Ever since our oldest children were very little, we have been implementing an old monastic custom in our home by providing special treats, representing each of the “O Antiphons” on the days leading up to Christmas. The O Antiphon prayers begin on December 17th and end on the 23rd, which is the last Vespers of Advent, since the evening prayer on the 24th is the Vigil of Christmas.
The Benedictine monks arranged these antiphons with a definite purpose. If one starts with the last title and takes the first letter of each one – Emmanuel, Rex, Oriens, Clavis, Radix, Adonai, Sapientia – the Latin words ero cras are formed, meaning, “Tomorrow, I will come.” Therefore, the Lord Jesus, whose coming we have prepared for in Advent and whom we have addressed in these seven Messianic titles, now speaks to us, “Tomorrow, I will come.” So the “O Antiphons” not only bring intensity to our Advent preparation, but bring it to a joyful conclusion.
Each night, following our family rosary, we pray the O Antiphon for the day, sing O Come, O Come, Emmanuel, which was inspired by this ancient tradition, and then give the children a special treat.
The “treats” have varied from year to year. Some years it has been little gifts or activities for the family, some years it is all food related, and some years it is a mix of both, depending on our schedule and budget. It doesn’t need to cost much or even anything at all! Be creative!
Sometimes the treats are a bit of a stretch, but my goal is try and find gifts that will either help increase our faith (Catechism books, holy family, saints, prayer, etc) or encourage family time (games, puzzles, going to look at Christmas lights, etc). You can find some of our past O Antiphon treats by scrolling through the archives and visiting Catholic Cuisine.
Our family loves this tradition. It is such a fun way to teach the children about these beautiful prayers of the church and also increase their excitement as Christmas gets closer.
In case you are looking for some inspiration, I’ve listed some of the treats I’ve given my family over the years (along with my picks for this year)… Special food ideas, activities and gifts (or you can simply decorate chocolate coins!) for each of the O Antiphons can be found below.
Once again I am hosting an O ANTIPHON GIVEAWAY! One lucky visitor here at Shower of Roses will receive a gift package including seven Cookie Stamps, one to represent each of the seven O Antiphons! Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post for the details and to enter.
- Bible Cookies or Bible Candies
- Brain Food – Dark Chocolate, Deviled Eggs, Theo Christmas Bars…
- Patris Roasting Co. coffee would also be great!
- Play a Trivia Game (The Purgative Way, Christmas Trivia, Catholic Trivia, Cranium)
- Play SaintCards, Saint Memory, or Catholic Quiz games
- Pray and Play ABC Puzzle from Saintly Heart (for the little ones!)
- Outmatched from Institute for Excellence in Writing – One year I went with a game focusing on the time period most of our children were studying.
- Bookmarks or Holy Cards
- Family Prayer Book, Catechism, or other Book – The Christmas Book, The Catechism in Pictures with review here, Jesus Make Me Worthy, My Catholic Faith, A Catholic Child’s Picture Dictionary, Around the Year: Once Upon a Time Saints, etc… The possibilities are endless.
- Books including An Alphabet of the Altar, The Wonder Story and The Wonder Days from St. Augustine Academy Press.
O Adonai Ideas from Over the Years:
- Ten Commandment Cookies
- Cookies made with this Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter or these cute 3-D Mini Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter made by Sweet Creations, emphasizing the word “house”
- Pull out the Smore’s Maker or light a bonfire and roast marshmallows, in reference to “Moses in the burning bush”
- Decorate Gingerbread Houses (my girls surprised me with this pan one year)
- Discuss the various names for Our Lady, including House of Gold! The Virgin Mary Around the World or any of the Marian dolls (Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Czestochowa, Our Lady of China, Our Lady of Vailankanni, etc) would be perfect.
- The Holy Mass: On Earth as it is in Heaven
- Father Leopold Lego Set or Architecture Blocks would also tie in nicely.
- Notre Dame 3-D Church Puzzle or Midnight Mass Puzzle
- Root Beer Floats or Carrot Cake
- Roasted Root Vegetable, Hearty Healing Beef Stew or Hamburger Stew… Yum!
- Old Fashioned Root Beer Drops
- Assemble and hang a new family ornament
- Purchase a Christmas Poinsettia (In the past we have also incorporated other Poinsettias: 12 Red Glitter Poinsettia Ornaments, Miracle of the Poinsettia, or Poinsettia Cupcakes)
- Play some sort of Gardening or Nature Game as a Family (perhaps Grow a Garden Matching Game, Wildcraft! An Herbal Adventure Game, Gathering a Garden, or The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game!)
- Kid’s Vegetable Garden Seed Collection from St. Clare’s Heirloom Seeds
- One year I had a set of our family blocks made by Naturally Catholic!
- Bonus: You could even have a Jesse Tea! From Jesse, the shepherd, to Jesus, the Good Shepherd… Shepherds tie in nicely!
- Shepherd and Angel playlet from Shining Light Dolls
- Shepherd Puzzle Set made by Naturally Catholic
- Key Lime Pie
- Special drink (Sparkling cider!) with dinner or for a family game night. Since this is initially a monastic tradition, and on this night, the monk in charge of the wine cellar would provide a special bottle of wine.
- Surprise the family with tickets (“key”) to something local – Christmas play, the Nutcracker, etc. One year I took our older children to see A Christmas Carol at the theatre.
- Christmas Jingle Bells – We were gifted with a set of these from Pinecone Leather Co a couple years ago. I love the description over on Etsy sharing their family’s tradition.
- Advent At Ephesus or Caroling at Ephesus
- Key Puzzle/Brainteaser
- Tiny Saints Key Hooks – One year I purchased a couple key hook rails to use to hang our Rosaries. You can see them in our old home in this post.
- Incorporate Music “keys” with Catholic Songs for Children CD, Sheet Music Book and St. Cecilia Doll. This new Children’s First Chants book would be a fun gift!
- A Woman Clothed with the Sun (Oranges)
- O Dayspring Ice Cream, Non-Alcoholic Mimosas or Texas Sunrise with Breakfast
- Decorate a Christmas Candle (We use a tiny wax baby Jesus I purchased years ago along with Gold Decorating Beeswax from Stockmar.)
- Our favorite tradition for this O Antiphon is to pile in the car after dinner with hot cocoa and drive around to look at all the Christmas lights.
- Stargazing was the plan for the evening of December 21, 2020!
- Candles from The Cloister Shoppe
- Our Lady of Fatima: The Graphic Novel (miracle of the sun)
- Grimm’s Casa Sole Stacking Blocks
- New Christmas Pajamas
- Crown Cake, Cupcakes or Wreath Cookies
- Wreath Charcuterie Board
- Bake Cookies using the Wise Men Cookie Stamp from Rycraft, Inc
- Assemble a Three Kings Puzzle or Nativity Snow Globes Puzzle
- Listen to King of the Golden City CD
- One year I picked out one of the beautiful sets of Three Kings Gifts – we pull it out every Christmas! The Wise Men Who Found Christmas is great too!
- Rex Gentium Nail Polish
- Twas the Evening of Christmas Picture Book – Our daughter received this one year on the feast of St. Nicholas. It’s such a lovely book!
- Three Kings Playset from Shining Light Dolls
- Three Kings, Ten Mysteries
Once again we’ll bake our Christmas Cookies, fill a box/basket to take to Carmel, and maybe even pull out another Christmas puzzle (from our now large collection) to get started on!
- Decorate Nativity Cookies to give as gifts or Cookie Cutters Tell the Christmas Story
- Make a Chocolate Nativity Scene for Christmas
- Decorate Chocolate Christmas Coins using this FREE Printable
- Holy Night Puzzle
- Fill a basket to deliver to the nuns at Carmel. Fresh Fruit, Various Cheeses, Christmas Cookies and other goodies!
- Christmas picture books, coloring books including the beautiful Eucharistic Adoration: With Saints And Symbols Of The Eucharist coloring book, or the Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring: Christmas with The Dominican Sisters of Mary.
- Children’s Nativity Set – you can find some of our favorites in this post and more of our collection here (scroll down a bit)
- A Child’s Christmas ABC Book (review here)
- 2020 Fontanini Ornament
- Nativity Icon from Clear Creek Abbey
Win a Set of Cookie Stamps
Here are the cookie stamps I picked out to go along with each of the O Antiphons.
The winner will receive one of each!
Wisdom: #460 – Triune God
House: #214 – Home Sweet Home
Root of Jesse: #520 – Willow Tree
Key of David: #543 – Key to My Heart
Dayspring: #291 – Moravian Star
King: #448 – Norwegian Wedding Crown
Emmanuel: #368 – Nativity
Beautiful 💕 what a nice tradition for families ❤️
Please add me Jessica for the O Antiphon cookie stamps. Janice L.
I love these ideas!
Beautiful traditions! As one who loves Christmas baking, those stamps would be lovely!
Thanks for the giveaway!! Beautiful Tradition!
Wonderfully creative ways of following and using the O Antiphons. Thank you.
Thanks for doing this! I have begun the tradition of the O Antiphons this year. They are beautiful! Your ideas are helping me get started 😊
Fantastic giveaway
Oh my goodness. I long to be as “extra” as you… I’m about 10 years behind you, so maybe it’ll come together then😅. Thanks for the inspiration and the opportunity to win such a neat liturgical living item!
That last anon comment was me! Please enter me in giveaway!
I love that O Antiphon house! What a nice idea.
I love all the wonderful ideas!
What a lot of liturgical treasures there are here!
These are great ideas! Thank you for sharing!
I try to enter whenever possible. My plans are always to gift to my oldest son and family who are expecting #9 with the oldest just turning 15.
Amazing! These are lovely!
These are so lovely! I can't wait to add in something tangible to the antiphons…
Thanks so much. I’ve gleaned much over the years! God bless you and the family!
The stamped cookies are perfect for the Antiphons. Lovely!
Thank you for the O Antiphon Giveaway! From Dee.
I've tried multiple times to enter but can't
These are beautiful idea and love them all thank you for your inspirations. -Roxanne Malley
Beautiful!
A whole list for each day is extremely helpful to celebrate this tradition, thank you!
Send me an email (if you haven't already) and I'll get you added manually too!
Such a fun tradition! Thank you for sharing!
Such a beautiful tradition. Thank you for putting together this post with so much wonderful information! And thank you for the giveaway opportunity 😊
These are darling!! Such an awesome addition to our Christmas traditions!
I love all these ideas!
Thank you for all of these great ideas! As a working mom, I struggle to find time to put this all together. I appreciate the lists of activities and treats you shared. I think it’s doable!
I learn about these beautiful prayers from you many years ago and they have become a very important part of my advent
I love these! I have been learning more about the O Antiphons this year.
What a great way to finish advent, with beautiful meaningful cookies!
Thank you for a beautiful resource to help observe the last week of Advent!
I’m grateful for the creative and beautiful ways to celebrate our faith and the season!
Beautiful cookie stamps, and so many great ideas!
Thank you for your lists! O Wisdom is always one of the easier ones, but struggle with some of them. Your lists are so helpful!
I will pay attention that the post defaults to anonymous.
Thank you for putting this all together. I learn something new on your page every week. I had never heard of a cookie stamp. The kids will really enjoy this.
Such a wonderful giveaway!
Love this comprehensive list and the variety of ways the O Antiphons can be incorporated into celebrating this season! Such a rich tradition! I have always enjoyed seeing this post throughout the years I’ve been following your blog.
We love the O Antiphon, I’ve never thought of baking cookies!
Lovely giveaway! Perfect to celebrate the O’Antiphons
These antiphone cookie stamps look amazing.
I love your ideas!
Such a fun giveaway! I used the one cookie stamp I’ve had for years for the first time this year. Now I can’t wait to get more!
These cookie stamps are beautiful — thanks for all the ideas!
I love ❤️ all of your helpful Catholic content !
This is such a beautiful tradition. I’d love to get it started with my younger kids still at home.
My daughter was just mentioning how much she’d love some cookie stamps. I had no idea we could incorporate the O Antiphons with her love of baking. Thank you!
This has always been a family goal to recognize these last days of Advent every year…yet it’s easy to get caught up in the preparations and not make time! You do such an excellent job and thank you for all the wonderful ideas to make it happen 🙂
Thank you for such a nice write up. I got a set of ornament with all the O Antiphons on them this year, and love the ideas on how to make more of the days. Yesterday we read the first one and put it on a garland, but hopefully we can incorporate a few of these ideas into the next days.
What a great post!! These are great resources and such a fun giveaway prize. We were just explaining the O Antiphons to the children last night. This year is the first time my oldest really seems to understand it all; so fun!!
Such beautiful ideas and a great giveaway!
We would love these!
I love this idea of making cookie treats too celebrate and your other ideas that can use what you may already have to celebrate. Thank you for the inspiration. ❤️ Dawn
These stamps are gorgeous! I've been wanting to learn how to stamp cookies.
So many wonderful ideas here! Thank you so much! May God reward you!
Love these practical ideas!
What a great idea! O Antiphon cookie stamps. Thank you for the giveaway. – Laura G.
Fantastic ideas!! Thanks for taking the time to compile this!
I would love to win these, as they are so beautiful, yet beyond our budget.
I would love to win these beautiful cookie stamps!
Thank you for continuing to update your posts! I get so many ideas from this blog for our home!
These stamps are beautifu!
So many great ideas! Thank you for the post. Is there a significance to using a house for displaying the O Antiphons? I'd like to create something like that for my family!
Thank you for this generous giveaway.
Marion
Thank you for helping revive some old Catholic traditions! Angela S.
Lovely stamps, thank you!
Love these stamps!
thank you 🙂
Great ideas! Love the stamps.
Wonderful!!
I love that you've compiled so many ideas for celebrating the O Antiphons! I've saved a lot of links over the years, but this will be my primary go-to page now!
Great ideas.
I've always wanted to use these!
Learning about this foe the first time. Thank you!
These are beautiful!
These are great! Merry Christmas!
So beautiful! Merry Christmas and thank you for years of inspiration.