Christmas colouring books you can finish by Christmas Eve

Three things. A page needs to start without any set-up, so you can open the book and begin. The pages need to range from quick to slow, so a tired evening and a free afternoon both have something. And there needs to be a way to see how much is left, so it feels like getting somewhere.

A One Pen book does this with one pen and dots. Small dots mark the shapes to fill, and there is nothing to choose. Dots in the margin tell you how busy each page is, from one dot (easy) to three (detailed). Start with the one-dot pages and you have a handful done in the first evening. The 35 scenes need not all be finished: many people colour their favourites and leave the rest for the quiet days after Christmas.

Each is a different corner of the season. Pick the one you would like to sit with.

• The Christmas kitchen: mince pies, the pudding and the good biscuit tin, waiting under the dots.
• The village in the snow: the church, the pub and the red post box under a fresh fall of snow.
• Robins and holly: robins on the spade, holly on the gate and a frosty garden to bring out.
• By the fire: slippers, the dog asleep on the rug and a mug of cocoa: winter evenings to colour.

Every book is 7 × 10 inches, spiral-bound so it lies flat, on 170 gsm paper printed on one side only. Pens are not included. Any dark felt tip or fineliner with a tip of 0.5 to 1 mm will do, and our guide to the best pens names a few.

Nobody has timed it for you, and it depends on how busy the pages are and how fast you work. As a guide, easy pages go quickly and detailed pages are for a long evening. If you do a page or two a night from now, you will have a good part of a book done well before the day.

Starting early helps more than working fast. A few shapes while the kettle boils still counts. Our guide on how to colour a One Pen page has tips for busy pages.

Before you pay, each book shows the date it arrives by in your country, with tracked delivery in the price. The last order dates for Christmas are on our delivery page, and we keep them up to date.

One Pen Pages are printed in the UK and go to the UK, the US, Australia and New Zealand, two or more at a time to Australia and New Zealand. If you are ordering for someone abroad, check their date as well as yours.

Yes. The books are for all ages from 8, so a grandchild can take the one-dot pages while you do a three-dot one beside them. Two books and two pens at the same table is a Boxing Day afternoon sorted.

If the children would like to be in the pictures, a book made from your own photos puts the family on the pages instead. It is a different kind of gift: not a scene, but your people.

Mix any titles in the same order: 2 books 10% off, 3 books 15% off, 4 books 20% off and 5 or more 25% off. A book is £20 in our launch offer, against a full price of £26.99. That makes two or three books for the family, or one to keep and one to give, an easy order. Looking for what to give her? See our gift guide for Mum or Nan.