By Susan Ciancio
If you are like me, on Christmas morning you want each of your family members to open at least one thing that will enhance their understanding of or show the beauty of our Catholic faith. After all, we would not have Christmas if it weren’t for the gift of our Lord.
Keeping Christ in Christmas means that we should focus on the gift of Christ throughout Advent, take time to reflect on His birth, and then start the new year with excitement for our faith.
During Advent, you can anticipate the joy of Christmas by reading one of our daily reflection booklets with your family. This year, our reflection booklet The Mysteries of Advent follows the 20 mysteries of the rosary to help you and your family grow closer to Jesus and His mother. Each day we explore and reflect upon a new mystery as we encourage you to picture yourself as a silent companion to Jesus and Mary.
When we take time to focus on the life of Jesus and on the beauty of motherhood, we will be much more mentally prepared to welcome Baby Jesus on Christmas morning. This gift of Christ is something we should embrace throughout the year. And when we give Catholic presents to our family members, we help them focus all year long on the presence of God in our daily lives.
Because so many people have asked us for authentic Catholic Christmas gift ideas, we created this gift guide. Below are 20 of our favorite ideas for Catholic gifts that you can put under your tree this year.
Gifts for young children
Author Maria Riley will excite your young readers with this charming series for children ages 6-10. So far, she has written four books in this series (St. Joseph, St. John Bosco, St. Therese of Lisieux, and St. Joan of Arc). All the books follow three siblings who travel back in time to meet a saint who then teaches them valuable lessons about our faith. The siblings not only learn about this saint’s life but are able to apply his or her lesson to their lives.
Holy Heroes Spiritual Adoption Set
“The Holy Heroes Adventure Guide helps the whole family take part in praying every day for nine months, while also learning fascinating information about your ‘adopted’ baby’s development. The activity book includes fun word puzzles, mazes, coloring pages, and even fingerprint art – all to help keep children motivated and engaged as they move through the stages of the Prayer Adventure and learn about the miracle of life.”
“PRO-LIFE KIDS! is a one-of-a-kind children’s book created by Bethany Bomberger, an adoptive mom, educator and co-founder of The Radiance Foundation. It is an adorably illustrated journey that reinforces the value of every human life, in and out of the womb.”
“This picture book is a celebration of your humanity and your human development – one of the most extraordinary phenomena in all of science and nature. When You Became You features glorious illustrations and the biological science of human embryology to introduce the continuum of human life. It takes you on a scientific journey through the stages of a human being’s life.”
“The First 56 Days of You teaches young readers about the awe-inspiring human development of the embryonic period. While journeying through a beautiful science museum exhibit, students are introduced to the internationally accepted Carnegie Stages of Human Embryonic Development, which document the objective scientific facts of the first 56 days of a human being’s life.”
Delve into the life of Blessed Carlo Acutis—a young man who will become the first Millennial saint. This book for young readers explores his life, his love of the Eucharist, and how he drew others to the Catholic faith.
“This delightful rhyming book introduces Catholic children to the Blessed Virgin Mary in a fun and simple way-through her clothes!”
My Pray and Play Busy Book – A Quiet Felt Book
“An engaging, interactive, Montessori style, quiet felt book to introduce children to the wonders of Scripture and the Catholic faith. Created with vibrant colors from durable felt, this book is crafted to captivate and educate children for hours of fun!”
My First Interactive Mass Book
“Engage children in the Mass and inspire them to love the Holy Eucharist! Beautiful artwork and hands-on activities like wheels, flaps, and tracing invite children into the beauty of the Mass. Simple explanations and prayers of the Mass provide a deeper understanding for little ones.”
A Place for Me in God’s Family Tree
“More than just a recounting of the genealogy of Jesus, A Place for Me in God’s Family Tree reveals the captivating story of salvation history in an age-appropriate way with The Bible Timeline™ Learning System—the same system that serves as the basis of the chart-topping podcast The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)™.”
Gifts for older children and adults of all ages
“Pocket Guide to Prayer is a beautiful, inspiring book written by Edward and Beth Sri, with contributor Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, CFR, that gives anyone confidence in knowing God and building a relationship with him. As an ‘on-ramp’ into understanding the various tools for prayer that the Church offers us, this pocket guide will help Catholics build a fulfilled and deeply satisfying prayer life.”
This book tells the incredible story of Dr. Scott Hahn’s spiritual journey that led both him and his wife to the Catholic Church. Through chapters written by both Scott and his wife, this book illustrates the beauty of Catholicism and will appeal to Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
“Discover the echoes of Mary throughout the timeline of Scripture. Throughout the history of the Bible, incredible women have played a part in the story of salvation. Steeped in Scripture, the Blessed Mother would have known and pondered the stories of these women. She might even have recognized pieces of her own story in theirs. Following the Great Adventure Bible Timeline, the same one used in The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz)™ podcast, Whispers of Mary: What Twelve Old Testament Women Teach Us About Mary invites Catholics to explore Marian typology through the lives of women like Eve, Esther, and Judith.”
Show off your pro-life beliefs and spark conversations with this comfy T-shirt in sizes that range from child to adult.
Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Thérèse of Lisieux
“Follow along with season 3 of the Catholic Classics podcast with the Ascension edition of Story of a Soul that is published in collaboration with the Carmelites. This book contains the John Clarke translation which is the only authorized full English translation of Story of a Soul. It also includes expert commentary to make the text more approachable to readers.”
“Amazing 4-D ultrasound imagery features preborn babies from 8 to 34 weeks old as they roll, yawn, spin, smile, blink, stretch and sneeze. Excellent for pro-life counseling and instruction and perfect to show little ones the beauty of the preborn baby.”
“This 52+ card deck of playing cards is intended to introduce core concepts of our faith for the dual purposes of training and ongoing, quick reference, prompting further discussion and deeper understanding.”
Biblical Heroes: Stories of Faith and Courage
“Authored by Mark Hart, chief innovation officer at Life Teen International, and illustrated by Chris Lewis (Baritus Catholic), this compilation of relatable Bible stories presents young Catholics with teenage characters in Scripture who wrestle with the same struggles and questions that they do.”
“The Insight Journal provides Catholics with a system and a place to keep track of insights revealed through walking with the Lord. The Insight Journal keeps precious memories of God’s goodness, key Bible verses, quotes, and more from fading with time.”
Tearing Us Apart—How Abortion Harms Everything and Solves Nothing
“Ryan T. Anderson, a compelling and reasoned voice in our most contentious cultural debates, and the pro-life journalist Alexandra DeSanctis expose the false promises of the abortion movement and explain why it has made everything worse.”
We hope that some of these gifts will help in your journey to increase your faith and keep Christ not only in your Christmas but in your daily lives throughout the year.