole scenes with a few characters and more to color. Medium suits most of these.

1. 1A cozy Christmas village: snowy cottages, gingerbread houses, decorated trees and hot cocoa. (This one is a ready-made idea button in BookArc’s coloring book maker.)
2. 2Gingerbread everything: gingerbread houses, gingerbread people, candy canes and frosted trees.
3. 3Winter sports day: children skating, sledding, building snow forts and having a snowball fight.
4. 4The Christmas Eve journey: a sleigh over rooftops, chimneys, a moonlit forest and a sleeping town.
5. 5Elf school: elves learning to wrap, paint toys, bake and fly the sleigh.
6. 6Christmas around the world: markets, lanterns, decorated trees and festive food from different countries.
7. 7Arctic Christmas: polar bears, arctic foxes, seals and the northern lights over the snow.
8. 8A Christmas train ride: a steam train through snowy mountains, stations and villages with warm lights.

For teens and adults (Teens & adults)

Adults who color to relax tend to split two ways: Bold & easy books with big shapes that are calm and quick to finish, and Detailed books with fine, intricate scenes to spend an evening on. Decide which before you start.

1. 1Christmas Eve at home: stockings by the fire, a reading chair, a sleeping cat under the tree.
2. 2A winter cabin: quilts, lanterns, pine forests, wreaths and steaming tea.
3. 3Christmas kitchen: baking trays, cookie cutters, jars of sweets and a gingerbread house in progress.
4. 4Vintage Christmas: old-fashioned ornaments, a vintage truck with a tree, carollers with lanterns.
5. 5Christmas florals: poinsettias, holly, mistletoe, pine cones and wreaths.
6. 6Christmas market: wooden stalls, string lights, mulled drinks and handmade gifts.
7. 7Snowy birds: robins, cardinals and owls on snowy branches and bird feeders.
8. 8Christmas mandalas: round designs built from snowflakes, stars, holly and baubles.
9. 9A quiet winter walk: a snowy lane, a lamp post, footprints and a cottage in the distance.

Turning an idea into a book

1. 1Choose one theme. A book that wanders from penguins to a nativity to a Christmas market feels like a pile of pages. One world, many scenes, feels like a book.
2. 2Write a page list. One sentence per page, each a different scene from the same world. Twelve is a good number to start with.
3. 3Choose a size. 8.5 × 8.5 in square, or one of the tall sizes. All the common sizes print fine at home and on KDP. See which coloring book size to choose.
4. 4Make the pages. Draw them, commission them, or describe the theme to a coloring book maker. BookArc plans the page list from your sentence, lets you edit it, then draws each page as clean line art — anywhere from 5 to 60 designs.
5. 5Print or publish. At home, one design per sheet. For a KDP paperback, a print-ready interior with blank backs and a cover.

Making it as a gift for the family? Read how to make your own printable Christmas coloring book. Planning to sell it? The guide to making a coloring book for Amazon KDP covers the files and the upload.