Christmas Pudding Recipes for kids!

Joan, Joe, Emmanuel, and Gianna are surprised when their parents suddenly begin bringing things into their home at the beginning of December. Evergreen branches, candles, and new foods keep appearing throughout the house…

Madeleine Carroll invites Catholic families into a story about how Joan, Joe, Emmanuel, and Gianna prepare for Christmas!

Madeleine shares:

“While working as a catechist with young children in the Atrium of Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, I used to love reading some of the Advent prophecies to them as part of our Advent work. And then I had the idea of combining prophecies from Scripture and other Scripture quotes with a story of contemporary family life preparing for the coming of the Lord.”

Throughout the story, words will be printed in RED, signifying that corresponding Scripture verses can be found at the bottom of the page! This is a wonderful way for children to see and hear how Scripture informs our Catholic faith!

Check out this beautiful read-aloud that I was able to record of An Advent Hope:

In addition to the engaging story and related Scripture throughout the book, the beautiful illustrations by Austyn Schwartzbeck make this a soon-to-be classic for Catholic families!

However, there was one part of this story that I knew we needed to provide additional resources since it will be new to many families. Since Madeleine is British, she includes a Christmas tradition that perhaps most Holy Heroes families do not include in their celebrations—namely, Christmas pudding.

Growing up, my family never made Christmas pudding. I thought perhaps many other families would have similar backgrounds so I reached out to Madeleine and asked if she had any Christmas pudding recipes she could recommend!

And she sent back not one, but three Christmas pudding recipes she would recommend to the Holy Heroes community!

First, Madeleine shared a recipe for families who want a traditional Christmas pudding for their Christmas table!

Next, she sent a Christmas pudding recipe for chocolate lovers. She told us that this is the one she would probably be making this year since she loves chocolate!

Finally, she sent a recipe for families who might want to involve young children in the baking process. You can find the recipe here:

In addition to sending Christmas pudding recipes, Madeleine also shared her favorite part of the story:

“My very favorite part of the book is when the family heads off to midnight Mass. I wanted to combine the wonderful magic of the Christmas season with the glorious excitement of celebrating Baby Jesus’ birth at midnight with all the senses being heightened by music, light, and color.”

Before letting her get back to her family’s preparation for the Advent and Christmas seasons, I asked Madeleine to share the advice she has for other parents during this busy time of preparation. She said,

“My advice for parents would be not to worry about the craziness of everything at this time of year, and just try to take some time aside each day to spend with your children, even if just for five minutes. Say an Advent prayer, look up an Advent prophecy in the Bible or light a candle on the Advent wreath and sing together as a family. “

Get your copy of An Advent Hope in time for Advent! And get the rest of your Advent resources for the whole family, including unique Jesse Tree supplements!