A Catholic Gift Guide for Weddings, Housewarmings, and New Moms
Summer especially is a time of gifting for new life, new couples, and new homes. We know though that these life moments happen throughout the year, so here is a curated list of Catholic items for your reference that are applicable to any season.
“Ite ad Joseph” (Go to Joseph) is an exhortation that St. Teresa of Avila bade all souls, but particularly convents and families, to utter often amid the trials of life. A framed piece of artwork is a visually wonderful way to foster such devotion as a couple.
While wedding registries are tempting places for all the latest that decor marketing says a couple must have in their house, still life paintings are a way to bring timelessness to home culture and styling. If this particular color palette is not in your couple’s theme, Beata Home has many other print options to choose from.
January Jane Shop does it again, offering a polaroid set of married Saints and Blesseds for couples to incorporate around the home or in monthly devotional and study themes. The backs of each card also tell a brief story of the couples’ lives in hopes that modern married couples may find inspiration to become saints themselves.
A stunning table cloth or runner from Lovely Lady Linens should belong in every home. Block printed on high quality cotton, these linens are even more special as they blend motifs of Our Lady into the fibers of daily use.
Any of the Theology of Home series published by TAN Books make worthy wedding gifts both as coffee table beauties and for the couple to utilize in developing their home culture. Theology of Home II is my favorite to gift aesthetically because it can match a variety of wedding gift basket themes.
Tasteful religious artwork is one of the most beautiful components of putting together a Catholic home atmosphere. The theme of the Visitation is especially pertinent because it reminds those inside and out of the home that a Catholic family is both to be a place welcoming of the gifts of others but also ever ready to hasten to the help of others in the community in a symbiotic relationship.
What could be more sweet a reminder of the safe haven that a home is meant to be than this painting of a child stepping from one loving parent to the loving arms of another parent on their way to the wide world? The muted but diverse colors of this piece make it applicable in the decor of many home themes.
January Jane is a one stop shop for many elevated daily use items but in particular this tea towel and the blue and white Fiat Floral Tea Towel that make excellent housewarming or hostess gifts. They are premium cotton which makes excellent material for wiping up, but they also make beautiful bread cloths and are easily paired for gifting with other small kitchen and home items.
If the home can be likened to the sanctuary of the family, the nucleus of the society, then every home should have a holy water font by the front door if not in every bedroom. This polished brass design from Italy has a timeless antique look.
One can never go wrong with giving a naturally fragranced, high quality candle as a gift. The chrism scent from Salt and Light evokes both the sanctity of the Faith that overflows from church into home as well as the sweet Catholic sense of being at one with the Holy Spirit — what every Catholic family seeks to strive after and desire in their daily life.
This sweet, simple painting of a mother and baby showcases those wee hours of the night, precious and fleeting no matter the exhaustion. Whether framed or as a print to prop on a dresser, its reminder is a poignant but peaceful one for a mom braving the newborn days.
Every mother should have at least one framed portrait of the Madonna and Child to look upon throughout her duties. Whether she needs it as an evocation of the similarity in her sacred calling to the Mother of the Divine Child or as remainder of who to imitate, this particular rendition has the soft, subtle colors that blend well with a nursery.
Here is a prayer manual long forgotten but recently receiving a revival among Catholic Mothers. Small enough to tuck in a purse or diaper bag, full of specific prayers for mothers and wives, and a complete section on helps for sanctifying motherhood — this book is a gem.
Sometimes a mom needs a little extra, easy something to add to her day to make her feel put together. This 18K gold filled necklace from Light of Eden is a perfect way to dress up any outfit while wearing both a medal loved by our Lady and a witness to Catholic devotion.
Made by a Catholic family in Minnesota, this tallow based Body Butter smells good enough to eat. A thoughtful gift for a freshly postpartum mom, it could also be paired with one of their Lip Balms or their Postpartum Herbal Bath for a cute gift set.
