Sept. 8 is the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

I don’t know about you, but my four young kids are always looking for reasons to celebrate, and saints’ feast days and birthdays are wonderful occasions to make the faith come alive in the hearts and minds of children.

And it doesn’t take much either: Families can celebrate liturgical feasts and birthdays by naturally weaving them into daily life, while still demonstrating the importance of our Catholic heritage.

Here are five ways you can celebrate Mary’s birthday:

1. Give her flowers. What mother doesn’t love flowers from her children? Whether they’re the late bloomers from your garden or picked up from the grocery store, presenting flowers to the Blessed Mother on her birthday is a sweet way to honor her, as you would any special woman in your life. Side note: It’s my personal opinion that every Catholic home should have a statue of the Blessed Mother, inside or outside. If yours doesn’t have one yet, EWTN Religious Catalogue has all different styles in a range of sizes and prices. 2. Cook a special meal. A couple of years ago, on a Saturday morning in August, I casually mentioned to my kids that it was the feast day of St. Mary Major, also known as Our Lady of the Snows. I described the miraculous story of Our Lady of the Snows, to which my oldest responded, “How are we going to celebrate her feast day?” I had nothing planned, but then it occurred to me, “Why don’t we add powdered sugar to our pancakes?” Crisis averted, as our kids raved about the “snow”-covered breakfast the rest of the weekend.

It’s common for families to partake of special “birthday dinners,” and a special meal prepared with love for the Blessed Mother is an extension of that family celebration. I’m not familiar with meals traditionally eaten on her Nativity, but you can get creative with details like using blue napkins; cooking a dish with rosemary, figs or olives; designing a charcuterie board with salami roses; or deferring to whatever Mom wants to cook because she reminds us of Momma Mary.

3. Enjoy a festive dessert. While birthday cake is perfectly suitable for the occasion, there are plenty of other creative options for Marian-inspired treats. Strawberries can be sliced to look like roses. Blueberries are blue, Mary’s color. White cakes, icings and meringues are a nod to her purity. Ferrero Rocher chocolates are an excellent choice, as they were inspired by Our Lady of Lourdes. Feeling ambitious? Pipe roses on cupcakes (they’re much easier than they look). And, in a pinch, I’ve been known to use donuts to celebrate the Queenship of Mary (a stretch, but the donuts can represent crowns). Your kids won’t object to any dessert to celebrate Our Lady.

4. Make a craft together. We parents don’t have to go overboard with crafts to honor the Blessed Mother. Use what you already have in your home for something as simple as coloring pages (our family loves the ones from Shining Light Dolls and The Catholic Kid) or you can work together to make tissue-paper flowers, easy-sew felt creations, clay statues, pony-bead decade rosaries, or fuse-bead mosaics. One year, we made a “Pin the Crown on Mary” game, and our kids played it for weeks.

5. Spend time in prayer. I often see social-media memes around this time of year that say, “Call your mother; it’s her birthday!” with a picture of a rosary. What a great reminder to pray the Rosary, today of all days! Going to Mass would be wonderful, if possible, but we all can make the time to pray the Rosary; even consider adding the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary or the Magnificat, or commit to learning more about her with one of the Marian programs on EWTN.

The Church gives us so many occasions to celebrate; let’s show our children the joy of our faith with special feasts like this.

How do you celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary? Tell us in the comments!

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