Celebrating the Saints :: Our 2019 Costumes

St. Lucia, St. Cecilia, St. Pio, St. Zelie, The Little Flower, St. Louis and St. Philomena - All Saints in Heaven, Pray for us! 

"On the feasts of the saints consider their virtues, and beseech God to deign to adorn you with them." - St. Teresa of Jesus

.: St. Lucia :.

Twinkle Toes (age 16) as St. Lucia

Twinkle Toes didn't decide on a costume until the day before so that really limited her options. We don't have much in the costume boxes in teen/adult sizes! She ended up going with St. Lucia!
Can you believe that Santa Lucia Day is NEXT MONTH already?!?

.: St. Philomena :. 

Chiquita (age 14) as St. Philomena

This is a repeat costume from three years ago, but she really wanted to be St. Philomena again here at our new parish. Plus she is planning to choose St. Philomena as her Confirmation Saint next spring. 

She had outgrown the old blue costume, but this beautiful dress worked perfectly, plus she didn't need to wear it backwards like last time! We ordered it in a women's size small. It took us awhile to find our Rose Garland for her head, but it all came together and she looked so pretty! 

.: Sts. Louis & Zelie Martin and their Little Flower :. 

Snuggles (age 12) as St. Louis Martin and Rose (age 9) as St. Zelie

Lily (2 months) as The Little Flower

Rose and Bud were both trying to get their older brother to dress up with them - Rose wanted him to be St. Louis and Bud wanted him to be St. Pio as his bilocating double! We were able to round up the stuff for a St. Louis costume, so that won. The only thing I purchased for his costume was this watch.

St. Zelie's costume was super easy with this medium sized costume from Amazon. She also rounded up a doily and some knitting needles for her lace work to carry around. Her idea!

.: St. Pio of Pietrelcina :.

Bud (age 7) as St. Pio

The fake beard we ordered for this costume was so fun and kept him toasty warm for the outdoor games up here in Northern Idaho, plus it looked so cute! After I took a picture of him standing, he asked me to take one more and knelt down to pray. Love this little guy! 

.: St. Cecilia :.

 

  

Grace (age 2) as St. Cecilia

St. Cecilia is aways popular with our girls. Twinkle Toes dressed up as her back in 2007 and Rose dress up as her in 2011. We reused Rose's costume and picked up a new wig. 

I love the long blond wigs on tiny little girls... So cute! 

We're missing the older boys, who are both back at Christendom, but we sure loved having them home for fall break last week. Won't be long and they'll be back for Christmas and winter break!

You can scroll through all our past costumes here.

Happy Feast of All Saints! 

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 Guessing Jars {18 More Saints!}

The All Saints Guessing Jars have been such a hit at our past All Hallows' Eve Parties.  Last year we coordinated the jars to (mostly) match the third edition of our All Saints Scavenger Hunt.

It's always so fun looking for ways to connect yummy treats to saints and their symbols. We also made sure to include the saints who had been recently canonized! We included Candy Watches for St. Louis Martin, Lace Cameos for St. Marie-Azelie Martin, and Chocolate Mission Bells for St. Junipero Serra.

As usual I used my Wide Mouth Mason Jars with White Storage Lids for each jar.

There were a couple tags I made that I didn't get around to filling jars for: candy spiders for St. Felix inspired by the book Saint Felix and the Spider and candy roses for St. Elizabeth of Hungary inspired by Roses in the Snow. Maybe this year! 

Here are some pictures of this jars all filled and ready for the party:    

St. Louis Martin ::  Candy Watches

Together with his holy wife, this watchmaker nurtured the sanctity of all their children, but especially their youngest, a Carmelite Saint known to us as the Little Flower who wrote: "God gave me a father and mother more worthy of heaven than of earth."

Together with his holy wife, this watchmaker nurtured the sanctity of all their

children, but especially their youngest, a Carmelite Saint known to us as the Little

Flower who wrote "God gave me a father and a mother more worthy of heaven

than o

f earth

.

"

St. Marie-Azélie Martin :: Lace Cameos

After repeated attempts to enter religious life, she became a highly skilled lacemaker. Canonized in October 2015, she and her husband are the only married couple ever to become Saints at the same time. 

St. Lucy:: Chocolate Eyeballs

Virgin and martyr who is invoked by persons suffering from eye trouble. Her name derives from the Latin word for light. 

St. Cloud :: Mini-Marshmallow "Clouds"

Grandson of Clovis, King of the Franks. The English form of his name Clodoald is also the patronage name of a Minnesota town. 

St. Junipero Serra :: Chocolate Mission Bells

Spanish Franciscan missionary who founded nine California missions. 

Sts. Mary & Martha :: M&M's

These two sisters were close friends of Jesus. 

 

St. George :: Hot Tamales

Suffered martyrdom and revered as a patron Saints of the Crusades. He is often depicted slaying a fire-breathing dragon. 

Madonna and Child with Six Saints :: Sixlets 

Art historians call this kind of painting a "sacra conversazione," a holy conversation, as the saints are seen 'conversing' with Mary and Jesus in heaven. 

St. Brigid :: Chick-O-Sticks and Cow Tales

Revered as one of Ireland's three patron saints, she is now for spreading monasticism throughout Ireland.

St. Modomnoc ::  Bit-O-Honey

Responsible for the introduction of bees in Ireland. 

Sts. Cyril & Methodius :: Alphabet Cookies from Trader Joe's

Two brothers who became missionaries. One of them invented an alphabet, still used in some Eastern liturgies. 

St. Benedict ::  Lifesavers

The Rule he developed prescribed a life of liturgical prayer, study, manual labor and living together in community under a common father (abbot) and is still used in many monasteries and convents around the world. From his cell, he envisioned a drowning and ordered the victim's rescue. 

Sts. Cosmas & Damian :: Twix (The name Twix is a portmanteau of twin biscuits, or 'twin bix')

Twin brothers who suffered martyrdom in Syria during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian. 

St. Thomas Aquinas "The Dumb Ox" ::  Dum-Dums

Though he was ridiculed for his humility during youth as "the dumb ox", he became a Doctor of the Church. 

St. Elizabeth of Hungary ::  Candy Roses (not pictured above)

While taking bread to the poor in secret, she was asked to reveal what was hidden under her cloak. Upon unfolding the cloak a vision of white and red roses appeared thereby proving God's protecting hand at work. 

St. Christopher ::  Big Hunks! ;)

To keep each person's guesses secret I also created little sheets of paper for each contestant to write their name and guess, before folding it in half and dropping it into an empty jar or bag with a matching label.

I ended up having extras so we used some for the party and then had a second round the following evening for our family All Saints celebration.

Here are the links to the free printable documents: 

18 More Printable All Saints Guessing Jar Labels
Printable Guess Slips

Here are the links to some of our past All Saints Guessing Jars:

All Saints' Party Games :: Saint Themed Guessing Jars

12 More Saint Themed Guessing Jars

You can find even more All Saints Party Printables here.