A coloring book is an easy gift to buy and an easy one to get wrong: the one they already have, the one too busy to finish, the one their markers ruin. Five checks before you buy, and what to put beside it.
Start with what they already have
The first way a coloring book gift for adults goes wrong is the simplest: they already own it, or one so like it that it feels the same. Someone who colors may well have bought from several publishers already, and knows their shelf. So before you choose a book, find out what is on it.
Ask, if the gift does not have to be a surprise. If it does, look: a photo of their coloring corner, a page they posted, the book left open on the table. Note the publisher and the series, not only the title. A series with numbered volumes makes this easier, because you can see which numbers they have and give the next one, or a volume from a different series in the same style.
And keep the receipt. A duplicate exchanged is better than a duplicate kept out of politeness.
Match the difficulty to their evenings
The second way it goes wrong is a book that is too much. Intricate pages take hours, and a page that cannot be finished in one sitting is the one that sends the book to a drawer. Unless you know they love fine detail, a book with fewer, bigger shapes is the safer gift.
Think about when they color. If it is a short spell between the dishes and bed, the page has to be done when the spell is: one subject, big spaces, a thick line. Coloring before bed instead of the phone is about exactly that evening. If it is a long Sunday at the kitchen table, fuller scenes can be part of the pleasure.
The label on the cover is not enough to go on. “Bold and easy” is a format anyone can print, and what is a bold and easy coloring book? sets out six things to check in the preview: line weight, open space, one subject a page, single-sided pages, a real count of designs, and an effort order. Look at a page from the middle of the book, not only the first few.
The paper and the markers question
The third way it goes wrong is ink on the next page. Find out what they color with, because it changes which books are safe.
Alcohol markers soak through ordinary paper. Altenew, which sells them, says they tend to bleed and are not recommended for double-sided coloring books (Altenew), and Sarah Renae Clark, who publishes coloring books, writes that they are almost guaranteed to bleed through paper (Sarah Renae Clark). So for someone who uses them, the book should be printed single sided, with every design on its own sheet and the back left blank. If a listing does not say single sided, assume it is not.
Do not rely on thick paper claims either. A coloring book printed on demand gets the printer’s ordinary book paper, which for Amazon KDP means 50 to 61 pound, 74 to 90 GSM, for black ink (Amazon KDP). No marker treats that as thick. Single sided is what protects the next design, and a sheet of scrap paper behind the page protects the one after that.
If they use colored pencils, any of this matters less, and a book printed on both sides of the page is a fair choice.
Size, and the season
Two small things decide whether the book gets opened.
Size. Look up the trim size and picture where they color. A small page shrinks every shape, so the book is fiddlier than its cover promises; a very large one is awkward on a lap, on a sofa or in bed.
Season. Look at the date on the gift tag. A Christmas book given in December gets colored in December. For a birthday in spring, or a present bought early and opened late, a book with no holiday in it, a cozy room, food, animals, is ready whenever they are.
Pair it with a modest starter set
A book on its own asks them to have the right pens already. A book with a small set beside it can be started the same evening, and that is the gift that gets used. Keep the set modest: the point is to begin, not to equip a studio.
For someone new to coloring, colored pencils are a forgiving place to start: there is no ink in them to soak through to the next page. Plaid, a craft supplies company, suggests starting with at least 36 colors as a rule of thumb, and says pencils vary, so it is worth trying a few before buying a set (Plaid).
For someone who already colors, markers are the treat, and the two kinds behave differently. Sarah Renae Clark writes that alcohol markers are easier to start with for smooth, even color, and that water-based markers are generally more affordable and usually do not bleed through in the same way (Sarah Renae Clark). If you give alcohol markers, give a single-sided book with them. The best markers for bold and easy coloring books is about which nibs suit big open spaces.
Two small additions cost almost nothing: a few sheets of scrap paper to slip behind the page, and a note to test the pens on a spare page first. Plaid gives the same advice, to test markers on a page at the back of the book before coloring a design (Plaid).
A coloring book as a stocking stuffer
A paperback coloring book is flat, light and easy to wrap, so it fits a stocking. As a stocking stuffer for women who color, or for anyone else who does, it needs the same checks as any other gift. The list is only shorter: not one they own, pages they can finish, single sided if they use markers. In a stocking, leave the big set of pens out and add three or four in colors that suit the book’s subject, so the first page can be colored on the day.
If you want one of ours
This part is about our own books, so weigh it accordingly. Every Lantern Coloring volume is built to pass the checks above: 52 designs, each alone on a right-hand page with the back left blank, 8.5 inches square, a page at the front for testing pens, and the easy pages first. Its paper is the KDP paper above, so if they use alcohol markers, tuck a few scrap sheets inside the cover.
For December, Cozy Christmas is trees, ornaments, snowmen, gingerbread and snowy villages; the penguin above is from its middle. For a winter gift that lasts past January, Snow Cabin is log cabins, wood stoves, moose and snowy owls with no holiday in it. If you do not know when the book will be opened, Cozy Corners has no season at all. Most of the books are for adults and teens 14 and up; Cute Animals is drawn for adults and kids from 7. The whole Lantern Coloring series shows every volume, so you can see which one they are missing.
They are one choice among many. A book from another publisher that passes the same checks is just as good a gift.
Sources
- Altenew. Water-based vs alcohol markers, 4 February 2022. Alcohol markers tend to bleed and are not recommended for double-sided coloring books.
- Sarah Renae Clark. A beginner’s guide to markers: alcohol and water-based, 9 May 2025. Alcohol markers are almost guaranteed to bleed through paper and are easier for even color; water-based markers are generally more affordable and usually do not bleed through in the same way.
- Amazon KDP. Print options. The weight of KDP’s black ink paperback paper, 50 to 61 pound (74 to 90 GSM).
- Plaid. 10 tips for adult coloring book newbies, 10 December 2019. Start with at least 36 colored pencils as a rule of thumb; pencils vary, so try some first; test markers on a page at the back of the book.
