7 Reasons to Put a Color-Your-Own Blanket Under the Tree This Year

If last year's big gift was in the toy bin by New Year's, this list is for you.

1. Kids keep what they make

Kids defend the drawing on the fridge and the lopsided clay bowl forever, because their own work is in them.

A gift they only unwrap is easy to drop. A gift they spend an afternoon making is theirs.

2. Toys, craft kits and coloring books end when they're done

The toy on the list joins the bin in a week. Craft kits leave you the cleanup and a finished thing with nowhere to go.

Coloring books give you an hour of quiet, then the pages get torn out and tossed.

3. Color it, then use it

The blanket comes printed with Christmas line art: Santa, a snowman, a reindeer, trees and gifts. Fabric markers come in the box.

They color it in, and when they're done it's a blanket for the couch, the car or the bed.

4. Big enough for the whole table

At about 40 x 60 inches, it's big enough for two kids to work on at once without fighting over the same snowman.

It usually takes more than one sitting, which is part of the point: it comes back out on the next cold afternoon.

See the Buy 1, Get 1 Free offer

5. The honest part: markers and washing

Fabric markers aren't paint. Press lightly so the ink doesn't spread, and let the colors set and follow the heat-set step on the card before the first wash. We don't claim they'll never fade.

On a blanket this size, a favorite color can run low. Ages 5 and up with an adult nearby: marker caps are small parts.

6. A gift they'll claim as their own

Once it's colored, it isn't a gift anymore. It's the blanket they made, and they'll tell anyone who visits.

Wash cold, inside out, per the care card, and it goes right back on the bed.

7. Two kits for $50

Every order is Buy 1, Get 1 Free: two kits for $50, which is $25 a blanket. Siblings each get their own, or the second goes to a cousin.

4 kits are $100 and 6 are $150. Every order has a 30-day money-back guarantee.