The Christmas shelf · gift ideas by age
Christmas present ideas for children, by age — one with their own face in it
One present that is not another toy: a real hardback with your child painted into every page from one photo — their face, their hair, their own clothes — and their name through the story. Here is which book fits which child, and the honest answers on dates and price.
Christmas: we recommend ordering by Monday 7 December. Delivery dates are estimates, not guaranteed. See the dates
In one line: send one photo and a first name, the book is painted and we show you sample pages free, you pay only if you love it (£39.99 delivered for the hardback), a person checks every page, and it is printed in Britain.
A baby’s first Christmas present (under 1 to 2)
The first Christmas goes by in a blur and the baby remembers none of it — so the present that lasts is the one that keeps the day. Baby’s First Christmas is the tree lights, the paper on the floor, the first wobbly steps and the cot at the end of the day, in sounds and rhymes made for reading aloud, with your baby painted from one photo in the clothes they really wear. Add photos of mum, dad, nana and grandad and they are painted in too. Written for ages 1 to 3, so it is read again next year.
Christmas gifts for 2 and 3 year olds
At two and three the present that gets used every single night is the bedtime book — and this one has them in it. The Night Before Christmas is Christmas Eve through your child’s eyes: Santa as a big gentle grandfather, a secret shared, a sooty boot-print on the rug next morning, and a robin to find on every page for small fingers. Written for ages 2 to 6, so it comes back out next December too. (For a child still under two, the First Christmas book above is the better fit.)
Christmas gifts for 4, 5 and 6 year olds
These are the years a child still believes and is just starting to read some of the words themselves, so a book with their own name and face in it lands hard. Two to choose from: in the Letter from Santa (ages 4 to 7) Santa finds their page in the Big Book and writes to them by name — their name on his own envelope; in The Night They Saved Christmas (ages 4 to 8) the sleigh is stuck above their own house and they are the hero who saves the night. The Night Before Christmas (2 to 6) fits a four-year-old as well.
Your Child's Letter from Santa
Ages 4–7Rhyming verse
Santa finds their page in the Big Book, and writes them a letter with their name on the envelope.
Put your child in this book →
The Night Your Child Saved Christmas
Ages 4–8Rhyming verse
The sleigh is stuck, the snow is deep — and only one child can help.
Put your child in this book →
Christmas gifts for 7 and 8 year olds
For seven and eight, The Night They Saved Christmas is the one: a proper rhyming adventure where they are the hero, written for ages 4 to 8, and old enough to read it themselves on Christmas morning. For a present that lasts past Christmas, the football, dinosaur, pirate and When I Grow Up stories on the main shelf are written for ages 4 to 7, painted the same way.
Buying for a grandchild, niece, nephew or godchild
This is the present grandparents and godparents order most, and it is the easiest to order: you need the child’s first name, whether the story says she or he, an age band and one clear, front-facing photo — the one on your phone from the last visit is usually fine, or ask the parents for one. No apps, no account, nothing to edit. You see the painted sample pages before paying, so you check the likeness yourself, and the photo is used only to paint the book and deleted within 30 days of the book being finished. All four Christmas books →
Will it arrive before Christmas?
We cannot guarantee it, but ordering by Monday 7 December and approving your finished book by Thursday 10 December gives the best chance. Delivery dates are estimates, and December is the busiest time for printers and couriers. The free painted preview usually lands within the hour — a real person checks every page first, so a late-night order is waiting for you in the morning. Once you say yes, the whole book is painted and checked, normally within 24 hours, and sent to print in Britain. The ebook copy comes free with the hardcover the moment you approve it, so there is something to give on the day even if the post is slow. All the Christmas dates →
What it costs
£39.99 delivered for the printed hardback: a thick 210 × 210 mm square hardcover with gloss pages, printed in Britain, free UK delivery, with the ebook copy included. Nothing is paid until you have seen your child painted into the sample pages, and we repaint any page you mark, free. The whole journey, plainly →
Christmas present questions
Before you ask…
What is a good Christmas present for a 2 or 3 year old?
Something they will ask for again after the toys are forgotten: a bedtime book with their own face in it. For ages 2 to 6 the Night Before Christmas is the classic read; for 1 to 3 the Baby's First Christmas book keeps the first Christmas itself. Both are painted from one photo, £39.99 delivered, and you see painted sample pages free before you pay.
What do you buy a child who has everything?
A book that cannot be bought in a shop, because it is about them: their face, their hair, their own clothes, painted into every page from one photo, with their name through the story and a dedication page for your own message. Nobody else has it.
Is a personalised book a good Christmas present from grandparents?
Yes, and it is the easiest one to order: you need the child's first name, whether the story says she or he, an age band and one clear photo (the one on your phone from the last visit is usually fine). No apps, no account, nothing to edit. It is painted, a person checks every page, you approve it, and the hardback is printed in Britain and delivered free in the UK.
How late can I order a personalised Christmas book in the UK?
We cannot guarantee delivery by Christmas. For the best chance of the printed hardback arriving in time, we recommend ordering by Monday 7 December and approving your finished book by Thursday 10 December: it is the day you approve the finished book that counts, not the day you order. Delivery dates are estimates, and December is the busiest time for printers and couriers. The free painted preview usually lands within the hour (a real person checks it first, so a late-night order is waiting in the morning); once you say yes, the whole book is painted and checked, normally within 24 hours, and sent to print in Britain. The ebook copy comes free with the hardcover the moment you approve it, so there is something to give on the day even if the post is slow.
Can it go in a Christmas Eve box?
Yes. The hardback is a 210 x 210 mm square, so it fits a Christmas Eve box, and the Night Before Christmas is the one families choose for that: Christmas Eve through the child's eyes, with a robin to find on every page.
Does it work for a niece, nephew or godchild I do not live with?
Yes. Ask the parents for one clear, front-facing photo, or use one they have sent you. The book is painted from that photo and you see the sample pages before paying, so you check the likeness yourself. The photo is used only to paint the book and deleted within 30 days of the book being finished.
Who paints the pictures?
An AI image model paints every page from your photo, in our watercolour style. A real person then checks every face, anything that is not right is repainted, and you see sample pages free before you pay a penny.
The Christmas shelf
The four Christmas books
Your Child's Letter from Santa
Ages 4–7Rhyming verse
Santa finds their page in the Big Book, and writes them a letter with their name on the envelope.
Put your child in this book →
Your Child's Night Before Christmas
Ages 2–6Rhyming verse
Christmas Eve through your child's eyes — Santa's visit, a secret kept, and a robin to find on every page.
Put your child in this book →
The Night Your Child Saved Christmas
Ages 4–8Rhyming verse
The sleigh is stuck, the snow is deep — and only one child can help.
Put your child in this book →
Your Child's First Christmas
Ages 0–2Rhyming verse
Twinkle, crinkle, jingle, munch — a baby's first Christmas in sounds and rhymes, with the whole family painted in from your photo.
Put your child in this book →
Every one takes one photo and shows you painted sample pages before you pay a penny. Or tell us your own story.
The real thing
Made to be held.
This is what turns up: a thick 210 × 210 mm square hardcover with gloss pages that make the paintings glow — printed in Britain and delivered free to your door, £39.99 all in, and nothing to pay until you have seen your child painted in.
