A watercolor book for Christmas: a story painted in winter light

Most styles have to add light. Watercolor keeps it: the white of the paper becomes snow, the reflection on a glass bauble, the halo around a candle. That's why so many Christmas cards are painted in water. The medium can render cold without making it harsh.

Christmas colors change character in it. Red turns raspberry, green turns sage, gold becomes a simple patch of warm light. The result is a festive book that doesn't shout: the one you leave open on a sideboard well into January.

Faces sketched in pencil and then washed with color, precise enough to recognize both people, free enough to keep the poetry. Backgrounds dissolve toward the edges of the page. A window, a tree or a snowy street is enough to set the scene.

Snow is often rendered by leaving paper blank or with small spatters of white. Interiors keep an amber light, from a lamp or a fireplace, set against the blue outside. That warm-cold contrast returns from page to page and gives the book its unity.

• ✦ Decorating the tree, a tangled string of lights between two pairs of hands
• ✦ The walk on the morning of the 25th, while the town is still asleep
• ✦ The family recipe passed down from one generation to the next
• ✦ Letters to Santa found in an old box
• ✦ The cabin and the steaming mug, two armchairs facing the window

Watercolor touches almost everyone, but it hits the mark with people who love beautiful objects: a mother who kept her children's drawings, grandparents who knew everything on film photos, a couple together for a long time. The style doesn't age, and that's exactly what you want from a book that will be handed down.

If your duo is younger or more playful, also look at manga or American Modern. For watercolor, think print first: paper gives the rendering all its depth.

Creation takes about 2 hours, then you have 48 hours to review and approve. Printing and delivery follow in 5 to 7 days. For a printed book under the tree, order before December 12. Later than that, the digital edition or the gift card remain possible until the very last day.