14 Festive Christmas Crafts (That You'll Definitely Turn Into Annual Traditions)
Ho Ho Ho!
Baking, decorating the house, visiting loved ones, exchanging gifts, sharing a big meal (or two, or three, or ...), a warm holiday spirit, gatherings of friends and family, and ... crafting? It's the most wonderful time of the year, and yes, Virginia, there's more than one way to incorporate your favorite hobbies into your holiday plans. Here at Craft and Color Co, we're going to show you exactly how to get started with holiday coloring and crafting! You're excited. (We can tell.)
The saddest, unbubbliest champagne ever
What Does Crafting Have to do With the Holidays?
Yeah, we get it. If I said, "Make a list of your favorite holiday traditions," you probably wouldn't come up with crafting or coloring. But it's not really as out of the box as it might seem: decorating the house is, after all, a fundamental part of all holiday celebrations. And any handmade, customized decor is always the most special! So, making anything that is personal and by hand really does fit into a holiday celebration.
But coloring is an even more perfect choice -- because coloring isn't just making something pretty (although, it's also definitely that). Coloring is also a fantastic way to relax and de-stress. And, when you do it together with your friends or family, it becomes not only therapeutic, but a joyful, centering activity that also creates something you can keep as a memory and use as a decoration the following years. So, when you consider that pretty much everyone could make a point to slow down and take a moment to relax over the holidays -- and that it always sounds like a great idea to make a beautiful memory during holiday times -- coloring starts to make a lot of sense.
How do You Make Holiday Coloring and Crafting Part of Your Traditions?
This is the best -- and easiest -- part! There's more than one way to bring crafting and coloring into your holiday traditions.
First, the internet is full of free, holiday-themed printable coloring pages. Here are some of our favorite choices, perfect for both children and adults:
Parents Magazine: Printable Holiday Coloring Pages. Ten fabulous designs from mice to reindeer, cookies to carolers.
Super Coloring: Christmas Coloring Pages. If you could measure the number of printable coloring pages in metric tons, Super Coloring would weigh approximately 185678205798389 pounds.
Crayola: Christmas Coloring Pages I particularly like the idea of making cookies and coloring them at the same time! Nom nom nom.
Another great way to create holiday spirit is literally to craft it (see what I did there?)! There are so many fun holiday craft kits available on places like Etsy. The artisans behind them make things so easy -- all you have to do is pick out what you like best and wait for it to arrive!
This DIY Christmas Countdown Craft provides everything but paint, and you and your family get the satisfaction of "making" it together, without having to figure out how to cut tiny pieces of wood into adorable blocks!
These DIY Holiday Gift and Ornament Kits provide everything you need (including instructions) to create a lovely, one of a kind ornament. You can customize your kit with favorite colors, styles, or almost anything else you can think of (just ask)!
Next is one of my favorite ideas: to send out holiday cards that you can color before sending! Rather than sending a generic -- though certainly lovely -- card, you can send friends and family a unique piece of art that you made specifically for them. What a personal and lovely gift to share!
Moms and Crafters: Free Printable Holiday Cards Adult Coloring Pages. Christmas and Hanukkah represent! You guys have no idea how hard it was to tear myself away from all of the coloring pages to print on this site! You're welcome.
Mr. Printables: Christmas Cards to Color In. These are so beautiful! Am I swooning? I'm swooning.
Oriental Trading Company: Adult Coloring Christmas Cards. I can neither confirm nor deny that I spend too much money on necessities from OTC. Yes, necessities. 
suziQ creations: Feel Good Cards to Color. We can't get enough of suziQ's Ornamentals coloring pages!
Art-Eclect: Christmas Cards for Coloring by Adults and Children. Amazon's Choice for Christmas coloring cards
College Coloring Books: Coloring Notecards with Wrapped Gift Design. This looks like a totally awesome company!
Or what about color-in wrapping paper?!?
Pickle Bums: Colour Your Own Wrapping Paper. Check out their other printables, too!
We Are Scout: Christmas Wrapping Paper and Gift Tags. Sign me up for the Christmas Cactus!
Sarah Renae Clark: Printable Christmas Wrapping Paper. 8 gorgeous patterns!
And then, of course, there's the option to give coloring books or supplies as a holiday gift! Our previous blog post is totally full of good ideas for coloring supplies, and some of our favorite books, as well.
But my absolute favorite idea is to exchange meaningful coloring books with each other anytime during the holiday season, and then spend some time coloring in those books together! For this, the best choice is something that will be truly meaningful to the recipient: something beautiful; something connected to their hobby or passion; or an important part of their history or future plans (like, say, a College Coloring Book or a U.S. Army Coloring Book). This way, it isn't just a gift for the holidays, but one that can be brought back and enjoyed throughout the year.
"Show Show Show" Us!
So now that you've decided to incorporate coloring into your holiday plans, please share what you've created! We would love to see the way that you've included coloring in your holiday celebration. Send us an email, post on our Facebook page, or tag us in an Instagram post to show us your holiday coloring spirit! We'll share our favorite submissions in a future blog post.
Happy holidays to you, from everyone here at College Coloring Books!
Get started coloring right now!
Join our VIP list for exclusive freebies & discounts, coloring tips, and fun surprises!
