Celebrating the Saints :: Our 2017 Costumes

Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Augustine, St. Francisco Marto, Our Lady of Fatima, St. Jacinta Marto, Sister Lucia Santos, St. Maximilian Kolbe and St. Francis Xavier - All Saints in Heaven, Pray for us! 

.: St. Maximilian Kolbe & St. Augustine :.

Like last year, the boys decided to wear "saintly" t-shirts representing their confirmation saints! Captain (17) is wearing his St. Maximilian t-shirt that he received at the beginning of this school year and Ranger (15) is wearing his brand new St. Augustine t-shirt that arrived in the most recent box from Catholic T-Shirt Club last week! Perfect timing!!

.: Our Lady of Fatima :. 

Sister Lucia and Saints Jacinta & Francisco

Twinkle Toes (14) as Our Lady of Fatima, Bud (age 5) as St. Francisco, Chiquita (age 12) as Sister Lucia, and Rose (age 7) as St. Jacinta

Three of the girls convinced their youngest brother to dress up as St. Francisco to go along with their costumes. They were inspired by the 100th Anniversary of the Apparitions and the canonizations of Francisco and Jacinta earlier this year! 

.: St. Francis Xavier :. 

Snuggles (age 10) as St. Francis Xavier

.: Our Lady of Guadalupe :.

Grace (4 months) as Our Lady of Guadalupe

This favorite costume - made by her Grandma for one of her older sisters over 10 years ago - was a little big on her, but I'm pretty sure it will be too small next year so we made it work!

You can scroll through all our past costumes here.

Happy Feast of All Saints! 

New Picture Book for Our November Book Basket: The All Saints' Day Party {Giveaway}

All Saints' Day is just around the corner and I still haven't decided if I'm up for trying to host our annual All Hallows' Eve party - it may end up just being a small/family party this year - but I DO have a fun new book to add to our October and our November Book Baskets!

The All Saints' Day Party 

"Maggie and Max can't wait for the All Saints' Day party: there will be games and candles and treats . . . and costumes! There's just one problem: they can't decide which saint to dress up as . . . and the party is just a week away! The siblings turn to their friends and family for help, and get introduced to six saints, each of whom had his or her own way of being holy: St. Martin de Porres, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Joseph, St. Josephine Bakhita, and St. Elizabeth of Hungary. Which saint will they be? It's a surprise--you'll have to read the story to see! Join Maggie and Max as they learn about what it takes to be a saint...and how each of us is called to be one."

You can preview the whole book over at Gracewatch Media.  The All Saints' Day Party is available in either paperback or hardcover from Amazon {aff link} and Gracewatch Media.

Gracewatch Media has generously offered to send one of my visitors here at Shower of Roses a copy of the hardcover edition of The All Saints' Day Party!

Please enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter box below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can find our complete list of saint books for the months of October and November here:

Feasts & Seasons :: Our October Book Basket

Feasts & Seasons :: Our November Book Basket

Looking for party ideas? You can find all sorts of All Saints' and All Souls' Printable Decorations, Games and Activities in the archives! 

Celebrating the Saints :: Our 2016 Costumes

St. Olaf, St. Philomena, St. Elizabeth of Hungary, St. Teresa of Calcutta, and St. Andrew the Apostle
All Saints in Heaven, Pray for us! 

I took these pictures on our way to our parish's Trunk-or-Treat and Carnival last Friday night and our children will be wearing them again this evening when we head out to my parents home for the evening.  This is the first year in many years that I won't be hosting our annual All Hallows' Eve party... I'm really sad that I had to cancel it, but I've between working on my health and working so many extra hours, I just don't have the energy this year. Our kids all understand and are very excited to go out to Grandpa and Grandma's.  I just got off the phone with my mom and she is busy in the kitchen making Soup, Chili, Spice Cake, Rice Krispies Treats, and even Caramel Apples!  I'll be bringing along a few games including Saints Bingo and some new All Saints Guessing Jars.

Other than ordering a new St. Teresa costume for our oldest daughter, following the canonization of Mother Teresa, we hadn't put any thought or energy into this year's costumes... Friday afternoon we finally pulled out our two costume boxes and threw together costumes before heading to the church. This is one of those years when I've been very grateful to have a nice collection to choose from!

.: St. Teresa of Calcutta :. 

Twinkle Toes (age 13) dressed as St. Teresa of Calcutta

Costume:  from Our Coats of Many Colors 
(Over the years we have built a well-loved collection of costumes from Our Coats of Many Colors.)
This was a repeat of her 2010 Costume... She was so little back then!

The recently canonized St. Teresa of Calcutta won the prize for the best saint costume!  

.: St. Philomena :. 

Chiquita (age 11) dressed as St. Philomena

Costume: For her costume she used the same dress as last year, but turned it around so it was solid blue in the front. (You can find the Blue Renaissance Princess Costume in a size medium over at Amazon - it's an amazing price right now... Only $12 and I paid over $30!) We tucked in the hood from a red cape that I had used for a costume years ago, for her to wear over the dress. She added our Adjustable Garland of Roses and then made an Anchor/Arrow/Lily using this tutorial. 

.: St. Olaf :. 

Snuggles (age 9) as St. Olaf 

Costume: I had picked up this Viking Costume on a post-Halloween sale at Gymboree a couple years ago. It was too big on Snuggles, but we made it work. He tucked in the way-to-big pants into a pair of his older sister's old boots and added his younger brother's Shield and Sword. An ax would have more accurately represented the images of St. Olaf, but we were sticking what we had on hand. 

.: St. Elizabeth of Hungary :. 

Rose (age 6) as St. Elizabeth of Hungary

Costume: Dress from 2009 St. Margaret of Scotland costume, Veil from Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and St. Brigid costume, Crown from a craft on her 4th Birthday party, a basket filled with some rolls from the store and Crocheted Wool Rosary Roses from The Fig and Thimble pinned around the edges. 

.: St. Andrew the Apostle :. 

Bud (age 4) as St. Andrew

Costume:  Tunic from one of my sibling's childhood saint costumes, shoulder drape repurposed from St. Luke/St. Paul. Ranger and Twinkle Toes made him a X shaped Cross out of cardboard and Chiquita drew a couple fish and attached them to some yarn to finish his costume. He loved it! 

Considering how little time we spent on the costumes, I thought they all came together beautifully!

Our high schoolers didn't dress up, but they are wearing the "saintly" t-shirts that they received in their Easter Baskets earlier this year! Ranger (14) is wearing his St. Peter (and all the popes) t-Shirt and Captain (16) is wearing his St. Benedict t-shirt.  

You can scroll through all our past costumes here. 

Happy All Hallows' Eve and Feast of All Saints! 

All Saints Scavenger Hunt {Third Edition}

Back in 2012 my husband and I created an All Saints Scavenger Hunt {Printable Party Game!} for our annual All Saints Party. The following year we created a second version featuring sixteen additional saints with new clues.

Last year we came up with another new version of the game, with sixteen additional saints including some of the newly canonized saints!  (We actually matched the saints to our All Saints Guessing Jars, which I will try and share the details and printables for next, so that the children could learn a little more about each of the saints featured.)

To play the game, the 16 saint cards are handed out to some of the adults, along with the details if they aren't familiar with the saint. The children each receive the list of clues. Sometimes we pair the younger children with the older children to form teams of two.   The children need to match each clue to the correct saint. Once the child thinks he knows who it is, he will ask the person representing (holding the picture of) the saint. If he is correct the "saint" signs the line next to the correct clue on his child's clue sheet. You can see some pictures of the game being played here.

Download All Saints Scavenger Hunt #3 Clue Sheet

(the printable file includes the answer sheet)

Download Saint Cards

You can find even more All Saints Party Printables here.

St. Michael's Stomp

Last year, for our annual All Hallows' Eve party, I asked each family to bring a game. My friend Aleesa brought along the supplies (the sign pictured above, balloons attached to rubber bands, and fun music) for a St. Michael Stomp!

All of the saints were broken into age groups for the game. When the music started playing the players goal was to stomp and pop the other balloons, staying within the set boundaries and without using their hands. Once their balloon had been popped they were out of the game. 

With today being the feast of Michaelmas, and All Hallows' Eve coming up again next month, I thought it would be fun to share the pictures with you all! 

Mother Teresa held her own against all the other little saints... 

.......rrrrruuuuunnnnnn.......

... and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati was disqualified for his steel-toe hiking boots! 

In the end it came down to, most appropriately, St. Michael himself who ended up being assisted by a piece of grass to defeat St. Louis IX, King of France. Everyone had a blast! 

Download Music for St. Michael's Stomp Here

You can scroll though our past All Hallows' Eve parties, costumes, party printables, and find ideas for Michaelmas in the archives.

St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us!

Celebrating the Saints :: Our Annual All Hallows' Eve Party {2014 Edition}

I am finally preparing for this year's All Hallows' Eve party and realized that I never did share pictures from our 2014 party! I'm taking a little break from party planning this evening to share them now, along with some details about our usual schedule for the evening, what I ask each family to bring, and the additional games we played at our last party. 

I was actually considering taking a break from hosting our party this year, but our children look forward to it ALL. YEAR. LONG. Thankfully, after looking through all these pictures, I'm reminded that it really isn't that hard of a party to host and is such a beautiful way to celebrate the saints with our friends and family! Plus, it's our tradition! At least I now have lots of helpers and we will all get an extra hour of sleep next Sunday morning. ;)

+ + + + + + +

The Schedule for the Evening:

4:00 - Arrive, Outdoor Games

5:00 - Rosary, Litany of the Saints & Group Photo

5:30 - Potluck Dinner/Hearty Appetizers & Refreshments

6:30 - Saint Presentations, Additional Games & Roasting Marshmallows

+ + + + + + +

I purchased big bags of candy at Costco to fill Ora Pro Nobis Candy Boxes and various additional candy or treats to fill the All Saints Guessing Jars. I also watch for Costco's coupon/discount on the 30 count boxes of full size candy bars (I buy one or two, depending on the size of our party) to hand out to each little "saint" as a treat for giving a short presentation on who they came dressed as for the party, along with a little tag/reminder. Each family helps by bringing 1 pound of candy per child they are bringing to the party to be used as prizes for the various games. 

Our party has always been a Potluck. Each family brings a Main Dish OR Hearty Appetizer plus a Side Dish OR Dessert. We provide all the paper plates/napkins/utensils and bottled water. I always have a big pot of Hot Apple Cider simmering on the stove (I love these mulling spices!) and coffee brewing.

You can find my most popular All Saints Party Printables here. 

.: Our 2014 Saints :.

One of the families arrived late and is missing from the group photo, but here are at least most of the saints from our 2014 party. All the costumes were so creative and beautiful!

Celebrating the Saints :: Our 2014 Costumes

St. Patrick, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Michael, St. Luke, St. Margaret of Scotland, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Helena - All Saints in Heaven, Pray for us!

My Mom was out of town if I remember correctly (I think she was at one of my brother's golf tournaments) and Dad has never been a huge fan of big "crowds" (you'd think he'd be use to them by now after raising 12 kids!) but he stopped by for a little visit before our party began to see all the costumes! This picture makes me so happy. 

...and there is the little St. Michael who was missing from the picture with Grandpa! 

.: Decorating Cookies :. 

One of the moms offered to bring cookies for the children to decorate! It was a perfect activity for them to do in shifts as we waited for everyone to arrive. 

Our Lady of Mount Carmel waited until everyone else was finished and there was room to lay Baby Jesus down on the table while she carefully decorated her cookie. 

.: Saint Pictionary :. 

Like usual, my friend Trina coordinated a couple of the games for the party. One of the games she brought was the supplies (a big whiteboard, eraser, markers) to play Saint Pictionary!  She would give each child a saint to draw. The first person to guess correctly would win some candy and then get a turn to draw a saint.  They had a blast!!

"Hey! I know who that is!!! He looks just like me!! IT'S SAINT PATRICK!!!" 

 

"Ummmmm..... Saaaaiiinnnt Therese????"

This was actually the first year we had our patio for the party and it was so nice! 

.: Holy Rosary & Potluck Dinner :.

Once everyone, including Father Carmelo, had arrived we prayed a rosary and litany of the saints. We prayed that we may all one day be Saints in Heaven, as well as for our Departed Clergy, Departed Family, Departed Friends, and for the Forgotten Dead. 

 

After our Rosary, Father blessed the food and led us in prayer once again. Time to eat! 

St. Helena made a Chocolate Cross Cake! (You can find our cross cake pan here.)

.: All Saints Guessing Jars :. 

Apparently the All Saints Guessing Jars are my children's absolute favorite All Hallows' Eve/All Saints' Day Party Game. I guess their friends really love it too and have already been asking them, "Is your mom going to have the Saint Guessing Jars again?!?!?!"

We ended up with a few ties and gave the winners the option of splitting the prize or doing a drawing with the winner's names. We also only allowed each person to win one jar. If they won more than once they choose which of the jars they wanted to keep and the other jar went to the second place winner.  

Captain ended up winning the St. Thomas Aquinas "Smarties", Rascal won the St. Patrick gummy "Snakes", Twinkle Toes won the St. Bernadette Pretzels "Sticks", and Chiquita won the St. Gertude "Holy Souls". 

You can find the details and printables here.

.: St. Isidore's Harvest Tic-Tac-Toe :.

The second game that Trina brought was St. Isidore's Harvest Tic-Tac-Toe. Using sticks and various harvest themed produce, the children all got into groups to play on the patio. 

.: All Saints Scavenger Hunt :.

Next it was time for another All Saints Scavenger Hunt. Trina explained the game to the kids and broke them into groups (older kids with younger kids) while I passed out the Saint Pictures/Answers to the older teens/adults and the list of clues to the children. 

The goal is to match each clue to the correct saint. Once the child thinks he knows who it is, he will ask the person representing (holding the picture of) the saint. If he is correct the "saint" signs the line next to the correct clue on his child's clue sheet.

I loved St. Lawrence's costume! 

.: Saint Presentations :.

As always I had special treats for all the children who came dressed as a saint and stood up to share a little bit about him/her with everyone.

.: All Hallows' Eve Bonfire :.

.: Saint Bingo :.

We played All Saints Bingo again this year...
...and then my kids stayed up extra late swapping candy with some of their friends. 

"Anyone interested in a cord of Smarties?"  ;) 

Almighty and eternal God, who hast granted us to venerate the merits of all Thy saints in one celebration: we beg Thee to bestow upon us the desired abundance of Thy mercy on account of this great number of intercessors. 

All Saints in Heaven, Pray for us!