Waxfinch / Guides

Christmas party coloring ideas for preschool

A coloring table is the calm corner of a class Christmas party: it needs no instructions, it works for every child, and it fills the gaps between snack, games and pick-up. Here are eight ways to set it up.

1. The coloring station

One table, three or four pictures in separate piles, crayons in the middle. Children come and go as they like. Put it away from the snack table.

2. The class garland

Each child colors one picture. Punch two holes at the top of each sheet and thread them on a ribbon across the room. It is decoration and activity at once, and every child can find their own.

3. Cards for home

Fold a colored page in half, picture outside, and help each child add a name inside. A stocking, a present or a star suits a card best.

4. Party placemats

Color first, snack second: the finished page becomes the child's placemat. Card stock holds up better under a cup of juice.

5. Quiet start

Have pages on the tables as children arrive. It gives early arrivals something to do and gives you ten minutes to greet parents.

6. Color by direction

For older fours and fives: "color the snowman's hat red", "give the gingerbread three green buttons". It turns a coloring page into a listening game with no extra preparation.

7. Big buddy coloring

If an older class visits, pair each small child with a big one on a single page. One picture, two crayons.

8. The take-home bag

Two uncolored pages and two crayons in a paper bag are a party favor that costs almost nothing and gives parents a quiet half hour in the holidays.

What to have ready

• Two pages per child plus spares (see printing for a class).
• Thick crayons for the smallest hands; markers only on card stock or with a mat underneath.
• Pictures with one big shape and thick lines. Detailed pages frustrate two and three year olds.
• A pen to write names on the back before the coloring starts.

Our Christmas pack was made for this: 12 single pictures with thick lines and no religious or branded characters (snowman, gingerbread, tree, ornament, present, stocking, candy cane, cocoa, bells, star, candy house, mittens), and a licence that covers one classroom.

Pages to try it with

Two free full-size pages, Letter and A4, no sign-up: a pair of Christmas mittens and Ladybug, Ladybug. The full packs are Cute Christmas Coloring Pages and My First Nursery Rhymes Coloring Book (Printable), $7 each.