If you’re a teacher, catechist, or parent, you know crafts and activities make the liturgical seasons memorable for young kids.
My kids love doing crafts, so I try to find activities for holy days that are easy for them to do on their own with little help (and little mess!).
Our Lady’s birthday is this Sunday, September 8, and I’ve been thinking about how to celebrate it with my kids.
Some years, we are super busy and all we have time for is singing Happy Birthday to Mama Mary (as my kids call her), and maybe praying a Hail Mary or a decade of the Rosary. But this year, her birthday falls on a Sunday, so we have a little more time to indulge in some fun activities.
When I started researching for this article, originally I thought I would just share one craft. But I found so many good ones that I had to include five, and there are many more fantastic ideas out there.
When I share these with my kids, I know they are going to have a hard time picking out which one to do; I have a feeling we will end up making at least 2 or 3!
Besides these activities, I recommend this video from EWTN about the life of Our Lady, called My Time with Jesus: The Blessed Virgin Mary:
My kids watched it on the Feast of the Assumption on August 15 this year, and they really enjoyed it and learned a lot about Our Lady.
For an even more fun take on liturgical living, I’m planning to make a birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday to Our Lady on Sunday as well!
1
Printable Mary Statue Craft For Kids (And Optional Flower Crowns!)
I just love this clever idea from Catholic Icing for a little Mary statue made of paper that kids can color and that stands up for display. The little flower crowns are especially beautiful!
2
How to draw videos
My kids absolutely love doing “how to draw” videos from Art Hub for Kids, and we were delighted to find that they have one to draw Mary and Joseph:
We also found this sweet drawing video featuring Mary and baby Jesus from Catholic Icing:
My kids happily did both videos, adding their own embellishments and backgrounds to both.
3
Mary Diorama
This stand-up diorama of Our Lady in the midst of a flower garden is so pretty and comes together easily with a small cardboard box and some glue.
4
Printable Bouquet and Vase
What a creative idea: This craft features beautiful flowers and a sweet image of Our Lady holding the infant Jesus, all of which become a vase for display. This craft would be a beautiful decoration in your home or classroom. It is also a helpful visual to explain the Rosary to kids as “flowers for Mama Mary.”
5
Annunciation Printable
Like most of these crafts, this image of the Annunciation is designed to stand up for display. Commemorating the moment when Mary said “Yes” to God, this craft is a wonderful one for her birthday or any Marian feast day.
And today we celebrate...