The other day, while wasting time at London Drugs, I came across a display of adult colouring books, and it wasn’t just the sale sticker that caused me to stop and browse. Catherine, our sports editor here at The Nav, wrote “Colour me interested” in our last issue, and we printed some cool mandalas for our readers to de-stress with. The following week, I was seen colouring the back page of our paper, printing the images again and again, searching for dry erase markers to fill the small shapes. So, when I saw the extensive selection at the store, ranging from the original mandala, to winter and Christmas “magic,” I was convinced (thanks to Catherine via Snapchat) to pick one up. At $10.99, it’s completely reasonable for 70 detachable detailed images awaiting your choice of colour. When I opened to the first page, I was excited at the chance, not realizing just how intricate the job would be. I gave up quickly, assuming that the washable Crayolas were my issue.
I brought the book and brand new Crayola markers with me to my mom’s house. Before I could show her my purchase, my sister drove off with the book in her trunk, professing her interest, and said it may return partially coloured.
I was so excited to show this trend to my mom, who has been looking for a creative outlet at home, that I ended up more stressed than de-stressed with the arrival of my new book. If I ever got it back, who knows what would be left black and white.
According to a recent search on Amazon, which garnered a CBC story, adult colouring books are on many online shoppers’ “most wished for” lists, making up nine of the 10 most popular books on the site. Along with about a dozen others, top-sellers include Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, and Doctor Who-themed books.
So, as I suggest to you and yours this holiday season to consider these trendy de-stressers, I also warn. Make sure you are prepared to share a page with a friend or sibling. If you plan on gifting one, do a little research and grab the right tools, wax, lead, or ink for your creative comrade. (I suggest opening the back page of issue five in front of them to see what they pick up to help.)
If you’re looking to skip the lines and find your own mandalas online, we provided links next to the ones we found and shared last issue. If reading is more your thing, open the pages and check out our story on Lori Shwydky, our very own copy editor, or our “Mental Health Matters” by column writer Zoe, who covers mental health stigmas on page 21.