Posted on by Adrienne Meador

Orthodox Christmas Gift and Stocking-Stuffer Ideas

Hi friends, it’s that time of year again! I’ve been a mom for almost ten years now, and with 5 children, I have a lot of experience with managing the holidays with little ones! We have all witnessed the difficulty of keeping Christmas about Christ and not about all the presents. I personally come from a broken and blended extended family, which at the holidays often makes the presents multiply exponentially. This is something we struggle to keep in check. 

I also get asked a lot by other “mommy friends” for Christmas/St. Nicholas Day gift ideas, so I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite go-to items for Orthodox families and my best advice on keeping the number of presents under control and maintaining our focus on Jesus. I have relied on both Orthodox and Catholic sources for my religious gift suggestions, as you will see below: 

Ideas:

First, I want to offer you some fun and (hopefully) helpful gift ideas that we have used over the years for our kids and god-children that are appropriate for Orthodox families.

  • Tiny Saints keychains (a Catholic resource, look for pre-Schism saints)
    • This works for a new driver in the family, someone old enough to have a house key, or a kid who just wants to jazz up their backpack! I have Our Lady of Perpetual Help on my keychain, and I have given the St. Patrick charm to my god-daughter in honor of our home parish patron saint.
  • Wooden Mass Set
    • If your kids are like mine, they like to play Mass at home. When we have to attend church virtually, they even “take communion” with bread and juice. This gift is an “investment.” By that I mean it’s pricey. But if you have several kids, it can get tons of use, and who knows, maybe it will even inspire one of your sons to enter the priesthood one day.
  • Toy Censer
    • The perfect gift for your little thurifer-in-training!
  • Silicone Rosary or Decade from Chews Life
    • Good for babies/toddlers, safe to chew, and highly durable! 
  • Wooden Block Saints 
    • Love this “stocking-stuffer” for babies all the way up to teens.
    • Almond Rod Toys (a Catholic company with many choices for Orthodox families)  
    • Little Saints (all Orthodox saints—their collection is still small, but growing) 
  • Sacrifice Beads
    • This handy devotional tool serves as a great reminder for kids to do acts of service for one another as little gifts for Jesus. For instance, when you make a sacrifice by letting your sibling have the last cookie, you pull a bead, or when you do a chore that helps the family without complaining, you pull a bead. A variety of colors are available, and they easily clip onto backpacks or keychains. 
  • Peg Dolls
    • These are great for bringing to Mass, decorating your child’s room, or setting up in your family icon corner to keep little hands occupied during prayers.
  • Icons (I have purchased icons from all those listed below) 
    • In addition to the family icon corner, Fr. Josiah Trenham recommends that all household bedrooms should have an icon of the Theotokos.
    • In our home we have icons for each of our family patron saints and those saints who have become special to us over the years of our spiritual growth.
    • Caution: Do not use MonasteryIcons.com. You can read the articles about it online if you want to know more about why we don’t support them.
  • Sock Religious (Catholic company with socks for adults and kids, plenty of Orthodox options)
    • We have purchased socks of St. Joseph, St. Michael, the Rosary, St. Nicholas, and St. Patrick.
  • Prayer ropes, prayer cards, crucifix necklaces or saint medals
  • Shining Light Dolls
    • Catholic resource with plenty of Orthodox options. They are safe for babies to drool and chew on. I got St. Augustine for my baby last Christmas because that’s his middle name.
  • Books (I have made recommendations for Advent and Christmas on another blog post, but here my go-to places for buying religious books online.) 
  • Plush Saint dolls and other Orthodox Children’s products
  • Lego-ish
    • We have this specially made Lego-like set of a priest saying Mass, complete with liturgical vestments for the various seasons. The same creator also has a confessional set. They are both “an investment” $$$. 
    • Here is a simple Nativity for the younger crowd. 
  • DVDs
    • DVD about the true story of Saint Nicholas 
    • Film about Saints Perpetua and Felicity 
    • Kids’ movie about Saint Augustine
  • Advent supplies (Wreath and candles, Jesse Tree)
    • We purchased our Advent wreath years ago from a local craft store. If you make one yourself, all you will need is a simply evergreen wreath and 4 candles (three purple and one pink). I have seen a whole kit on Holy Heroes. Lighting the Advent candles is really important to my kids, but if live fire is too risky in your house, you can always try making a craft version from toilet paper rolls and tissue paper.
  • As for the Jesse Tree, I really like the concept of following the prophesies of the coming of Christ throughout the Bible. It dovetails really nicely with the readings at the Western Rite Orthodox Mass at the Vigil of the Nativity. I have tried to make my own in years past (when I had fewer children). I now 100% recommend buying a Jesse Tree set to do with your kids.
  • CDs
    • The Altar Gang Series from www.HolyHeroes.com
      • For this time of year, I especially recommend, Vol.1 “He’s Coming” (about Advent). It’s a cartoon-like radio drama featuring living liturgical items used in the Mass.
  • Saint Pillowcases
    • Do your kids have bad dreams or feel scared in the dark? A few of mine struggle with this, and I really think these pillowcases have made a difference. No joke! We have The Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Michael, and I’m planning to order another one for an up-coming Name Day. They feature the image of Jesus or a Saint and a prayer to help the child remember what to do when they feel fearful. Many of the pillowcases depict popular Catholic saints, but we have found several that work for our Orthodox family.

Advice:

In our family, we allow the kids to make a list of three gift requests. It’s not a guarantee that they will get these items, but it does provide ideas when Grandma or Grandpa asks what the kids really want. We talk a lot with our children about how Jesus got three presents for Christmas: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. If anyone complains about the number of gifts they receive, I usually say something like this: “If that was good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for you.” 

Another great idea I’ve come across using the 3-present rule goes like this: One “myrrh” gift for the body (e.g. clothes), one “frankincense” spiritual/religious gift (e.g. book or icon), and one “gold” gift that is a want (e.g. game, toy, etc.). 

Many Orthodox families incorporate donation into their holiday traditions in different ways: food banks, volunteering, giving money to worthy causes, etc. One idea we have employed is asking the children to choose a number of things (perhaps equal to the number of presents they receive) which they currently own but no longer use. The used (but still in good condition) items can be donated to a local charity. This keeps the needs of others present in our children’s minds and places limits on our overall acquisition of “stuff.”

One thing that we have appreciated over the years is that our children’s godparents often like to give them religious gifts at Christmas and Easter: a prayer bracelet, a DVD or book about a saint, an icon, etc. Kids really do have such generous hearts. They often want to give a gift to their godparents in return. We typically like to give updated pictures to the god-families at holy days, and the kids love to include personal notes and favorite snacks as well.

Ask for consumable gifts from relatives, such as art supplies or a subscription to a kids’ magazine like National Geographic Kids. Here is a beautiful Orthodox coloring book that would be a great gift along with a set of new colored pencils. You can also request “experience gifts” from relatives, such as a membership to a local kids’ museum or pool or activity fees for art lessons or sports. We have also had great experiences with Kiwi Crate and Koala Crate.

One tradition that the kids love is putting Jesus in the nativity set on Christmas eve. We like to keep a creche out all during Advent, but we hide Jesus until His birthday. I also like to place the wise men in different places around the room until they arrive on the feast of Epiphany. It’s like a Christianized “elf on the shelf.” We have a family heirloom creche made from olive wood from Israel, but we also have a children’s Nativity set that has been a favorite over the years from Fisher-Price.

In our house, we don’t open any presents before we go to midnight Mass for the Vigil of the Nativity. By the time we get home, it’s early Christmas morning. We try to get a few hours of sleep in because we have Mass again later that morning. In our family everyone gets to open their stockings before morning Mass on Christmas Day. We find that it gives the kids a little motivation and excitement before heading back out to church. Sometime later that day, we open gifts as a family. This makes certain that we have put “first things first,” going to Mass and attending to our spiritual health before our worldly wants and desires.  

Despite all the limiting measures we have in place, we sometimes still end up with too many presents. In my observation, this creates an attitude of entitlement and ingratitude. It seems that the more stuff you get, the harder it is to appreciate it all. One way to deal with this is to spread out gift opening throughout the 12 days of Christmas. I know many Orthodox families that postpone their unwrapping of presents until the 26th in order to keep Dec. 24th and 25th all about Jesus. I encourage you to do whatever works and makes the most sense for your family! In sharing my ideas and what I have heard others are doing, I hope that it gives you permission to scale back the consumerism, rein in the Santa-mania, and keep the focus on the season on Christ. 

Blessed and Holy Advent to everyone and Merry Christmas!