A Last-Minute Personalized Christmas Gift You Can Print Tonight
No time for shipping? Turn one photo into a personalized coloring book and print it at home tonight. How long it takes, what it costs, who it suits and where it falls short.
If Christmas is close and a personalized gift can no longer arrive in time, you can make one tonight: upload a photo, turn it into a coloring book of that person or pet, and print it at home. Generating the pages takes minutes. The rest is your printer, some paper and a folder or a few staples.
It is not a boxed product, and it will not suit everyone. Here is what it takes, who it works for and where it falls short.
How long does it actually take?
These are timings from our own test runs on the live site. Yours will vary a little with traffic.
| Step | Time |
|---|---|
| Free 2-page preview | About 1 minute |
| Full 5-page book | About 90 seconds |
| Full 20-page book | About 5.5 minutes |
| Printing and assembling at home | Depends on your printer |
So the whole thing fits into an evening, and a small book fits into a lunch break. If you do not own a printer, a local print shop can print the PDF, though you will need to check its hours close to Christmas.
What does a printable personalized gift cost?
The preview is free and needs no account. A full book uses one credit per page, and the smallest credit pack is $9 for 10 credits, which covers one 10-page book or two 5-page books. Credit packs do not expire.
At home you also pay for ink and paper. For one or two copies that is a small cost.
What is a good last-minute gift for grandparents?
A book of the grandchildren. It suits grandparents because the pages are about people they already love, and a child can color alongside them on Christmas Day.
Use one clear photo with the kids' faces easy to see. The same people then appear in every scene. Every book, from the 5-page size up, includes a Christmas-tree page and a snow scene.
What can I give a dog or cat lover at the last minute?
A coloring book of their own pet. It works well for the friend whose phone is mostly dog photos, and it is easy to get the photo: you probably already have one from a group chat.
We tested this on two of our own Labradors. Realistic style usually keeps a pet's markings and breed better. Cartoon style is cuter and easier for young kids, but it can lose some of what makes that particular dog look like that dog.
Be careful with a pet who has recently died. A remembrance book can mean a lot, but only give one if you are sure the person would want it.
What can kids make for a parent or a relative?
Print the pages and let the child color them first. A colored page in a card or a frame is a gift they made themselves, and that is often the part the adults remember. For this, use cartoon style, which has larger shapes and simpler lines.
How to make it tonight
- Pick one clear photo. One or a few people or pets, facing the camera, with faces easy to see.
- Make the free preview. Upload the photo, choose realistic or cartoon, and check the two sample pages before you pay for anything.
- Unlock the book. Choose 5, 10 or 20 pages, then download the PDF, which includes a cover.
- Print and assemble. Print on one side only. Use cardstock of 65–110 lb if markers are likely, and plain paper if it is colored pencils. Staple it, or put loose pages in a folder with a few pencils.
If you want the detail on paper and cost, we compared printing at home with print-on-demand.
When is this the wrong gift?
- You want something to unwrap that arrives finished. This is a digital file. We do not print or ship anything, so you do the printing.
- You have no printer and no print shop nearby. The PDF alone is not much of a gift.
- The person does not enjoy coloring or crafts. A photo gift they would hang on a wall may suit them better.
- You only have a blurry or very dark photo. The result depends on the photo, so try the free preview first. Some photos are also rejected by the image model's content filter, in which case a different photo usually works.
Common questions
Do I need to sign up to try it? Not for the preview. You can make one free preview a day without an account. Downloading the preview, even free, needs a sign-in.
Is the preview enough to give as a gift? No. It is small and watermarked, so it will look blurry on paper. It is there so you can judge the result. The unlocked book has full-resolution pages with no watermark.
Can I print it more than once? Yes. Print as many copies as you need, for example one for each grandchild.
How soon can I give it? The same day, as soon as it is printed.
Ready to try it? Start with a photo, or see how the pages stay consistent in personalized coloring books from photos. For more ideas that are not last-minute, here are ten ways to give a coloring book made from someone's own photos. If you only need something free to print, we also have Christmas family coloring pages and Christmas dog coloring pages.