Twelve Christmas subjects — a wreath with a red bow, a Santa mid-stride, a stack of parcels, a mug of cocoa, a little green train — pre-outlined with a palette printed for each. It is a colouring book for grown-ups and children alike, except you finish with watercolour instead of crayon, and the result is good enough to tear out and frame.

Every spread pairs a finished painting with numbered step-by-step instructions and a lightly printed sketch you paint straight onto, so you are never staring at a blank page. Printed on custom 120 lb cold-press watercolour paper from one of the last remaining paper mills in the United States, with lay-flat spiral binding and clean tear-out pages, at a travel-ready 6.5 x 9 in. Original artwork by Emily Lex, designed and printed in the USA. Start it in November and you have hand-painted gift tags, place cards and a card front by the time the tree goes up. It also buys you a peaceful hour on the twenty-third, which is worth the price on its own. Paint sold separately.