I thought it might be helpful for our family to have resources compiled for the month ahead so that we can plan in advance which special saints days we want to observe and I hope having them all in one place is helpful to you, too!
And I pinned all of the following resources on a December Liturgical Living pinterest board for your convenience!
As always, remember not to get overwhelmed. You don’t have to observe every saints day! (We certainly don’t at our house.) The liturgical year is a gift. It shouldn’t feel like a burden!
The Season of Advent (November 29th-December 24th):
- Begin the St. Andrew Christmas Novena and pray it 15 times from November 30th (St. Andrew’s Feast) to Christmas Day. I made a printable you can download for free.
- Superstition, Trust, and Imperfect Prayer: Thoughts on the St. Andrew Christmas Novena: Amongst Lovely Things
- Light your Advent Candles!
- How We Celebrate Advent: Carrots for Michaelmas
- DIY Advent Countdown Craft: Two Os Plus More
- My Eco-Friendly DIY Advent Wreath: Becoming Peculiar
- Advent: Nourish Your Spiritual Life and Avoid the Holiday Burnout: Kitchen Stewardship
- 24 Day Printable Advent Calendar: Audrey Eclectic
- Choosing Peace This Advent When You’re a Mom to Littles: Fountains of Home
- A Gradual Advent: Franciscan Mom
- Free Advent Activities for Kids: Look to Him and Be Radiant
(You can find more resources for observing Advent in our liturgical year ebooks Feast! and More Feasts!)
Advent Music:
- Advent Playlist: Wonder: Carrots for Michaelmas
- Advent Playlist: Sleepers, Wake!: Carrots for Michaelmas
Book Suggestions:
27 Picture Books for Advent and Christmas: Carrots for Michaelmas (updated)
November 30th: St. Andrew
- Have a simple fish dinner in honor of this fisherman saint. (We have a recipe for Tahini Tilapia in our first liturgical year book: Feast!)
December 6th: St. Nicholas
Faith and Little Ones:
- New Shoes and St. Nicholas Day: Carrots for Michaelmas
- St. Nicholas Day printable coloring page: Audrey Eclectic
Celebrating Around the Table:
- St. Nicholas Spice Cookies: Kitchen Stewardship
- Dutch Speculaas Cookies: Life Your Way
Book suggestion:
The Legend of St. Nicholas by Demi
December 8th: The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Don’t forget it’s a Holy Day of Obligation, so get thee to Mass!
December 9th: Ven. Fulton Sheen
Ways to celebrate this faithful son of the Church on the anniversary of his death at A Knotted Life.
December 12th: Our Lady of Guadalupe
Celebrating Around the Table:
- Make Carnitas to celebrate Our Lady of Guadalupe! (Find our recipe in our new cookbook, More Feasts!)
Book Suggestion:
Our Lady of Guadalupe by Tomie dePaola
December 13th: St. Lucy
Food for Thought:
- Light of St. Lucy: Daniel Stewart for Catholic Exchange
Celebrating Around the Table:
- St. Lucia Bread: Catholic Playground
Book Suggestion:
Lucia Saint of Light by Katherine Bolger Hyde
December 17th: The Golden Nights (O Antiphons) Begin
- Celebrating the O Antiphons: Shower of Roses
December 25th: Christmas (Beginning of Christmastide)
- Our Twelve Days of Christmas: Carrots for Michaelmas
- Orange Pomanders (Super easy kid-friendly holiday craft): Carrots for Michaelmas
- Celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas (and how it made my Advent better): A Knotted Life
- Twelve Days of Family Christmas Movies: Catholic All Year
And we love this coloring book by Holy Heroes.
Do you have any special traditions for holy days in December? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!
(Some links in this post are affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Carrots!)
What a great list!
Thanks, Suzi!
Hi Haley! I love your post! It has encouraged me to change a few ways that I celebrate December (we don’t really celebrate Feast days), Advent and even Christmas. Thank you for linking your old posts too…. great ideas to celebrate.
Thanks so much, Peggy!
A friend gave us a beeswax candle-making kit so we will make those on St Lucy’s feast day (Feast of light!) Also, if you have an active Hispanic community in your area, see if a celebration is planned for Our lady of Guadalupe. Our parish hosted a celebration beginning at 6am with Mass and then AMAZING traditional dancing and Mexican food. We were welcomed and along with celebrating our Lady, I enjoyed learning about another culture. Our kids loved it!
Oh that’s a good idea!
Great resources!
<3
Where can I get some of those CUTE shoes for my girl?! What a great idea for St. Nicholas Day!
They’re from a company called Lil’Fut!
Hayley,
Thank you so much for these liturgical living posts, they are so handy!
I love your playlists, especially. I have been meaning to put some Advent music together on Spotify, and am so glad you did it instead!
Elizabeth Foss has some great suggestions for Advent/Christmas around the world. Between your post and her’s I have a huge stack waiting for me at the library. http://www.elizabethfoss.com/journal/yhavjusuq827mdi7gh70r4v8t8pd9v
I’ll have to check out her post! Thanks, Jackie!
Great collection Haley, it is so helpful to have it all in one place.
I second finding a Feast of the Guadalupe celebration. We accidentally attended one a few years a go and feel in love with the celebration.
Thanks, Amy!
Another book suggestion for Our Lady of Guadalupe is The Beautiful Lady.
I’ll have to get it from the library! Thanks, Kate!
Great post! I was just think today that I really need a list for December to keep myself organized. Also, thanks for the music suggestions. I love incorporating music.