Need Easter Basket Ideas?

Jessica over at Shower of Roses is hosting a great Easter giveaway right now.  She has a ton of great Easter basket ideas that cover children from infant to teen or adult, really, I see things up there that I'd love to find in an Easter basket for me!  So hop over to her blog and check out her giveaway post and get some ideas for filling those Easter baskets!

First Communion Gift Ideas

A few weeks ago our middle daughter received her First Holy Communion.  In the few days leading up to her First Holy Communion day the big question from some family and friends was, "What can we get her?"   It seems like every time we get invited to a party for a child who has just received this sacrament there's always the question of what would make an appropriate gift.

I think gift ideas can fall into two categories for this occasion, the expected or traditional gifts and the off the beaten path gifts.

A more traditional type of gift would be a crucifix for the child's wall.  You can find ones that commemorate the occasion or one that looks like it would be nice for a child's room.

A bible is always a great gift idea.  We have this Catholic Picture Biblewhich we use for our Jesus tree during Lent.  If you'd rather give a bible that the child can use for years to come I'd recommend this beautiful bible.  I reviewed it here last year.  We have the Douay Rheimsversion but it's also available in the NABtranslation.  I can tell you my daughter feels so grown up now that she has a bible that isn't a picture bible.  As soon as her communion party ended she pulled out this bible and asked me to show her to look up scripture passages.  

I think a missal for Mass is another great gift idea for a First Communicant.  Our daughter received this missal (in white).  The missal has a nice dedication page that makes it a great gift idea for a First Holy Communion.  It's a missal that she will be able to use for years to come.  

If you attend the Extraordinary Form Mass, this lovely prayer book and missal would be a nice option.  I love how beautiful the prayers are in pre-Vatican II prayer books, so I brought a copy of Jesus Make Me Worthy for my daughter.  (You can learn more about it here.)  She likes this prayer book and was interested in learning about the Latin Mass.  

I'm of the opinion that a First Holy Communion is the perfect time to give a child a beautiful rosary.  Ellie's First Holy Communion Rosary came from Trendy Traditions.  I like how Melanie offers personalization to give the rosary an extra special touch.  Check out Trendy Traditions, she has rosaries for the trendy fashionista, the sports fan and even some lovely First Holy Communion designs.  I knew that Ellie would love a rosary in her favorite color so I asked Melanie if she could put a chalice and host center on the design I liked best to make it a First Holy Communion rosary.

A nice box to store a rosary and other jewelry keepsakes from a First Holy Communion also makes a good gift idea.  Ellie received a very pretty box that had the Guardian Angel Prayer on the lid and a personalized message inside.  

A musical First Holy Communion box is also another great idea.  Last fall I reviewed one from Catholic Family Gifts. 

Typically when I give a child a gift for his or her First Holy Communion I like to give a book.  There are a lot of great books to give a child for this occasion.  Some of our favorites are:

Glory Stories from Holy Heroes are also a great gift idea.  The CDs are great dramatic retellings of the lives of the saints.  There's even a Glory Story that's perfect for a First Communicant.

Toddler Easter Basket Ideas

Over on Facebook Mandi from Messy Wife, Blessed Life was asking for toddler Easter basket suggestions for her sweet little one.  When it comes to stuffing Easter baskets for my girls, I pretty much adhere to a list year after year.  Each year my girls can count on finding a bathing suit, a pool toy or goggles, some candies or treats and a faith based book and possibly a rosary or some other religious trinket.  I try to keep the focus on the religious aspect of the holiday and downplay the bunny.  Below you'll find some of my suggestions for a Catholic toddler's Easter basket.

We have a nice collection of Easter books and faith based board books in our house that are appropriate for little ones.  My favorite board books are the ones from Magnificat/Ignatius Press:

If you're interested in just Easter stories, I like these books:

For some reason the prices are sky high on the Easter Swallows on Amazon so I'd suggest ordering it from the publisher if you're interested in it.

If you aren't interested in books for you little one, why not go with a Brother Francis DVD?  These DVDs are a hit with my toddler and my seven year old.  So it's something that your child will enjoy for years to come.  

A big colorful rosary is also a fun addition to an Easter basket.  Katie loves to play with her rosary.

Top Ten Tuesday: Toddler Girl Gift Ideas

When you have three children of the same gender and you're the sort of mom who doesn't throw away toys, being asked what the littlest one in the family needs/wants for Christmas can be a challenge.  Not for the gift giver, but for the parent of the child who pretty much has everything.

~1~

This Step 2 grocery cartis super sturdy and can hold a lot of toys that Katie loves.  I think it's made far better than the Little Tikes cartthat has been banished to the garage for many years now.  Katie has the pink Step 2 grocery cart which can be a bit more difficult to find.

~2~

A baby dollthat is sized just right for the littlest mommy is always a welcome gift.  Katie got this adorable little doll for her first birthday.  She's just the right size for Katie to walk around with her.

~3~

Bead mazes are a huge hit in our house.  Katie got the one you see abovefor her first birthday and not only does it occupy her for long stretches of time, it also entertains her big sisters. 

~4~

Sometimes simple toys are some of the best ones.  Katie LOVES the stacking cupsfrom Discovery Toys.  We have the older version of the ones you see above.  She likes to take them and scatter them, put things in the big cups and just play with them.  Ellie likes to build towers for Katie with these cups which Katie will then dismantle one cup at a time.

~5~

I like to make sure the girls have something faith based in their stockings on Christmas morning.  This year Katie will be getting My First Catechism: The Catholic Faith for Little Ones.It's such a lovely book.  The book is very nicely done and I just love the illustrations by Maite Roche.

~6~

We don't have this cute little Rody horse,but it's one of the items on Katie's wish list this year.  My older girls have played with this toy at a local bounce house party place and they loved it so I'm betting it would be a hit with Katie.

~7~

We love books in our house so it's no surprise that we have lots of books on the wish lists!  We're big fans of the Sandra Boynton books.  Some of our favorites are Snuggle Puppy,Hippos Go Berserk,and Bob.

~8~

Little People are huge in our house.  One toy which has seen tons of play has been the Fisher-Price Little People house.  

~9~

This rainfall rattleis another one of Katie's favorites.  We've had this rattle since Madeline was about three years old and the girls have always found a way to play with it since then.  Toddlers like to shake it, roll and and just watch the beads fall while the bigger girls have used it as a musical instrument among other uses. 

~10~

Sometimes the little one you are buying for really doesn't need anything and you just don't know what to buy.  A nice keepsake ornament personalized with the child's name is always a nice gift.  I recently brought Katie this ornament from Lenox.