St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Charades {A Free Printable}

 Are you planning to celebrate Elizabeth Ann Seton's feast day this January 4th? 

If so, any alphabet-themed eats could be fun, or get ideas from Catholic Cuisine.

Then, you could read a story about St. Elizabeth Ann Seton or watching A Time for Miracles, which is free on Youtube.

Finally, you could play St. Elizabeth Ann Seton charades!

My children have been having fun with charades lately, so I put together a FREE printable St. Elizabeth Ann Seton game. 

To play, simply cut the 20+ cues into strips and place them face down. Have a player draw one strip and act out the large bolded word or phrase without using any words. When someone guesses the word, briefly discuss its connection to St. Elizabeth Seton. Then, have whoever guessed the word take the next turn.

Have fun.

O God, who crowned with the gift of true faith Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton's burning zeal to find you, grant by her intercession and example that we may always seek you with diligent love and find you in daily service with sincere faith. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

~The Collect

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, pray for us.

A Free Printable Family Game for Christmas!

Are you looking for a silly way to spend a family game night during the 12 Days of Christmas?

Perhaps the FREE Christmas Word Puzzle Cards my daughter and I just made can help you!

{Some links which follow are affiliate ones.}

The cards are modeled after the game Mad Gab from Mattel.

To use them, simply print the first sheet of cards and cut them out.

Then, break your family into two teams. Flip a timer, have a player from Team One draw and read a card, for example: "Egg Wrist Mask Herald".

Then, have the rest of the players on Team One guess what Christmas related word or phrase the card is giving a clue to (A Christmas Carol).

If the team guesses correctly before the timer runs out, they keep the card, score a point, and go again, continuing until the timer runs out. 

When the timer runs out, the other team can have one chance to guess an unguessed card, stealing the card/point. Then, the other team goes.

Whichever team has the most cards/points at the end wins, much like in the Mattel game Mad Gab, which I remembered from my younger years and told my kids about today.

After I did so, my daughter wanted to see more about the game, so we watched a Youtube video of people playing it.

We then decided it would be fun to make and try out our own cards using a Christmas theme.

So, we set to work and think you will enjoy the fruits of our fun labor and be able to solve the puzzles cards we created.

Just in case you cannot, though, we included a second sheet of cards with the solutions to each puzzle.

Have a blessed and merry Christmas and a fun family time playing!

It's Time to Get the Donuts... for Our Donut Stable Christmas Tradition

"Donuts!"

That was my youngest son's answer when I asked my children what one food each of them would like to see on the table on Christmas day.

His answer made me smile.

For I had asked my question thinking about how different our 2020 Christmas will be in comparison to Christmases past - with so many traditions on pause since COVID-crazy will prevent us from having our usual extended family gathering, and my son had answered, unexpectedly, with one thing that could remain traditional: donuts!

Yes. Donuts.

When my children were quite young, I used to make a cake on Christmas morning - a birthday cake for baby Jesus.

We would gather, sing happy birthday to Jesus, and blow out a candle. 

Then, one year, the cake changed to a stable. (I think it was because one year I did not have the time to make a cake, so grabbed GFCF donuts I had hidden in the freezer as a treat and made a donut stable.

Ever since, my children have eagerly looked forward to donut stables on Christmas and Epiphany...

And a corresponding open tomb on Easter.

Simple. Traditional (for us). And the first thing that came to my youngest's mind when thinking about our table at Christmas.

A donut stable, there will be!

And a warm, happy heart there is inside of me. What a delight for a tradition to hold up even in the COVID-crazy of 2020.

Does your family have a unique-to-you tradition that helps you celebrate the joy of Christmas morning, too?

Secretly Gift a St. Nicholas Basket {An Advent Tradition}

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

I pray you and yours had a lovely feast day.

Here, along with waking to goodies in shoes, reading "virtue letters" from St. Nicholas, and going to Mass, my children and I made time for a long-time family tradition: gifting a neighbor with a St. Nicholas basket!

If you're looking for a fun idea for encouraging secret service and neighborhood cheer, St. Nicholas neighborhood baskets are an easy and enjoyable way to do it!

We first heard about the idea six years ago when I was researching ideas for a St. Nicholas Sensing the Saints Playdate. 

Since then, each year, we cut out paper snowflakes...

... fill a real basket...

...or a homemade paper one...

...with goodies...

... print out The Story of St. Nicholas from the St Nicholas Center website and walk to a neighbor's house...

... to secretly spread St. Nicholas' story.

Some years, we have been delighted to see snowflakes popping up on other doorways in our neighborhood. 

Other years, we are just happy to gift some happiness to whatever family we drop a basket to whether they share forward or not. All years, we enjoy spreading some secret cheer close to home.

Perhaps you and yours will enjoy this tradition, too.

However you choose to spend your St. Nicholas Day, we pray is blessed with love and service.

Saint Nicholas, you were a kind and generous man and a special friend of children. I pray that I may always show my gratitude to people who are good to me. May I return their kindness with love and may I never hesitate to share their care with others. Amen.