Well, I wasn’t able to make our Advent wreath this year with our Parish Women’s Group, so when I saw Kendra’s quick DIY Advent Wreath at Catholic All Year with Dollar Store Votive Candles, I just couldn’t resist.
Equipping Catholic Families…for December!
Equipping Catholic Families for December Saints!
- Welcome to our monthly summary of crafts and family traditions related to the Monthly Devotion, Key Feast Days and the appropriate Season of the Liturgical Calendar.
Key Feast Days in December:
- St Francis Xavier (December 3)
- St John Damascene (December 4)
- St Nicholas* (December 6)
- St Ambrose (December 7)
- Immaculate Conception (December 8)
- St Juan Diego (December 9)
- Our Lady of Loretto (December 10)
- Our Lady, Queen of Angels (December 11)
- St Damasus I (December 11)
- Our Lady of Guadalupe (December 12)
- St Lucy (December 13)
- St John of the Cross (December 14)
- O Antiphons (December 17-23)
- Bambinelli Sunday (December 17)
- Expectation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Dec 18)
- St Abraham, St Isaac, St Jacob (December 20)
- St Thomas, St Peter Canisius (December 21)
- St John of Kanty (December 23)
- The Birth of Jesus (December 25)
- St Stephen (December 26)
- St John Apostle (December 27)
- Holy Innocents (December 28)
- St Thomas Becket (December 29)
- Feast of the Holy Family (December 31)
*Check out the St Nick Bundle at the Arma Dei Shoppe available only until November 25th!
Season of the Liturgical Calendar: Advent!
- Advent Resources in the Catholic Mom Bundle (see more details below!)
- Anticipating Advent: Prep for Advent: Summary of Crafts and Activities
- Keep Christ in Christmas: read Him, look for Him, pray to Him, visit him, share Him, give for Him; live for Him Keep Christ in Christmas
The Advent Calendar
The Advent Calendar is a great way to countdown the days until Christmas. You’ll find lots of chocolate covered ones in the stores now, but you can make your own and fill it with dollarstore Nativity figures, holy medals, Saint pegs, Super Saints, printable Advent Quest challenges and of course your favorite treats or chocolates. There are so many ways to make an Advent Calendar (including this one we made years ago) and we found 35 [Awesome} DIY Advent Calendars here.
Equipping Catholic Families …for Advent!
This Sunday is the Feast of Christ the King…the last Sunday of the Liturgical Year, which means that Advent will be here very soon! It’s time to dust off the Advent Candles (make sure we have them!) and the Jesse Tree ornaments and the Advent Calendar!
Prayer-Loom Prayer Book
We’ve expanded the Prayer-Loom Prayer Book Craft Kit!
The Prayer-Loom Prayer Book Craft Kit features 7 pages of prayers and illustrated prayercards, a Faith mentor template to record insights and prayers from loved ones, along with helpful tips and links to make this Heirloom Prayer-Loom Prayer Book a keepsake Sacrament gift and prayer journal.
Reconciliation Prep
We’ve updated our Reconciliation Prep Craft Kit! It’s got 12 pages of color AND black and white templates presenting TWO classic Act of Contrition prayers, a few different formats of the Examination of Conscience (based on the Ten Commandments), quick information about the Sacrament and the general format of Reconciliation with the official text for both First and subsequent Confession. A number of different formats are included to accommodate one or two kids…or a whole class!
Equipping Catholic Families …for October Saints!
NEW FEATURE: Equipping Catholic Families for October!
Welcome to our monthly summary of crafts and family traditions related to the Monthly Devotion, Key Feast Days and the appropriate Season of the Liturgical Calendar.
Key Feast Days in October:
- St Therese (October 1)
- Guardian Angels (October 2)
- St Francis (October 4)
- St Faustina (October 5)
- Our Lady of the Rosary (October 7) Also see Rosary Crafts
- The Divine Maternity of Our Lady (October 11)
- St Teresa of Avila (October 15) St Teresa in Saint Scripts Three
- St Gerard Majella (October 16)
- St Luke (October 18)
- St John Paul II (October 22) Canonization of St John Paul II
- St John of Capistrano (October 23)
- St Simon and St Jude (October 28)
- I Spy…October Saints!
Monthly Devotion for October: The Holy Rosary
- Rosary Crafts
- Mysteries of the Rosary Craft Kit
- Easy as Abacus Rosary
- Spiritual Bouquet of Prayer Petal Flowers
- Reluctant to Regular Rosary Prayer: 5 Practical Tips
Book Reviews:
Season of the Liturgical Calendar: Ordinary Time
- 2017-2018 Planner for Sites and Blogs packed with SAINTS!
- Convert your Calendar or Planner to be Catholic with 461 Saint Stickies
- Catholic Prayer Bullet Journal NEW Craft Kit!
- Prep for All Saints Day: Summary of Crafts and Activities
- Make Ordinary Time “Extraordinary”
- Family Culture in Ordinary Time
- Traditions to Start in Ordinary Time
- Adjustable Liturgical Calendar Craft
- Minute to Win it: Birthday Party Printable
- HP Party Printable
Countdown to All Saints Feast Day (November 1)
Back to School Craft Kit Sale 2017
Craft Kit Sale! Spend $40 in Craft Kit PDFs for the new school year…get $10 OFF! Use code: BTS2017
Choose from Saint, Sacrament, Catechism, Liturgical Calendar, Mass and Prayer Craft Kits! Already researched and formatted, information-packed craft kits are ready to print. All you need: scissors, pencil crayons and glue*! Limited permission to copy is included with the kit!
Painted Saints Church in a Wooden Box (Part II)
Recently, I used the Cathedral Clipart Craft Kit to convert this wooden lunchbox from Michaels…into a Church for our little Painted Saints!
Check out Painted Saint Church TO GO!
Just to prove that our craft kit is versatile…and after converting a Michaels wooden barn and a Goldfish Cracker Box to a Church, I picked up a couple other boxes from Michaels to make a few different styles of Church play sets for our Painted Saints.
Nesting… for Sock Baby Jesus
Sometimes despite our best intentions, some of our Advent programs or devotionals start to wane in the second or third week. We get behind in our Jesse Tree Ornaments…or miss the Advent devotionals altogether as we rush through the hectic days before Christmas. We’re doing our best…
Home Stretch of Lent: Holy Week!
Here are a couple reminders of some of our activities for Holy Week
Palm Sunday…and every day of Holy Week: Egg Carton Passion Play
An Egg Carton backdrop for Jesus’ Public Ministry and Passion Play with Wooden Painted Saints.









































