St. John Kochurov

An icon with various scenes from St. John’s life

St. John Kochurov is a modern day saint that was martyred during the Bolshevik revolution. He is especially near and dear to us as we featured him in our Modern Saints calendar in 2021 and were able to spend some time learning about his life, which is filled with bravery and love for God.

We hope you are able to take some time today to learn about this amazing man. Here are some resources to help with that!

St. John Bio on the OCA Website

Akathist to St. John Kochurov

We’ve also made a coloring page - I especially love the detailed line drawing that Marian did of him for our calendar. We included the info from the 2021 calendar as well! St. John, pray to God for us!

PENTECOST PRINTABLE

Pentecost is just around the corner!

One of the most frequent requests we received on a recent Instagram Survey was more printables!! We got right to work and are excited to share this latest Feast Day Workbook with you all. You can find other Feast Day Workbooks like Annunciation and Elevation of the Cross on our blog!

This workbook includes a maze, craft, recipe, fill-in-the-blank copywork, and an excerpt of the account of Pentecost from Acts 2 that you can read aloud while your kids work.

Click the link below to download

Orthodox Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Mother’s Day is nearly a week away!

It can be difficult to choose a thoughtful gift when there are so many options out there! We’ve gathered up some meaningful suggestions for mothers of all types and stages and linked them below. We hope they’re helpful!

MOM OF TODDLERS

MOMS OF TODDLERS: St. Elijah Print // If You Don’t Hear Crying Tote // He Who Gives Mug

MOM OF TEENS/OLDER KIDDOS / GODMOTHERS

MOM OF TEENS/GODMOTHERS: Mother of the Light Prayer Book // Morning Prayer Mug // Girls Just Wanna Raise Saints Sticker

ANY MOM (just lovely gifts!)

Gifts for Any Mom! (not just Orthodox): Magnolia Card Set // Fern Candle // Dayspring Farm Soap Collection // Lavender Bath Soak

ANY MOM: Mother’s Day Gift Bundle

Pascha Basket Ideas

Pascha is quickly approaching! We’ve gathered up some of our favorite products for different age groups and made some sample baskets for you and your crew! We’ve linked all the products below.

TODDLER PASCHA BASKET IDEAS

JOURNEY TO PASCHA / MY PASCHA DRY ERASE BOOK / ST. LAZARUS DOLL / PASCHA HOMILY STICKER / RED EGG / PASCHA PYSANKY BASKET COVER

ADULT PASCHA BASKET IDEAS

CHRIST IS RISEN MUG / WILLOW CANDLE / MYRRHBEARERS ORNAMENT / PASCHA TO PENTECOST TOWEL

TWEEN / TEEN PASCHA BASKET IDEAS

BEAUTIFUL PASCHA / HEAR ME / PASCHA PYSANKY MUG / KARDIOTISSA WINDOW CLING / FLORAL CROSS BASKET COVER

Christmas 2023 Gift Guide

We have compiled a list of gift ideas from our shop that we think would be perfect for certain age groups! Take a look for some gift ideas to get you into the spirit. Just click the links in the text below each picture to find your items!

YOUNG ADULT GIFT BUNDLE: Orthosox // The Sacred and Divine Liturgy // Jesus Prayer Keychain

YIA YIA / BABA’S GIFT BUNDLE: Prosforon Necklace // Festal Foods Tea Towel // Koliva Stencil

Teen Gift Bundle: ICXC Beanie // What I Am Tumbler // Hear Me Prayer Book // Psalm 104 Sticker // Communion of Saints Sticker

DAD/GRANDPA’S GIFT BUNDLE: Ethiopian Cross Notebook // St. George Cross Necklace // If You Can Read This Socks

BABY/TODDLER GIFT BUNDLE: My First Christmas Book + Coloring Book // St. Seraphim Snuggly Saint // Come, Stay, Fetch

TWEEN GIFT BUNDLE: Taras Pappas Sticker Bundle // Sands of Salvation // Queen Abigail Book // The Sacred and Divine Liturgy

MOM’S GIFT BUNDLE: Rose Candle Set of 3 // Peace of Earth Coffee + Mug Bundle

"Put on the New Man" Free Printable

When we first started making the Orthodox Children’s Calendar back in 2017, we reached out to several mothers of older children in our parish to ask what traditions they enjoyed doing with their family during the liturgical year. One mom said that each Pascha, her kids received new clothes to wear to the service, and she presented the clothes to them with little tags that said, “Put on the new man which was created according to God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Eph. 4:24) I love that she encouraged her children to wear their best for Pascha, while also reminding them that we are to clean our thoughts and minds as we approach the Lord’s Pascha.

I made some for my kids and I can say that they LOVE this part of Holy Saturday. ALSO, we don’t always get new clothes. Very frequently, we use hand-me downs or just buy accessories (like headbands, or fun dress socks).

A few years ago, we partnered with @fortheloveofcursive to make the tags for you. This year, we dug them out of our archives to release! We hope they brighten up your Holy Saturday.

Pascha Basket Gift Guide #2

We’re back with more Pascha Basket ideas! This post features more ideas for Yia Yias/Babas, teens, moms, and young adults. Just click the text for the items you’d like to learn more about. Good Strength!

YIA YIA’S PASCHA BASKET

FIND THESE ITEMS HERE: Paschal Egg Candle // Floral Cross Mug // Morning Prayer Print // Christ is Risen Ornament // Sundry Words Bookmark // Paschal Feast Tea Towel

OLDER CHILD PASCHA BASKET

FIND THESE ITEMS HERE: The Broken Wheel Graphic Novel // Theotokos Banner // Cedar 3 Bar Cross // Cobalt Cross Sticker

MOM’S PASCHA BASKET

FIND THESE ITEMS HERE: Rose Candle Set // He Who Gives Mug // Little Church Print // Floral Cross Pascha Basket Cover

GROWN-UP’S PASCHA BASKET

FIND THESE ITEMS HERE: Beatitudes Cards // Wanderlust Coffee // Christ is Risen Mug // St. Gerasimos Print // Seraphim Desk Clock

Pascha Basket Gift Guide

As we are nearing Pascha, we have compiled a list of Pascha Basket ideas from our shop. We’ve tried to compile a basket for several different ages, so we hope this will make shopping for this holiday a bit easier. Simply click on the text below each picture to be sent to your favorite items. We wish you good strength for the remaining time of Lent!

BABY/TODDLER PASCHA BASKET

FIND THESE ITEMS HERE: Orthodox Search and Find // Pascha at the Duckpond Book // Resurrection Angel Doll (6 in) // Pysanky Kid Kit

LITTLE KID PASCHA BASKET

FIND THESE ITEMS HERE: St. George Snuggly Saint Doll (10in) // The Orthodox Search and Find Book // Journey to Pascha Coloring Book // Holy Angels Matching Game

PLAYFUL PASCHA BASKET

FIND THESE ITEMS HERE: Great Feasts Block Puzzle // St. Lazarus Snuggly Saint Doll (6in) // I Pray Today Book // Pascha Bundle

PASCHA BASKET FOR YOUR PRIEST

FIND THESE ITEMS HERE: Ethiopian Cross Notebook // Harrowing of Hades Banner // Incense Set // St. Nikon Mug

Orthodox Saints Valentines - Free Printable!

It’s February!

St. Valentine’s Day decorations are everywhere and schools are gearing up for Valentine’s Day parties. We couldn’t help but thinking that we’d much rather have saintly valentines rather than Disney or cartoon valentines, so we created some! With silly and loving phrases, we think you and your kids will just love these.

To print: Download the file you your computer and select Print. Then select “double-sided print.” Some printers don’t have this option, so you’ll have to print every other page and then flip the pages over and put them back in the printer before printing the backs.

We hope you enjoy them!

For even more St. Valentine’s Day fun, check out our newest St. Valentine Snuggly Saint doll!

HAPPY NAMEDAY BANNER

To celebrate the feast of St. James on Oct. 23rd, we love to do something extra special since so many of our family members have this wonderful saint as their patron.

This year, we are thrilled to release these printable nameday banners for your families to decorate and hang in your homes. Just print, color, and cut! Then punch out the holes and hang on some ribbon! These are perfect to keep and reuse year after year.

We created two different designs just for you all. Banner #1 is a bit more formal. Banner #2 is a bit more fun. Choose your favorite and make it your own!

AND, because our husbands really encouraged us to give away a lot of free stuff on this day, we also created a St. James the Brother Coloring Page with a little blurb about his life for you to read while coloring or after dinner.

Go crazy! Blessed feast of St. James!