A watercolor kit is one of the few Christmas craft kit options that does not end with glitter on the floor. This one from Cate Paper Co. is built around retro red holiday artwork, the sort of jolly, slightly nostalgic scene that looks lifted from the back of a mid-century greeting card, and here the painting is the point rather than the excuse. Watercolor suits a seasonal project because it is quick to start and quick to stop. You can finish one small piece while the coffee is still warm and leave the rest until tomorrow, which is about all the uninterrupted time December allows. Set it out on a side table and watch adults who insist they cannot draw pick up a brush anyway. It works as a hostess gift, a quiet afternoon with older kids, or a present for the friend who takes up a new craft every year and actually keeps going.
How do you use watercolor paint? Watercolor paint is activated with water: you wet the brush, lift pigment from the pan, and dilute it on the paper, where adding more water produces a lighter and more transparent wash. Pan watercolors dry hard between sessions and reactivate with water indefinitely, which is why they are the format used in closed travel tins.
