Don't Buy Coloring Books - Do Print Outs Instead

[ExcuseMyIgnorance]

So, my kids are pretty much at the age where they're into coloring - it helps them develop their fine motor skills.

But I'm also on a huge frugal kick - so I'm not going to pay 5 or 10 bucks to buy coloring books.

Instead, I just go to google and print out whatever they want. This is quicker, easier and helps my kids get a sense of personalization. They also don't need to fight with the coloring book because its all single sheets of paper. So instead of like $9.99 or $5.99 or whatever, I just pay 20 cents for paper.

[msomnipotent]

Coloring books are $5 to $10 now??? Jeez. I just bought some cheap ones at the dollar store since we have to have Halloween options for kids that can't eat candy. I would rather buy them then pay for paper and ink, but our printer is an ink hog. I know that there are free programs online, but I don't know the names. My daughter was using them to draw her own and color when she was "coloring book age".

[disneysteve]

I second the Dollar Store comment. I can't imagine paying $5 or more for a kids coloring book.

I do like printing coloring sheets at home for craft projects, though. I do a thing where I trace a drawing onto a canvas and then color it with permanent markers (or just black marker if it's a silhouette). They come out really nicely and I've donated quite a few to charity auctions that we are involved with. They've sold for $30-50 typically with the most successful one going for $160. Not bad considering they only cost me about $3 to produce. It's a great way for us to support the charity to a greater extent than if we were just giving money.

[amastewa93]

Big Kid here - I LOVE coloring. It is rather therapeutic.... but unless it was gifted to me, I'm NOT paying that much haha. I have a few coloring books here gifted to me last Christmas I still haven't completely filled out but the person who gave them paid at least $10 each - I couldn't imagine. The same goes for coloring books for my godchildren. I was looking at the store and thought to myself, "I could print these out at home way cheaper." As it turns out, they like that more anyway. They can pick the photos they want and even do the same picture without having to bicker about who gets to color which page.

Definitely a good way to save $$

[MagicMoneysaverSarah]

I second the dollar store suggestions

McDonalds and many other places often give out free coloring sheets and crayons if you need a $0 solution.

I'm a big kid, I love coloring! It helps me relax. I often buy myself adult coloring books on Amazon