Five Simple Steps to an All Saints Day Party

Does party planning overwhelm you? Laura Range shares 5 steps for planning a saint celebration that will be just right for your family. Download our free party planner!

Create simple, special memories with your family

Does the idea of planning an All Saints Day party intimidate you? Not sure where to start? First, turn off any feelings of pressure or perfectionism! This beautiful feast is not about creating Pinterest-worthy saint costumes or elaborately themed treats to keep up with social media influencers! Rather it's about creating simple yet special memories with your kids that will introduce them to the great gift we have in the saints!

Don't let comparison or guilt seep into your party planning or cause you to scrap it altogether. Every family is different, and each season of life can look different, so choose celebration details that will energize you, not drain you. You don't have to be a chef or an artist to bring joy to your children — just be the mom they know and love as you all learn and grow in your faith together. 

5 steps for planning your All Saints Day Party

I've simplified the steps to coming up with a celebration for your family that you can customize to be small or big, handmade or store-bought.  

Determine the guests.

You could invite one family over to your home on a weekend. You could invite lots of children from your local school or homeschool group. You can host at a neutral location and have several families come together. Overwhelmed by those ideas? Just have your children and husband be the guests.

Choose saint costumes.

Dressing up as saints does not have to be stressful or expensive. Adult t-shirts or dresses make an excellent costume base for children: A black or brown one is a great cassock or habit. A white t-shirt could be a robe for an archangel. Towels or pillowcases make good veils for nuns. A stuffed animal, flower, or "prop" can help identify which saint they choose (a lamb for Saint. Agnes, a rose for Saint Thérèse, a toy sword for Saint Michael or Saint George). Let your kids help with ideas, and know that most likely, their imaginations will fill in the gaps! Read more about making saint costumes from items you already own.

Plan the food.

If it's a group of families, you could try a potluck soup and bread dinner, or keep it simple with just desserts. If you are inviting another family to your home, ordering pizza is totally a win for everyone! Holy Heroes offers free printable "All Saints" cupcake toppers. Cupcakes can be a fun project to make with your kids but you can also just pick up a dozen from your local grocery store! If you enjoy themes, Pinterest is full of ideas for snacks that correlate with the saints, such as serving goldfish crackers in honor of the fishermen Apostles.

Pick a game or two — or five if you are feeling extra motivated!

Think about what would be appropriate with your hosting space, number of children, and amount of time you want to spend. There are relay style games like Sweeping the Broom like Saint Rita or Chasing the Snakes out of Ireland like Saint Patrick. You can make a simple Pin the Donkey style game on a poster board and choose an item that correlates with a saint, such as a rose or stigmata or crown.

If it's a large group, a game like "Simon Peter Says" would be fun. If you want a quieter, sit-down choice there are printable Saint Bingo cards or printable saint coloring pages from CatholicMom.com. Older children or teens might enjoy a Saint Anthony scavenger hunt.

Finally, don't forget to incorporate prayer into your celebration!

You could choose a song such as For All the Saints or When the Saints Go Marching In. The official Litany of the Saints is a beautiful prayer but might be too long for young ones. You could create your own "litany" by taking turns to say a saint's name and having everyone respond, "Pray for us!"

If you are having a small celebration with just your children, you can even create a family litany using all your patron saints. My husband and I did this and ended up framing it in our home as our family's personal litany of saints. We are also big fans of the Saint Michael Prayer and our children love to pray a rousing rendition of it when they shout for Saint Michael to "cast into Hell Satan and all the evil spirits!" 

Whether your All Saints Day party be large or small, simple or elaborate, I pray that you have a joy-filled time with your family as you celebrate our wonderful friends in Heaven!  

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Copyright 2024 Laura Range
Images: Canva