4 Steps to an All Saints Day Picnic & Party (with FREE Printables!)

Doh!  I goofed up this year and let All Saints Day get too close before securing a location for our local Catholic homeschool community's annual All Saints Day party.

Thus, I am praying that the rain ends early or stays at bay this All Saints Day and that temperatures are mild so that we can enjoy an outdoor All Saints Day Picnic and Party.

I am also changing up the way I usually plan our All Saints Day party to make it easier to throw together last-minute and to facilitate outside.

In case you'd like to borrow ideas for your own outdoor All Saints Day Party, I thought I'd share my 4-step plan here.

1- Snack and Sip with the Saints

What's a picnic without food?

If you're planning an All Saints Day Picnic & Party, the first step will be planning food.

That doesn't have to be difficult.  Just consider snacks and sips that will be welcome in your climate.

For example, I am in New England, where All Saints Day tends to be a bit crisp, thus, I am planning to make some Saint Charles Borromeo Hot Spiced Apple Cider and St. Juan Diego's Mexican Hot Cocoa ahead of time and to have them warm in thermoses to share. (Tent cards for these are included in this free printable.)

Beyond that, let the idea of a potluck be your friends. Simply welcome guests to bring whatever dishes and drinks they wish and bestow on each a "saintly name" like the ones pictured below as they get put on a picnic table or blanket.

2- Kick Off with Prayer

No Holy Day is complete without prayer, so besides going to Mass on All Saints Day, it is a wonderful idea to add prayer to your All Saints Day Picnic & Party.

I suggest opening with with a chat about the significance of the day and then praying this prayer found on Pray More Novenas.

Prayer for All Saints Day 

Dear God, thank you for the example of the Saints.  I desire to join in their company, worshiping you forever in Heaven. Please help me follow their footsteps, and yours, Jesus Christ. Please help me to conform myself to Your image, seeking Your will in all things, as the Saints did. Please help me to devote myself, and all that I do, to Your glory, and to the service of my neighbors. Amen.

After that, have families introduce themselves and the saints any children have dressed up as and pray the Mini-Lintany of Saints, perhaps with a procession.

3- Play with the Saints 

Then of course, it will be time for saint-inspired games!

You can prepare a couple yourself and ask fellow party-goers to come with an activity, too. Some games can be sit-down ones and some more active. 

For example, this year, I am planning:

• Saint Pictionary: I will be bringing several saint books, some dry erase markers, and a self-standing dry-erase board. One child will open to a random page of a saint book and begin drawing the saint pictured on that page. When another child guesses the saint correctly, that person can pick a prize and become the next drawer. At the end of the game, all participants may pick a prize.
• All Saints Obstacle Course: Using ideas from past All Saints Day Party Challenge Sheets as well as some new ideas, children will be challenged to move through an obstacle course as quickly as they can. Each child who completes the course will be offered an opportunity to pick a prize and the children with the fastest times can pick another prize. The challenges in the obstacle will likely be Pivoting like St. Paul (using our Twist and Shape board, though a Simply Fit Board or a Sit-n-Spin would work just as well), then Journeying like St. Joan of Arc (running with play armor, a play sword, and pool noodle banner), then Leaping like St. John the Baptist (by jumping over hurdles made with plant stakes and pool noodles), before Balancing St. Augustine's Books (by walking over a raised wooden beam with a book on the head), Sending Roses like St. Therese (by throwing artificial flowers down into a basket), before, finally, Finishing the Race like All Saints (by running back to the starting line). 

I have made a free printable with challenge sheets for each of these All Saints Day Obstacle Course events, which you are welcome to use.

4 - Serve with the Inspiration of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha

Finally, consider adding a service component to your party.
A fitting one for an outdoor party might be to bring some bags and disposable gloves in order to have a Saint Kateri, Patroness of the Environment, Clean Up Scavenger Hunt using a free printable that I made.

With these four steps in mind, it is my hope that you'll enjoy a lovely All Saints Day Picnic & Party.

God-willing, I also pray that the weather here will cooperate so these plans can come to fruition for my own local Catholic homeschool group. If not, we can always use the plans another time and, hopefully, you can, too!

Saints in Heaven, pray for us.