Make a Christmas tree by coloring around it
Leave a simple tree shape blank and color the paper around it with one crayon. Begin near the outline, then widen the colored area at your child’s pace.
Give the blank tree room on the page
For this Christmas drawing, the tree stays pale while the space around it takes the color. A simple outline is enough: a wide triangle with a short trunk underneath. The contrast between the blank shape and the colored area makes the tree visible.
Use plain pale paper, a pencil and one wax crayon. Pick a color that shows clearly on the paper, such as green or red. Draw the tree near the middle, keeping the trunk and every tip well inside the page edges. Leave a broad area around all sides.
Your child can draw the outline, or ask an adult to help. Keep the branches simple rather than adding lots of narrow points that will be awkward to work around.
Decide which space will stay blank
Before coloring, point to the tree and the surrounding paper. Ask: “Which part will we leave empty?” Your child can point rather than explain it in words. Show that the crayon will work outside the tree.
If a demonstration helps, draw a small extra triangle on a spare sheet and shade beside one of its edges. Stop there so your child can try their own large picture. You do not need to fill the demonstration page.
Begin on one side of the tree with short gentle crayon strokes. Work near the pencil line first, leaving the inside pale. Turn the page when a different edge is easier to reach that way.
Widen the color a little at a time
Move the colored area outward from the outline. Work around the tip, then down the other side and beside the trunk. The whole outside page does not need filling; a colored band around the tree can be enough.
Look at the outline together. If an uncolored gap makes one edge disappear into the backing, your child can shade that small outside patch next. They can keep a plain margin at the page edges.
If the crayon crosses inside, leave the mark or use it as part of the picture. The tree does not have to remain perfectly white. Avoid repeatedly erasing the same patch to make it match an adult example.
Finish with the shape you can see
Put the page down and look at the pale tree within the colored area. Your child may want one last stroke near the trunk or may decide to stop. No further decorations are required.
For an easier outline, try a large oval with plenty of space around it. Use the same outside-coloring idea without the tree's corners. Keep the Christmas tree version for another day if your child prefers.
OUR PALE CHRISTMAS TREE Broad tree and short trunk inside page edges: ______ One crayon color: ______ Tree stays pale; surrounding paper takes the color. First outside edge to color: ______ Page can turn to make each edge easier to reach. Small outside gaps checked: ______ A crossed line can stay in the picture. Finish choice: one last stroke / stop / try a broad oval another time
