I have done all of your Saints Day Party planning for you! Find games, crafts, and face painting to make your party a huge success. It includes free printables and step-by-step photos to make it easy.
What Is All Saints Day
All Saints Day celebrates over 10,000 everyday people who have gone before us and shown us how to live our lives as Catholics to make it to heaven. It is a day when we recognize the verified instances of God working through the Saints in Heaven to answer our petitions with miracles. We pause on this Holy Day of Obligation to thank God for putting people on earth who were courageous enough in their faith to be examples for all of us who struggle to do the right thing we know we’re called to no matter what the cost.
All Saint Day for Kids
All Saints Day presents a wonderful opportunity to teach kids about the Saints in a fun and dynamic way. One of the best ways we’ve celebrated over the years is our annual All Souls and All Saints Day party! The kids love all the activities and they get all the fun and candy of a Halloween party without the scary stuff to go along with it.
All Saints Day Crafts:
Saint Pumpkins Craft
What is a Saint pumpkin? It’s simple; you take a small pumpkin – the kind you find in the floral department in packs of 4 at HEB (our local San Antonio grocery store chain) – and make it look like a Saint. It’s a great way to bring Halloween back to the Church. Instead of just carving a scary face or making a book character out of your gourds, make them into the heroes you want your kids to imitate. We have made quite a few Saint pumpkins. Choose your favorite:
All Saints Day Party Favors
To start the party I handed out this awesome resource from looktohimandberadiant.com called “Finding Truth in Halloween,” a booklet about the truth of our Catholic faith found in the traditions of Halloween, and I encouraged the kids to decorate a treat bag with this free printable of a sugar skull.
All Saint Day Games
Saint Walk (Cake Walk, but Saints!)
All the fun of a cake walk, but with Saints! I brought a Bluetooth speaker or a CD player to play music as the kids walked. I stopped the music after the kids had made it around a bit, and called out a Saint name. Since these saint pictures also have their letter prominently displayed, I often call out the letter, too. Whoever lands on the Saint called gets a prize. I used a pack of saint coloring pages for the saint images. Our prizes were collected from generous parishioners who were more than happy to hand us some of their overflowing stash of Saint cards, medals, rosaries, and the like.
Canonize the Saints Halo Toss
The kids loved this saint version of a ring toss! I printed saint coloring pages, laminated them, and wrapped them around baby food jars. The ring is a golden pipe cleaner halo. Once the halo lands on the “Saint”, they are symbolically canonized and the child gets a prize.
Saint Matching Game
The kids spent plenty of joyful time playing this classic matching game, but with their favorite Saints. For the party, I laid both sheets on the floor with the corresponding cards next to each. Splitting it into two big posters made it possible for two kids to play at the same time, or for big kids to race each other.
Fishers of Men Fishing Booth
This game is always very popular with the kids. To make it, I set up a blue tablecloth or sheet and used painter’s tape to stick construction paper fish on it. I made the fishing rod with a dowel rod, string, and a clothespin. An adult stood on the other side of the sheet and attached prizes to the clothespin. Ideas for prizes included saint cards, medals, stickers, and small toys. Again, the parish community is a great place to request appropriate prizes.
All Saint Day Activities
Trick or Treating for Souls
This was my favorite activity by far. Instead of just trick-or-treating for candy, the kids go trick-or-treating to collect the names of those who have passed away in addition to the candy. I asked the adults to fill out small papers with the names of their departed loved ones ahead of time. The kids collected the names and treats from the adults trick-or-treat-style, and then we ate candy, read the names, and prayed for them.
Saintly Face Painting
This is an easy activity for the kids with the help of a talented artistic adult. I bought washable face paint, and brushes at a craft store. The kids chose their favorite design and the adult happily painted it on their faces. You can see below my ideas for very poorly painted Saint-themed images you can draw on the kids’ faces.
Saint Story Time
I provided several Saint books and we had a joint story time with some of the books, and the older kids were welcome to do some independent reading. Here are some of my favorite Saint books.
Future Patron Saint Photo Booth
The classroom we had the party in had a huge chalkboard, so we drew a photo back drop where we could take pictures of the kids naming what they would be the patron saint of. They held a small chalkboard in their hands where we wrote whatever they told us.
Sugar Skull Dot Paint
I took butcher paper and drew a sugar skull inspired by a coloring page. The day of the party I provided different colored dot paints. Butcher paper has a waterproof backing that won’t let ink run through.
Dia de los Muertos Wreath Craft
A simple craft made with a dollar tree wreath, flowers made with tissue papers and pipe cleaners, a sign that says “Pray for the Dead”, and printed out pictures of your departed love ones.
Create Your Own Saint Story
This one is for the older kiddos. Have them sit down and write their own Saint story. They are meant to answer the questions like: “How are you going to become a Saint?” and “How will God use you?”
