We got some “fun and holy mail” the other day from the new family-run company, Catholic Family Crate, and I had barely opened the box before falling in love with both the idea and the execution of this awesome new service for Catholic families.

According to their attractive and easy-to-navigate website, Catholic Family Crate provides unique, intentional and high-quality materials and activities to teach children (and families, really) about liturgical seasons and Church teachings through fun, faith-filled crates. There are three options — family crates, kid crates, and digital crates — giving families some choice as to how extensive they want their crates to be and how much they want to spend. Boxes arrive quarterly, with a different theme for each box, and you can skip or cancel subscriptions easily.

Ours arrived in a compact box, but when I opened it up, it was full of awesome stuff. In fact, I was on the verge of being overwhelmed, when I read the helpful little introduction note on the top of the box’s contents, reminding me that the “crate is meant to make my life easier, not more stressful.” I took a deep breath and remembered that these activities and other goodies were meant to be enjoyed over the quarter, which really gave me the freedom to slowly peruse the carefully-selected, excellent materials included in my “Bible crate” and look forward to using them together as a family over the coming weeks.

So far, we’ve read about St. Jerome while coloring an included printable, read a great Catholic picture book which comes with a related craft, made paper chains that tell the creation story, and sung a family hymn during evening prayer time, while also having a discussion about how Sacred Scripture can be a more important part of our lives.

The box requires a dose of intentionality and craftiness, but just the right amount. The super easy-to-read, friendly guide that comes in the crate guides the user through the materials included, how to use them, and offers discussion questions and suggested responses, which is especially helpful for families who could use some guidance having those faith-based conversations with their children. In other words, I didn’t need to know a lot about the Bible to work our way through the Bible crate, I could learn along with my kids. This is probably one of the fun perks of the family crate – learning resources for parents are included, too! It’s an ideal way to take advantage of catechesis for the whole family from the comfort of your home.

Another thing I love about Catholic Family Crate is the solid, trustworthy Catholic content I know I’ll find inside. The Bible crate was certainly an example of the quality catechesis I assume will be in every box, but even their team is a testament to the product they are providing, with spiritual advisors, experienced Catholic writers, theologians, artists, and educators among those who contribute content and materials that are found in the crates.

Elissa Tiprigan, founder and creative director, started Catholic Family Crate after trying to find ways to bring the faith into their home, while simultaneously struggling to find the time to do it. She realized that her desire to live the faith vibrantly at home and receive help in knowing where to start were feelings shared by others, so she created Catholic Family Crate, enclosing materials to help parents teach, learn, and grow in faith as a family. “AND you don't have to plan a thing,” the website encourages. “You don't have to go to the store. You just have to pick it up off your porch.”

After trying it out with my own family, I highly recommend Catholic Family Crate. It’s creative, fun, formative, catechetical, and relationship-building. It takes some of the hard work out of planning faith-based activities or building Catholic culture in your home and gives you the tools to make doing so a joy.

You can learn more about Catholic Family Crate on their website, CatholicFamilyCrate.com.