Catholic All Saints Day Party Games

Catholics celebrate All Saints Day on November 1, following All Hallow's Eve, or Halloween. Families and churches seeking alternatives to Halloween celebrate All Saints Eve parties. Here are games to play for your All Saints Day or Eve party. Use holy cards, religious medals, icons, saints statues, a rosary, Bible, childrens missal and images of saints as prizes. You may want to give out candy for prizes, too. This helps children not to feel left out from all the Halloween and trick-or-treat fun. Children love the costume and dress up part of Halloween, so help them create costumes based on saints and Biblical characters. Our family participated in mass prior to the All Saints Parties and part of the mass was a procession of children and families dressed as saints. I've made costumes for John the Baptist, King Melchoir, Our Lady of Guadalupe, St. Joan of Arc, Helen of the Cross, St. Vincent de Paul, Miriam (sister of Moses) and St. Joseph the Worker.

All Saints Bingo: Use these free printable bingo sheets (click here) and customize with names of saints. Instead of BINGO, print SAINT across the top. Use these free printable liturgical calendars and saints feast day calendars to help you get ideas. Play the game as you would regular bingo.

All Saints Musical Chairs: Set 12 chairs in two rows, back to back or in a circle facing outward. Play a CD of 'When the Saints Go Marching In' or 'For All the Saints'. When you stop the music, the 13 players must scramble for a chair. Remove a chair each time.

All Saints Cake Walk: Arrange 12 chairs in a circle. Attach a different saint's holy card or coloring page of a saint to the back of each chair with putty or rubber cement (so that it will stick but not tear). Put the names of each saint in a hat and pull out a name. The person sitting on the chair with that saint gets to pick out a donated cake. You can also use cupcakes to keep the cost down. All the other players get to keep the saint holy card or coloring page. Attach a new round of images each time you play. Children can choose a different saint each time and might end up with a set of holy cards or coloring pages. Click here for free printable saints coloring pages.

All Saints Paper Doll craft: Click here for free printable saints paper dolls. All Saints Mural: Set out copies of the free printable saints coloring pages listed in the All Saints Cake Walk. Children can each color an image that will be assembled into a large mural or banner.

For more about All Saints Day and Catholic activities, visit the blogs listed.