It's almost December! Amidst the decorating and shopping and baking, here are some resources to help you and your kids keep your hearts focused on the reason for the Season. As I pulled posts from the archives, this round up grew larger and larger- but don't let that overwhelm you. Choose 2 or 3 things that suit your home of classroom and will help you pray as we look forward to the celebration of the birth of Christ. From books to crafts to meals to Saints and more, there are plenty of tools gathered here to pick from!
Last year Shari Van Vranken and I released our book All about Advent & Christmas: Sharing the Seasons of Hope & Wonder with Children, which you can find at The St. Paul Center here or on Amazon here:
And we've made a whole of resources for the Seasons of Advent and Christmas available for free. Posts are sprinkled below and in various blog posts, but you can find all of them here:
Check out this list for a huge list of books great for Advent & Christmas, as well as St. Francis Xavier, St. Nicholas, the Immaculate Conception, St. Juan Diego & Our Lady of Guadalupe, Fulton Sheen, St. Lucy, and the Holy Family.
Advent: Begins December 1st
My Book- All about Advent & Christmas: Sharing the Seasons of Hope and Wonder with Children
My Book- All about Advent & Christmas: Sharing the Seasons of Hope and Wonder with Children
The Advent Wreath:
Printable Advent Activities:
What Advent Looks Like* Coloring Page
Advent Family Traditions* (printable booklets about the Liturgical Year and December Feast Days)
Advent Traditions for Anyone and Everyone* (Info cards that are easy to display and share- one for the Advent Wreath, Jesse Tree, O Antiphons, Christmas Tree, Nativity Scene, St. Andrew, The Immaculate Conception, St. Lucy, St. Nicholas, Ven. Fulton Sheen, St. Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe)
Advent Prayer Ring* (printable Bible verses for each day of the Season)
Advent Prayer Cards for Each Sunday (Year C)*
Advent Prayer Cards for Each Sunday (Year C)*
Digital/Shareable:
Videos, Music, Activities, and Trivia:
Advent & Christmas Videos (YouTube Playlist)
Advent Music Playlist (YouTube Playlist)
Advent & Christmas Videos (YouTube Playlist)
Advent Music Playlist (YouTube Playlist)
Decorating for Advent (simple ideas for decorating your home for the Season)
Advent Today (Youth Group Activity)
New Liturgical Year Resources
The Liturgical Year Coloring Book*
St. Nicholas: December 6th
Advent Today (Youth Group Activity)
New Liturgical Year Resources
The Liturgical Year Coloring Book*
Liturgical Year Mini Bulletin Board Signs* (Eccl. 3:1 and CCC 1194)
Ideas for Living the Liturgical Year in the Classroom*
Ideas for Living the Liturgical Year in the Classroom*
Decorating for the Liturgical Year
Liturgical Year Printable & Colorable Calendar (Review for Telos Art)
Liturgical Year (Feast Day! Board Game Review)
Liturgical Year Printable & Colorable Calendar (Review for Telos Art)
Liturgical Year (Feast Day! Board Game Review)
St. Nicholas' Many Gifts Bingo Game-Here's a fresh update of an old post! This game is set up so that each child makes their own bingo board. Blank boards and a list of words related to the life of St. Nicholas are provided, making this game perfect to play either after reading a story of St. Nicholas' life or to tell a fact about him as each word is called. Use gold chocolate coins or punch out yellow circles as Bingo markers.
St. Ambrose: December 7th
St. Ambrose coloring pages* (all ages)
Sweeter than Honey Psalm coloring pages* (all ages)
Our Lady of Loreto: December 10th
Our Lady of Loreto Digital Scavenger Hunt (6th & up)
Juan Diego: December 9th
O Antiphons: December 17th-24th
O Antiphons Printable Coloring Books*
St. Ambrose coloring pages* (all ages)
Sweeter than Honey Psalm coloring pages* (all ages)
Included in the Advent Feast Days Booklet*
Immaculate Conception: December 8th (Transferred to Dec. 9th)
Immaculate Conception Block Print*
Immaculate Conception: December 8th (Transferred to Dec. 9th)
Immaculate Conception Block Print*
Included in the Advent Feast Days Booklet*
Venerable Fulton J. Sheen: December 9th
Ven. Fulton Sheen Activities* (all ages)
Venerable Fulton J. Sheen: December 9th
Ven. Fulton Sheen Activities* (all ages)
Ven. Fulton Sheen- Eucharistic Witnesses* (two levels & Spanish)
So, SO many activities under that tab!Our Lady of Loreto: December 10th
Our Lady of Loreto Digital Scavenger Hunt (6th & up)
Juan Diego: December 9th
St. Juan Diego's Miraculous Tilma Fact Sheet & Coloring Page* (two levels & also in Spanish)
St. John of the Cross: December 14th
Gaudete Sunday: December 15th
Bambinelli Sunday: December 15th
O Antiphons Printable Coloring Books*
The O Antiphons Activity Page
O Antiphons Bible Study & Creative Project (Digital Resources)
Christmas:
O Antiphons Bible Study & Creative Project (Digital Resources)
Christmas:
Christmas Printables:
What Christmas Looks Like* Coloring Page
Christmas Activities:
All Natural Woodburned Peg Doll Nativity
Peg Doll Nativity
Animals for a Peg Doll Nativity
Kid Made Peg Doll Nativity
A Stocking for Jesus*
Nativity Photo Booth
Advent & Christmas Videos
Peg Doll Nativity
Animals for a Peg Doll Nativity
Kid Made Peg Doll Nativity
A Stocking for Jesus*
Nativity Photo Booth
Advent & Christmas Videos
Holy Family Block Print-Joseph, Terror of Demons* (Scroll to the bottom)
And just in case you are working ahead, here are a few resources for Epiphany & The Presentation!
Epiphany: January 6th (observed Sunday, January 5, 2025)
Epiphany Home Blessing Kit* (updated through 2026)
My Gift: An Epiphany Readers' Theater*
Gifts of the Magi Google Classroom Assignment
And just in case you are working ahead, here are a few resources for Epiphany & The Presentation!
Epiphany: January 6th (observed Sunday, January 5, 2025)
Epiphany Home Blessing Kit* (updated through 2026)
My Gift: An Epiphany Readers' Theater*
Gifts of the Magi Google Classroom Assignment
The Presentation: February 2nd
Joseph, Lover of Poverty Print (Two Turtledoves)* (Scroll to the bottom)
“For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." ~Matthew 1:18-24