A December coloring page of two children decorating a Christmas tree. The boy on the left is lifting a string of beads onto a branch and the girl on the right reaches up with a bauble in her hand; between them the tree already carries garlands, ornaments and a star. A snowman stands at the left edge, presents are piled at the foot of the tree and along the right, and Santa’s sleigh crosses the top corner behind two reindeer. The large outlined characters in the top-left corner read 12月 (junigatsu) — Japanese for December, literally “the twelfth month”. Free to print at home, in the classroom or in a care-home session — no registration needed.
🗣 Conversation Starters — for care activities and family time
Which December is the one you remember best?
Who decorated the tree in your house — the children, or the adults?
What went on the tree first, and what went on last?
Is there anything you look forward to as the seasons turn?
What is in this December coloring page?
One whole December on a single sheet: two children hanging decorations on the tree in the middle, a snowman at the left, presents at the foot and to the right, snowflakes and stars scattered across the paper, and Santa’s sleigh flying across the top-right corner. The big outlined shape in the top-left is the date itself — 12月, junigatsu, “the twelfth month” — written the way a Japanese calendar heads the page. The scene is a familiar one here in a specific way: a tree in a Japanese home usually goes up in late November or early December and comes down on the 26th, because the same room has to be ready for New Year, when kadomatsu pine arrangements and a stacked kagami-mochi rice cake take the tree’s place.
Can this coloring page be used for care-home activities?
Yes, and it divides more cleanly than most: one person can take the tree, another the two children, a third the snowman, the presents and the sleigh, so three or four people can work on one sheet at the same table without crowding each other. It also makes an easy conversation starter in reminiscence-style sessions — who used to be lifted up to reach the top branch, and what the decorations were kept in for the rest of the year.
Any tips for a neat, polished result?
Work from the big shapes down, but the real trap on this page is that almost everything else is small: the beads, the baubles, the snowflakes and the scattered stars are dozens of separate little shapes on white paper. Colour every one of them and the sheet turns busy, and the tree stops being the subject. Choose two colours for the snowflakes and stars, use only those, and leave a good number of them white — the white ones will read as the ones furthest away. After the tree, the outlined 12月 is the largest single shape on the page, so whatever goes inside it sets the mood of the whole sheet; a flat red, a soft blue, or leaving it as white paper are all real choices rather than a default.
