Trace & color
Trace Then Color: Cartoon Christmas Characters
For little hands still building pencil control.
Best for ages 3 to 5
- Dotted outlines to trace, then color in
- No drawing experience needed
- Ages 3+
The Christmas books
Christmas activity books for kids: compare all three
Kevin Coulston’s three Christmas books each hold fifty festive activities, mostly characters plus a few complete-the-picture pages. The difference is what your child does on the page: trace it, draw it step by step, or copy it square by square.
- Each character built in 6 easy steps
- A page to practice after every lesson
- Ages 5+
- Copy one square at a time onto a grid
- Surprisingly accurate results
- Ages 5+, great for older kids too
Side by side
How the three books compare
| Compare | Trace Then Color: Cartoon Christmas Characters | How to Draw: Christmas | Draw by Grid: Christmas |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your child | Traces a dotted outline, then colors it | Builds each drawing in six steps | Copies a picture one square at a time |
| Ages | 3+ | 5+ | 5+ |
| Best if they | love coloring and are still building pencil control | want to draw on their own | like puzzles and getting it exactly right |
| Inside | 50 Christmas activities | 50 Christmas activities, 106 pages | 50 Christmas activities, 106 pages |
| Free to try | 7 pages, from a candy cane to a reindeer | 8 lessons, including Santa, an elf and hot cocoa | 8 grids, including Santa, a present and a yeti |
| View on Amazon | View on Amazon | View on Amazon |
30-second chooser
Still deciding? Start from your child.
“They love coloring but get frustrated drawing.”Start with Trace Then Color. The outline is done, so they get a finished picture every time.See Trace Then Color: Christmas →
“They’re always asking me to draw things for them.”How to Draw. Six small steps turn Santa or a snowman into something they drew themselves.See How to Draw: Christmas →
“They like puzzles, Lego and getting it exactly right.”Draw by Grid. Copying one square at a time feels like solving a puzzle.See Draw by Grid: Christmas →
Buying more than one?
Christmas gifts for brothers, sisters and cousins
Giving a different Christmas book to each child keeps the theme the same while matching each child’s stage. A 4-year-old traces the snowperson while an 8-year-old copies the Christmas tree grid at the same table.
Want something for a child who already has a Christmas book? The gift lists by interest cover dinosaurs, animals, robots, unicorns, monsters and funny faces.
Try them free
One free sheet from each book
Choosing between the Christmas books
Do I need all three books?
No. Each book stands on its own. Choose the one that matches how your child likes to make pictures. Families with children of different ages often pick one each.
Which is best for siblings of different ages?
Trace Then Color for the youngest (3+), and How to Draw or Draw by Grid for children from 5. They share the Christmas theme, so siblings can sit and work on the same kind of character together.
Can a child move from one book to the next?
Yes. Tracing builds pencil control, step-by-step drawing builds confidence with shapes, and grid drawing trains careful looking. Many kids enjoy them in that order.
Will the book arrive before Christmas?
Every “View on Amazon” button opens the book on Amazon, which shows the price and the delivery date for your address before you order.