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I may have mentioned before, but I just love Catholic Child. Not only were they my go-to place when all my daughter really wanted was a Mary doll, but the family that owns the company is just so kind and wonderful. Catholic Child is also a fabulous place to do some of your Christmas shopping this year! (I love when there is at least one gift of a religious nature for such a wonderful Holy Day.)
Be sure to read until the end for a special giveaway from Catholic Child!
Here are some great gift ideas (broken down by ages):
Ages Newborn-3
Amazing Grace CD (Item #16915)
Playmobil Ark for Tots (Item #21922)
Ages 3-6
Beginnings (book) (Item #11443)
Saints & Their Stories (book) (Item #10860)
Little Lamb Prayer Pal (Oh my – look how cute this is!) (Item #20670)
Wee Believer Lacing Toys (Item #21994)
Ages 6-9
Our Lady of Guadalupe, Empress of the Americas (book) (It’s just breathtaking!) (Item #10954)
Ages 9-12
Blood Red Crescent (book) (Item #10957)
Crossbows & Crucifixes (book) (Item #10956)
Holy Spirit tennis bracelet (Item #14240)
Monthly Liturgical Membership
Teens -Young Adult
Praying with the Holy Father Series (book) (Item #10964)
Fairy Tale Novel Shadow of the Bear (Item #10871), as well as the rest of the series
Families
Puzzles! – Great for family fun!
No Room at the Inn puzzle
The Giveaway!
When the people from Catholic Child asked me what I would like to be able to giveaway here on Catholic Mothers Online, I quickly told them that I would love to be able to giveaway a Nativity Set of Cookie Cutters.
How sweet is this, right? (Ha — sweet! Get it?) Anyway, I do think it’s super cute, and I would love to have one of my very own. So, I’m really excited to give one away.
How to enter:
Enter by Saturday, December 17th at 11:59 pm EST using one (or all!) of the entry options below. (Open only to U.S. residents. Other terms and conditions of giveaways.)
Ways to Enter (Leave a separate comment for each entry):
1. Share an idea for a Christmas gift that helps to glorify the true meaning of Christmas.
2. Visit Catholic Child and share one item (not listed here) that you would love to have.
3. Follow Catholic Child on Twitter.
4. Subscribe to Catholic Mothers Online via RSS Reader or through your email.
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what a cool giveaway! I think that for my boys, you can’t go wrong with spiritual books as gifts! I think the more in touch with Christmas that we can keep kids, the better. We always do one spiritual gift for each of them. We also do something similar during Easter instead of just chocolate bunnies! 🙂
THe Christmas story read and play form the Catholic Child would be something I would love to have to play with my toddlers and preschoolers.
I follow Catholic Child on twitter! 🙂 (@ mommypalooza)
I would love to have those spiritual placemats! My kids use placemats for drawing, painging, cuttineg, etc. I just love the way they reflect off the sun.
I subscribe via email! 🙂
Our family idea of a gift for Christmas to each other – is to celebrate with gifts on St. Nicolas’ feast day (Dec 6th) and then focus onward to Christmas. We have really been enjoying not participating in any of the typical rush/frenzy and forgetfulness which seems to be over-taking the real purpose for this time of year. Being in the mind of God’s greatest gift to us – the Christ child.
What a most wonderful idea for cookies – and instead of a gingerbread house!
Christmas is a time for remembering what we were given by God, so we try to demonstrate that with our kids by involving our kids in something(s) that emphasizes giving to others more than receiving.
Sometimes it’s a “doing something for someone” type of activity, sometimes it’s a “what can I give of mine” type thing, sometimes it’s a “let’s be generous with our love and kindness towards this person” type thing. We try to do more than one each year.
It’s so much fun to give a gift to someone who you don’t normally give to. They are so surprised and its a way to show God’s love.
[email protected]
I would love to have the Mother Teresa doll for my daughters!
So many neat things at Catholic Child, but I especially love all the puzzles and the Playmobil Nativity.
[email protected]
I follow Catholic Child on Twitter.
[email protected]
I would love this Infant Jesus for our family to start the tradition of preparing Jesus’ manger for Him with acts of love, sacrifice, or service:
http://www.catholicchild.com/12-INFANT-JESUS-IN-MANGER/productinfo/32126/
Thanks for a chance to win and for the great gift ideas!
One way we glorify the meaning of Christmas in gifts is to give each child 3 gifts, as the baby Jesus got from the wisemen.
LOVE the prayer pillowcases on Catholic Child’s site!
I subscribe via google
I think the pillowcases are great, especially when little children are scared when going to bed.
A Christmas gift that really is all about Christmas is to make a donation in your gift recipient’s name to a worthy charity.
Oh! I’ve never been to that site before. Angel in the Waters book looks lovely to share with big siblings!
an idea for a gift: my girlies received a nativity set for st. nick’s day – not a set that needs to be pretty and up on the mantle, but a set for them to play with and talk about!
oh, i like the magnetic advent wreath! we might have to get that next year…
i follow you through google reader
I have seen Catholic Child but never thought to check the website. I am in love with it and saw several things that will have to be added to wish lists for many of us. 🙂 I really like the tangible, able to hold in your hand, faith learning items. I really like the advent sticker board and the advent story frame. I have 2 age groups and the littles really enjoy things that can be handled. LOL
I subscribed to email! 😉
Every year since we have moved into our home(4 1/2 yrs ago) and joined our new parish we have picked from our giving tree in the back of church and it has always been the littles who picked. They pick from the look of the tags(old christmas cards) and then we get to ‘discover’ who we will purchase for. We always talk about how others may not have what we do and how fortunate we are for what we do have and that we need to bless others even when times are lean(been there, done that). It is something we look forward to, buying for someone and never knowing anything but the wishes, age and whether they are male/female. It is talked about on Christmas as they remember we bought for someone else.
A neat gift from my mother to my oldest daughter is tickets to see Amhal and the Night Visitors. For anyone who isn’t familiar with this opera, it is very short and really great for children and adults. The story takes place during the time of Christ’ s birth. Amhal is a poor cripple boy who lives with his mother, and they are visited by the three magi on their way to visit the Christ child. It’s an amazing story and completely reinforces the true meaning of the Christmas.
We just got Glory Stories from St. Nicholas. My children can listen to the same one over and over again and never get tired of them. We also pull out our “Adornments” that I got when I was a teacher. Each ornaments has a picture with one of Jesus’ names. My children love reading the Bible reference and talking about why Jesus has that name.
The idea I’d like to share is what I came up with last year that we will do again this year for our toddlers. All during Advent the kids would put a piece of yarn (pretend hay) in little boxes (one for each child) each time they were kind, obedient, or good in anyway – to prepare baby Jesus’ manger so that it’s soft & warm for him. Christmas morning, our kids woke up to find a little baby Jesus (cut out from construction paper) asleep on the hay in their boxes. Underneath the hay they found cut-outs of all of their favorite things. We said a prayer thanking Jesus for his birth and all he does for us & for all of our favorite things.
They each got one gift from us as well, but instead of loading them up with lots of gifts, i.e. more “stuff ” they really do not need, we hope that this simple way to help them appreciate what they already have & coming from the stance that all good things come from God, they don’t ever feel the need to buy into a consumerism mentality during this Sacred time of the year (or any other time)!
(We do, however, really like all of these God-centered gift ideas from Catholic Child!!! Thanks for sharing & for a chance to win the cookie cutter set!)
I would love the cookie cutters. They were on my wish list this year but no ca do! 🙂 However, there are many other items to choose from, but the one thing I would love right this moment is one of the Mary dolls for my 2 1/2 year old. She loves my one statue of Mary just a little too much!
I now follow you via Google Reader. I thought I had subscribed once upon a time but guess not!
Hi! I’ve given on of my little guys a copy of Magnifikids, they have a free trial you can get. I ordered the free trial to see if my kids would actually use it and my 7 yr old was thrilled once I remembered to pull it out and give it to him! I think this will really help him to focus at Mass since he is able to follow along with ‘his own’ missal.
Okay, I’ve been to Catholic Kids before and I’m torn between wanting my kiddos to have 1) the guardian angel pillowcase or 2) the St. Michael prayer pillowcase.
We’ve been making a cookie nativity since my kids were little, usually using various candies, etc. the cookie cutters would make this process much easier!
I have followed Catholic Kids on twitter, I am @sarahsalleluia.
I have subscribed to your blog via email. Thank you!
I have my kids make ang give ornament to their friends of different Christmas meaning – In the past they have donw Jessie tree symbols, baby jesus drawings (once a clay birthday cake for Jesus). It is wonderful to see the cleaver ideas that they come up.
One year when I was a kid, my dad wrapped up a birthday cake for Jesus and put it under the tree. (The kind that doesn’t need to be refrigerated!) It was a big surprise to all of us and in the midst of the wrapping paper and presents, it brought us back to the reason for the celebration.
I love the Advent and Christmas placemats!
I love the prayer pillowcases from Catholic Child. There are so many great ones to choose from!
I am so disappointed that this giveaway is only for the US. I live in Canada and follow you blog daily by RSS. I love the website Catholic Child. My young ones would love to play with this on the fridge.
http://www.catholicchild.com/A-CHILD-IS-BORNBRMAGNETIC-PLAYSET-WITH-PLAYBOARD/productinfo/32113/
I love the placemats
For Christmas every year growing up on Christmas eve we would re=enact the Christmas story. Dad (sometimes my brothers) would be the donkey and my sisters and I would (take turns) being Mary with another as St Joseph. The other kids would be innkeepers telling them no room. The last one would show them the way to the Creche scene of where they could rest. We would then (and only then) put baby Jesus in the manager. Then we would sing Away In A Manager, Silent Night etc
What a great giveaway! Thank you for the chance to win!! An item from CatholicChild I am seriously considering ordering as soon as I finish typing this… the magnetic Advent Wreath and the O Holy Night Fridge Magnet set. I have a giant 8 foot x 4 foot magnetic whiteboard in our home office space. These would be great to add to the decorations for next year!
I love the website! So many amazing items for my kids, ages 4, 2, & almost 1. I’ll have to return later to buy some goodies for their church bag!
Some ideas for Christmas that we like to do: On St. Nick’s Day, we talk about who he was, and then the kids go through their books and toys and choose items to donate to St. Vincent DePaul. They were so proud to have filled a large bag for the less fortunate! (Bonus– The play room has more space on the shelves for their Christmas gifts! )
We also give the kids an age appropriate book each Christmas to help deepen their understanding of the faith.
I am an email subscriber.
Thanks so much,
Caterina