A Year of Holiday Coloring Pages: What to Print, Month by Month

A full year of holiday coloring pages needs about 12 printing sessions, one a month, and you can cover every major occasion with the free seasonal templates plus a photo page for the three or four holidays your family cares about most. Print each page one to two weeks before the day, so it sits on the table during the build-up rather than arriving after the event. Here is the calendar, month by month, with the page to print and a small idea for each.

Dates for some holidays, such as Mother's Day and Father's Day, vary by country. Check your local date and shift the month if needed.

January: what do I print for New Year?

Start the year with a page about the year itself. Print an empty frame and write the new year's number in the middle in big hollow digits for the child to color, or print the digits from the free numbers set, one per page. Add a line underneath: "This year I want to learn..." and write the answer down. Keep it to compare next January.

February: what do I print for Valentine's Day?

Frame Hearts is the page for February. Print it at 70 percent, fold the sheet, and it becomes a card. For a classroom set, print one per child. Our guide to Valentine's Day coloring pages for kids has the card-making steps and a photo version where the child colors a picture of the person receiving the card.

March or April: what do I print for Easter?

Easter Egg is a medium-level page with patterns inside the egg, good for ages 5 and up. For toddlers, the oval shape from the toddler set works as a plain egg. Print six and hide the colored ones for an indoor hunt on a wet day. Our guide to Easter coloring pages and egg hunt ideas goes further.

May: what do I print for Mother's Day?

This is a photo month. A photo of the child with their mother or grandmother, turned into a coloring page at the Simple or Medium level, colored by the child and signed, is the gift. Coolorio adds a title and the photo date to the page. Print it on heavier paper so it can be framed. The date moves by country: second Sunday of May in many places, but not everywhere.

June: what do I print for Father's Day?

Same idea as May, with the father, grandfather or uncle in the photo. If Father's Day falls in September where you live, swap this month for a mid-year page: a birthday cake page for anyone with a June birthday, or a simple pattern page for the school holidays. Our guide to a Mother's Day and Father's Day coloring gift covers both.

September: what do I print for back to school?

The letters of the child's name, one per page, and a photo page of the child on the first morning with the year and their age printed underneath. Do this every September and you have a series. Our guide to a first day of school coloring page explains the annual version.

October: what do I print for Halloween?

Pumpkin is the obvious one, and it is a simple page that suits ages 3 and up. For older children, a photo of the child in costume turned into a Detailed page is a good keepsake. See our guide to Halloween coloring activities for kids.

November: what do I print for Thanksgiving?

Where Thanksgiving is celebrated, a frame page works as a placemat: print one per guest, and children color the border before dinner while the adults cook. Write each guest's name in the center. Elsewhere, November suits the gift box page, a quiet start to the end-of-year season.

December: what do I print for Christmas?

Three pages carry December: Christmas Tree, Snowman and Gift Box. Print the tree early in the month and let the child add decorations with stickers as the days pass, like an advent page. A family photo page at Medium, colored by everyone over the holidays, is the tradition that gets repeated. Our guide to Christmas coloring pages as a family tradition is built around it.

Quick answer: the calendar on one page

Month	Occasion	Free page	Add a photo page?
January	New Year	Frame plus numbers	No
February	Valentine's Day	Frame Hearts	Optional
March or April	Easter	Easter Egg	No
May	Mother's Day	Frame as a mount	Yes
June	Father's Day	Frame as a mount	Yes
September	Back to school	Name letters	Yes
October	Halloween	Pumpkin	Optional
November	Thanksgiving	Frame as a placemat	No
December	Christmas	Tree, Snowman, Gift Box	Yes

Birthdays slot in wherever they fall, with the Birthday Cake page and the number page for the new age.

How do I keep a year of holiday pages?

Give the finished pages a home. A single display book with clear sleeves, one or two pages per month, holds a whole year and sits on the shelf beside the photo albums. Date every page. By the third year, flicking through the Decembers side by side is a small ritual in itself, and the gifts page explains how a pack of pages covers the whole year for less than buying them one at a time.

Frequently asked

How far ahead should I print holiday coloring pages?

One to two weeks before the day. Earlier than that and the page is finished and forgotten before the occasion; later and it competes with the event itself. For holidays that involve a gift, such as Mother's Day, print two weeks ahead so there is time to color, dry and frame. Printing on the day works only for quiet activities like a Thanksgiving placemat.

Which holiday coloring pages work for toddlers?

The simple seasonal pages: Pumpkin, Snowman, Christmas Tree, Gift Box and Birthday Cake all have thick outlines and large areas. The Easter Egg page has patterns inside and suits ages 5 and up, so for a toddler print a plain oval from the toddler shapes instead. Photo pages for toddlers should be at the Simple level.

Can I make a holiday coloring page from our own photo?

Yes. A photo from the holiday itself, the tree, the costume, the table, the child with a grandparent, turned into a coloring page at the Simple, Medium or Detailed level, is the page most families keep. The first page on Coolorio is free with no account, each page takes about a minute, and the page can carry a title, a name and the photo date.