Bargain Priced Books :: Saints of Christmas

The Saints of Christmas Activity Book 
includes fun activities and coloring pages for all six saint books included in the Saints and Me! Christmas Series: Mary and Joseph, Nicholas of Myra, Francis of Assisi, Gianna Beretta Molla, Martin de Porres, and Lucy. With 96 reproducible pages, this coloring and activity book will makes a great resource to use over and over again! The variety of activities enables children to relive the story and learn through activities that correlate to the story (such as word searches containing the words in the story, coloring sheets of pictures from the story, reflective material on the saint as a role model). This is an excellent way to introduce these Saints of Christmas to children, helping them to understand their virtues and desire to live holy lives. Activities are varied enough to be used with preschool (4-year-olds) through second or third grade. An answer key is provided.


I haven't seen a copy of this activity book in person yet, but just ordered a copy for this Advent since it is currently 69% off!  I love that it includes 96 reproducible pages so that I can order one copy for my children to share.  

+  +  +

I'm slowly working on finding books to give our children as gifts on the feast of St. Nicholas and for Christmas this year.  I'm also working on creating an updated version of Our 2014 Advent Book Basket and Printable Labels and will be sure to share those with you all when they are ready, hopefully in the next week or two!

Holy Heroes is currently offering "3 for the price of 2" on pre-orders of their 2015 Advent Adventure Activity Book. I haven't ordered them for this year, but our children really enjoyed using the Activity Books last Advent.  (You can find a list of our Advent & Christmas Favorites from Holy Heroes here.) 

I also wanted to mention that Regina Martryum Productions just released another new audio download! For today only if you purchase a copy of The Poor Outcast – Blessed Margaret of Castello you can choose another story to download for free with coupon code MARGARET15.

Oh! One more thing. My friend Aleesa just shared a FREE Sts. Louis & Zelie Martin Coloring Page. Could you please offer a little prayer for Aleesa? She is currently on bed rest recuperating from surgery.  I need to go back and add the coloring page link to my post on Commemorating the Canonization of the Parents of Saint Thérèse, Saints Louis and Zélie Martin and print out a few copies for my little ones to color sometime this week.

I think that is it for now... I hope your week is off to a great start!

Preparing for Christmas :: Seven Fun Finds for Advent

Advent has arrived and the Christmas countdown has begun! This past Sunday, in addition to celebrating the feast of St. Andrew, we lit the first candle on our Advent Wreath, drew names for our Christkindl, read The Beautiful World (chapter one of Read-Aloud Book of Bible Stories) for our Jesse Tree, and unwrapped our first book after our family Rosary and Christmas Novena. I love the season of Advent and preparing our hearts for Christmas! 

Christkindl Angel Ornament

I also love sharing some of my "Fun Finds for Advent" each year. Here is my list for 2014 in Seven Quick Takes:

#1: New Advent Wreath and Candles 

Enesco Pillars Advent Wreath 5-piece Set and 100% Beeswax Taper Candles
(pictured on this Heritage Lace Silent Night Runner)

I've been admiring this beautiful wreath for a couple years now and purchased it during a great sale last month after discovering the lovely 100% Beeswax Taper Candles made by the Cloister Shoppe. We will still have our usual large Advent Wreath in our family room, but this has been a nice addition to our dinner table. My only complaint is that it's a little small, but that could be just because our dinner table with a family of nine is so huge! ;)  Someday I would love to have a hanging Advent Wreath above our table, but for now this has been a lovely addition to Advent in our "Domestic Church."  

#2: St. Nick's Goat Milk Soap

St. Nick's Goat Milk Soap

Speaking of the beautiful new Advent Candles, I also purchased the St. Nick's Goat Milk Soap from the creative sisters at the Cloister Shoppe. It will be a great addition to our home for the rest of the Advent and Christmas season, following the feast of St. Nicholas.  I also ordered a couple books that I'm looking forward to giving our children in their Stacks of Books on Christmas morning.

#3: Advent Adventure Activity Books

Advent Adventure Activity Books

From Instagram: On our way to Mass on the First Sunday of Advent! I have some #AdventAdventure brochures to hand out to other families, our new Advent candles to be blessed, and we just finished going over the Mass Quiz in the children's Advent Adventure Activity Books. I love #Advent

The 100% Beeswax Advent Candle Kit can be found at Holy Heroes.  

You can also see pictures of our children creating the candles here.

#4: Advent Calendars

Since Advent began on November 30th this year, on the official "Day 1" we unwrapped and set up all our Advent Calendars, our original favorites and some new ones as well. 

Playmobil Santa's Workshop Advent Calendar

I wasn't going to do the toy Advent Calendars again this year, but our children had so much fun with them last year that I couldn't resist… This year we have four, one for each bedroom.  I already had last year's Lego City Advent Calendar (for the younger boys to share) and I ordered the new 2014 LEGO City Calendar for the older boys and Friends Calendar for the older girls.  (NOTE: The best time to purchase these is during a Buy-one-Get-one-50% off sale at Barnes and Noble sometime before Thanksgiving with the extra member discount, which brings them down to about $20 each from $29.99.) 

Lego Friends Advent Calendar, Lego City Advent Calendar (2013), and Lego City Advent Calendar (2014) - all way overpriced at the moment… These always sell out quickly each year.

I really wanted to order this Schleich Christmas on the Farm Calendar for Bud (I'm considering a Barn/Farm themed Birthday for him this year) but it seemed overpriced for what is included… 

I was a little skeptical when I placed an order for the new Playmobil "Santa's Workshop" Advent Calendar for Rose, but I LOVE IT!!!!  

Look at that!  It even has a HANGING ADVENT WREATH!  Go buy it now for next year! ;)  You could even swap out Santa for St. Nick! 

Rose has been having so much fun opening a new box each morning and discovering the little toys to add to her scene.  

I also ordered the Playmobil Christmas Room and Nativity Scene to give to Rose for her birthday.  (These have also increased in price since I placed my order…) Once again it was the beautiful Advent Wreath, as well as the sweet little nativity and traditional candles on the tree, that made me want to add these sets to our collection. 

#5: New Family Puzzle

Stained Glass Nativity Puzzle

Our family really loves to assemble puzzles during Advent!   In 2010 we assembled the Our Lady of Guadalupe Puzzle. In 2011 the kids loved The Nativity in the Woods Puzzle, followed by the gorgeous Holy Family Jigsaw Puzzle and the They Come Bearing Gifts Puzzle for Epiphany. In 2012 we assembled the beautiful Glorious Nativity 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle and this lovely stained glass puzzle.  Last year we assembled "The Invitiation" - a gorgeous Noah's Ark themed 1,000 piece puzzle and also assembled this lovely 12 Days of Christmas Puzzle during the 12 days of Christmas.

This year I was excited to discover this beautiful new Stained Glass Nativity 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle! Isn't it gorgeous?! I will probably wrap it up as the special treat for the "O Emmanuel" Antiphon.   I also have this Christmas Angel puzzle that I purchased last year that I hope to assemble with the children as well, just as soon as our Christmas break from school begins.

A Christmas Angel

#6: Saint Blessing Blocks

Saint Blessing Blocks

Charlotte emailed me the link to this brand new Etsy shop! I've made my own Saint Blocks in the past and they were a lot of work… These little blocks are reasonably priced at just $5 each!  I placed an order for the Deluxe Nativity (birthday gift for Bud), the December Feasts Saint Blocks, and 5 additional Catholic Saint Blocks. There were additional saints that I would have loved to add to my order, but those will have to wait until Easter.

UPDATED with new photo: These weren't suppose to arrive until tomorrow afternoon, but the mailman just dropped them off! St. Nicholas must have helped get them here in time for his feast tomorrow! :) 

Speaking of Saint toys, Last year I shared the Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Nicholas Collectible Vinyl Figure from Shining Light Dolls… It looks like they have a couple new dolls available including St. Patrick and Our Lady of Fatima. 

Also, be sure to keep an eye on Charlotte's Etsy shop. She sold out of Saints n' Stitches Kits pretty quickly the other day, but she might list more on Monday. 

#7: Gift Ideas

I posted about Christmas in Harvard Square when it was first released in October, but wanted to remind you all again that it would make a lovely Christmas gift!

I also wanted to mention Treasure and Tradition for anyone out there who would like to learn more about the Latin Mass. It is a gorgeous new book from St. Augustine Academy Press and I'm looking forward to reading my review copy! 

You can find my past "Fun Finds For Advent" in the archives:  

Preparing for Christmas :: Seven Fun Finds for Advent (2013)

Preparing for Advent: A Few Fun Finds for 2012

Preparing for Advent: A Few Fun Finds (2011)

Links for Advent & Christmas Planning From the Archives

Preparing for Christmas :: Seven Fun Finds for Advent

Advent has arrived and the Christmas countdown has begun!  Tonight we will light the first candle on our Advent Wreath, draw names for our Christkindl just like we did last year, and unwrap our first book after our family Rosary and Christmas Novena!  I ♥ Advent! 

My St. Andrew Chaplet from Mary Devotions

The past few years I have shared some of my "Fun Finds for Advent."  I had every intention of finishing up this year's post last Monday or Tuesday before our guests arrived for Thanksgiving, but I just wasn't able to squeeze it in... Even though it is a little late, here is what we are adding to our usual traditions for this Advent!  

#1: Wise Men ADVENTures 

Playmobil Three Wise Kings and Nativity 

Inspired once again by Catholic Inspired, we are going to be enjoying some Wisemen Adventures this Advent!  The Wise Men had one last game of Farkle to finish last night before they set out to search for the Christ Child... Our oldest two boys (who will be keeping the wise men on the move all through Advent!) are having so much fun with this already!  And I couldn't resist emphasizing the "ADVENT" in Adventures.  :)

It's not too late to join the fun!  Put that Elf back on the shelf and pick up some Wise Men!  ;) We will be using the Playmobil Wise Men, but any would work just fine.  I read that Jennifer will be hosting a link-up, so be sure to take pictures each day!

#2: The Jesse Box 

I also pulled out The Jesse Box! I was given this last year as a sample, but just didn't have the time to review it back then.  I pulled it out this week and am so excited to use it with my children this year.   (Update:  You can find all the details and additional downloads, activities and lesson ideas on the website created by the makers of The Jesse Box.) 

Each week we will be creating a new scene based on the Gospel Reading for the week! 

#3: The New Holy Heroes Jesse Tree DVD

I'm simplifying our Jesse Tree (or perhaps I should say trees!) readings this year with the help of Holy Heroes brand new Jesse Tree DVD!  The videos for each day will coordinate perfectly with our new Jesse Tree Swap ornaments as well, and I have also printed out the ornaments for the little ones to color too!  

#4: Saints of Advent

St. Nicholas Collectible Vinyl Figure and Our Lady of Guadalupe

Saint Nicholas from Shining Light Dolls will be making an appearance in our home this December 6th and Our Lady of Guadalupe with arrive on December 12th!  Our three girls will also discover Our Lady of Knock, Our Lady of Czestochowa and Our Lady of Lourdes in their Christmas Stockings! When I originally saw these online I wasn't sure I'd like them or not, but they are just as cute as can be in person! 

As cute as the vinyl dolls are, I really LOVE wooden toys!  This past summer, during a special sale, I purchased some more wooden dolls from Armadillo Dreams.  I've posted pictures of our sweet Santa Lucia doll in the past. St. Nicholas will arrive on December 6th and the Star Boy will join Santa Lucia on December 13th.  I also had just enough in my Paypal account (from All About Learning affiliate sales - thank you!) to also purchase the Nativity Set at the discounted price! I am planning on giving that to the family during the O Antiphons for "O Emmanuel." 

#5: Advent Calendars

I love that Advent begins on December 1st this year and so nicely coordinates with our favorite Advent Calendar!  Along with our original Jesse Tree, this Advent Calendar (pictured above) was one of our very first Advent traditions... It is still a favorite! 

Playmobil Forest Winter Wonderland Advent Calendar

This year, since Advent doesn't often land on December 1st, I did something I have never done before and bought a few totally secular fun Advent Calendars for the children.  Originally I had just bought the Playmobil Winter Wonderland calendar (for Snuggles and Bud to share), but with the great sales this past week I added the two lego calendars (for the four older children to share) as well, along with a chocolate calendar for my husband and Rose!  

  

Lego Friends Advent Calendar, Lego City Advent Calendar and Chocolate Advent Calendars

(*all way over priced at the moment...) 

"Mama!  Deer, Deer!" Yep, I knew he would love that!  :)

#6: A New Family Puzzle

Our family really loves to assemble puzzles during Advent!   In 2010 we assembled the Our Lady of Guadalupe Puzzle. In 2011 the kids loved The Nativity in the Woods Puzzle, followed by the gorgeous Holy Family Jigsaw Puzzle and the They Come Bearing Gifts Puzzle for Epiphany. Last year we assembled the beautiful Glorious Nativity 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle and this lovely stained glass puzzle. 

This year we are going to assemble "The Invitiation" - a gorgeous Noah's Ark themed 1,000 piece puzzle (along with this Ark-Full Animals Puzzle or this Animal Alphabet for the younger ones) to go along with some of our Jesse Tree readings! I'm also still considering this lovely 12 Days of Christmas Puzzle for during the 12 days of Christmas.... So pretty!

#7: Celebrating Advent and Christmas with Children

Celebrating Advent and Christmas with Children is a brand new book by Colleen Rooney which was just released last month!  Colleen kindly offered to send me a review copy along with a second copy to offer to one of my visitors here at Shower of Roses!  

It is such a beautiful book, packed with great ideas and recipes, and is a welcomed addition to my collection.  I look forward to trying some of her ideas with my own family soon! 

Amazon is currently offering Celebrating Advent and Christmas with Children at a 41% discount, you can currently purchase the Kindle version for only $3.99, or you can enter the giveaway below to possibly win a FREE copy here at Shower of Roses! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the additional "Fun Finds For Advent" in the archives:  

Preparing for Advent: A Few Fun Finds for 2012

Preparing for Advent: A Few Fun Finds (2011)

Links for Advent & Christmas Planning From the Archives

I hope you all have a very blessed Advent! 

Preparing for Advent :: A Few Fun Finds for 2012

As you might have noticed, I've been spending some time preparing for Advent!   Each year my goal has been to be ready before the baby arrives by the first Sunday of Advent, having all my shopping completed, but that doesn't always happen.   I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week already!   Anyways, I still have quite a few decisions to make for this year but, like I did last year, I thought I'd share a few of the new things I have set aside for this Advent.

The last couple years we have been assembling a puzzle (or two!) each Advent.   In 2010 we assembled the Our Lady of Guadalupe Puzzle.  Last year the kids loved The Nativity in the Woods Puzzle, followed by the gorgeous Holy Family Jigsaw Puzzle and the They Come Bearing Gifts Puzzle for Epiphany.  For this year I considered the Peaceful Prince Jigsaw Puzzle and this O Star of Bethlehem Snow Globe Puzzle, but in the end I settled on this beautiful Glorious Nativity 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzle.  (I'm also planning on ordering this one for one of this year's O Antiphon Gifts, but more on that later!)

We always set up a card table to use for assembling our Advent/Christmas Puzzles.  This year I purchased a beautiful Silent Night Table Cover to place over the card table.   (For those of you that don't have a second table option for puzzles, this Stow & Go might be a good solution.)  

I have our Advent Prepare and Rejoice Mantel letters ready to go, and this year I will also be covering our mantel with this lovely Silent Night Mantle Scarf! (It is also available from Catholic Embroidery.) 

I always spend lots of time in the kitchen, especially during Advent and Christmas.  This year I ordered the lovely Venite Adoremus (O Come Let Us Adore Him) Apron made by Catholic Embroidery... I actually offer it for sale over at Catholic Cuisine or you can enter a giveaway for one over at Catholic Embroidery's Blog!

Our He's Coming! The Importance of Advent CD by the Altar Gang isn't new, we've owned it since it came out 5 years ago, but it hasn't been pulled off the shelf in quite some time.  I think my younger children, especially, are going to love listening to it!  Here are links to the MP3 download and CD, or you can purchase them from Holy Heroes.

After seeing Catholic Embroidery's recommendation, I pre-ordered Advent at Ephesus from The Benedictines of Mary. According to their website, a significant amount of the proceeds will go directly to their community. In addition to assisting them with their present needs, the funds will also go towards the future construction of our permanent monastery building! (I ordered mine directly from the sisters, but it is also available from Amazon.)

How are your Advent plans coming along?  I'd love to hear about them in the comments!