Best First Holy Communion Gift Ideas – Catholic Gifts

For Catholics, the Eucharist is the core and center of our faith. It is truly Jesus’ Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. To us, when the Eucharist is before us, it is as if Our Lord has come down from heaven and is standing before us, and we receive Him completely. He is the source of our spiritual nourishment and strength.

That is why receiving First Holy Communion is a major milestone in the lives of any faithful Catholic. So I’m here to help you find the best gift for any little boy or girl in your life who will soon receive this important sacrament.

First Holy Communion

May is just around the corner and that is also the month where many young Catholics will receive the sacrament of First Holy Communion. For such a special occasion, you’d want to give a gift that is meaningful and practical.

I’ve created a list below with some suggestions for gifts that are useful and thoughtful. They are also gifts that any child would be excited to receive.  

I’ve listed some suggestions of what I think would make wonderful First Communion gifts. I included some unique first communion gift ideas that I don’t often see on other lists. I’ve given some of these as gifts myself and they’ve all been received well.

Not only are these Catholic gifts useful, but they can continue to assist the first communicant in their spiritual and mental growth.

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1. Illustrated Catholic Children’s Bible

As a child, my family had one bible that was for children. I still remember how much I loved looking at the pictures and then being so curious about what was happening in the picture that it would lead me to read about that particular bible story. I will admit, I used to skip to all the bible stories with the interesting pictures and go back and forth that way. 

A bible for children is a great way for kids to get interested in the bible. It does not necessarily have to be read from front to back. However, I do believe that it is the perfect way to get them familiar with the bible. That way when they’re older and are able to delve deeper into Catholicism, these stories would already be familiar. 

Some credible sources are: 
The Great Adventure Kids Catholic Bible Chronicles – Ascension Press
My Catholic Children’s Bible – Tan Press
The New Catholic Illustrated Bible – Tan Press

2. Catechism Book with Pictures

We can teach our children what to believe, but it is also so important to teach them why we believe. And for that you would need a good catechism book. One that I highly recommend is “My Catholic Faith” by Bishop Louis LaRavoire Morrow. This would be a worthy gift for any Catholic. It is so well done and perfectly laid out.

One of my favorite things about this book is that it starts off with crucial topics. These are topics such as the existence of God and the validity of Catholicism. I think these topics are often missed in most catechism classes nowadays. We’re usually just told what to believe but not the reasons why.

I’m speaking from experience. I attended both Catholic and Sunday school for 8 years until I was confirmed and I was never really taught the reasons for why we are Catholic. For a long time, I felt as though I was only Catholic because my ancestors were.

It wasn’t until later in life that I was completely convinced that Catholicism is the one true religion.  That’s why I’m passionate about this topic. To keep children from falling away from the faith in the first place with good catechism.

The book is easy enough for children to read but also sophisticated enough with straightforward answers that any adult could gain a lot from. There are also beautiful pictures to help aid in the lessons. This book has been highly recommended by many Canons of the Institute of Christ the King and I have personally used it to create lesson plans for my students when I was teaching Confirmation classes. 

3. Prayer Book/ Devotionals

Next on the list is a good prayer book. Prayer books would be a great help for children in cultivating their prayer life. I once heard a great exorcist say that praying is often looked down upon as a feminine or weak trait (that is why the stereotype is that most of the people praying are women). But anyone who has genuinely tried praying, whether vocal or mental prayers, will realize that it is not easy. The exorcist then says that praying is actually one of the hardest things to do. 

I still personally use a prayer book at Mass when I find it particularly hard to concentrate or to pray. So a prayer book for children will help guide and nurture their young minds in the same way.

A prayer book is a classic first communion gift. I have listed below some great prayer books suggestions. 

Below, I’ve also included a wonderful devotional book on confession. The communicant would most likely have just made their first confession prior to receiving their First Communion.

This book is great in continuing to help them make a good confession going forward. In it, it talks about confession and why we Catholics need it and then it helps your little one go through an examination of conscience to better prepare them for a good confession.

Some example of great devotional books: 
Mass Explained to Children – Maria Montessori

My Confession Book – M. Andrine Welters O.S.B.

4. St. Tarcisius Wall Art or Book

I will talk about saint books overall in the next item on the list but I wanted to bring up St. Tarcisius in particular. He is a very fitting saint for any first communicant to know.

St. Tarcisius is known as the Martyr of the Eucharist. As a young boy, who grew up in Rome at a time when Christians were highly persecuted, he gave up his life to defend the Eucharist he was carrying with him. 

A framed picture or book on the life of St. Tarcisius would make a wonderful First Holy Communion gift. This will encourage them to learn about his life and martyrdom.

I’m sure they already would be taught about the Real Presence by their catechism teachers but learning about his story would just further exemplify the significance of the Eucharist. That the Eucharist isn’t just a symbol or a piece of bread once it is consecrated but rather the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord. It shows them that the Eucharist is so real that a young boy, close in age to them, was willing to endure torture and death to protect it.

You can find a printable version of a great picture of St. Tarcisius here from this Etsy seller. Print it and add it into a frame of your choice. Make it an even more customized gift for the recipient by making it into a scrapbook or collage style frame.

5. Children’s Saints Books or Movies

Saint Books

Adding to the theme of books, there are many great books on Saints that would make wonderful gifts. I still vividly remember the saint books I had as a child. Some of which were gifted to my siblings and I by Dominican nuns who were close family friends. Of course being Dominicans, we were mostly given books about Dominican saints such as St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Catherine of Siena. 

My parents also bought us tons of movies and books about different Saints. And although I did revert back later in life, I always remembered the stories of the Saints. They stuck with me. So when I did finally come back to the faith, those same stories helped me to develop a devotion to many different Saints. 

We as Catholics are so blessed to have over 2,000 years of Saints to learn from. We also see all the different ways people can become Saints. There is not one path to holiness. The more Saints you learn about, the more ways you can learn to develop your own path to heaven.

That is why I believe that books on the lives of the saints would make such a meaningful gift for any first communicant. You really cannot go wrong with devotional items. 

Recommended Saint Books:
Stories of the Saints: Bold and Inspiring Tales of Adventure, Grace, and Courage – Carey Wallace and Nick Thornborrow

Lives of the Saints for Everyday of the Year – Fr. Alban Butler

Picture Book of Saints by Lawrence G. Lovasik

If you speak French, there are many wonderful Saint comic books for kids, with beautiful drawings. I recently found one in english about the Papal Swiss Guards! You can find it here from Ignatius Press.

They have so many you can choose from. There is one on St. Therese (english version found here), St. Joan of Arc, Bl. Carlos Acutis, St. Pope John Paul II, and even Arnaud Beltrame, the gendarme that gave up his life for a hostage in the South of France in 2018.

They even mention the Abbey Lagrasse (shown above), one of my favorite places in France. We will write all about this wonderful Abbey soon! I hope they will produce more English versions of these books. They are very well done.

Saint Movies

Movies about Saints would also make wonderful gifts. I loved them growing up. It was back when they mostly came on VHS tapes so we would watch it over and over again. They were some of the only movies my parents were willing to buy us. I really did learn so much from those movies and they are very well done. They make great movies to watch on family nights too.

Most of the best Saint movies can be found on Formed.org now, and I highly recommend that streaming site. It should be offered for free by most parishes now. Just reach out to your local parish and ask for it.

Some of my favorite ones were about the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima and Our Lady of Lourdes. Other great biblical movies that I cannot recommend enough are “The Prince of Egypt” and “Joseph: King of Dreams” produced by DreamWorks. They are hands down some of the best animated films ever produced in my opinion. Not only for the great content but also for the music score and the creative animation. The cast for both movies

is also quite famous, which was a pleasant surprise to me to see for a biblical movie. We usually recommend a DVD version as a gift so that it can be enjoyed for years to come. They are great movies to watch to celebrate every feast day of that particular saint or apparation.

Recommended Saint Movies:
CCC Saints and Heroes Collection (St. Patrick, Fatima Children, etc.)

The Prince of Egypt

Joseph: King of Dreams

The Miracle of Our Lady of Fatima

6. Rosary and Pouch

You cannot go wrong with gifting an heirloom rosary. A rosary is always a perfect gift for any Catholic.

You can read more about my thoughts and recommendations on the best rosaries to get in our Confirmation Gift Guide page. We try to break it down and make it easy for you. But to sum it up, we really advise against buying rosaries made of plastic or the ones with the metal chain links. For such a meaningful gift, you wouldn’t want something that breaks easily. 

I was recently gifted a beautiful Our Lady of Guadalupe rosary made with wooden beads and a metal chain but unfortunately, it broke in multiple places within the first use of the rosary. The heirloom ones I recommend have lasted daily use for over 7 years now.

7. Communion Dress for Girls

If you’re able to, and consult with the parents first of course, gifting a communion dress for a little girl to wear on her special day would make a beautiful gift. This would be a good gift for any person to give their grandchild, niece, or goddaughter. It would require you to talk to the parents and arrange it all so that it arrives in time and that you get the right size.

There are a ton of options online for beautiful communion dresses. However, I do suggest not buying a communion gown with no sleeves.  Just like you would be required to uphold a certain dress code at holy sites, it should also be done at any Catholic church where Our Lord is just as present. 

I personally love communion dresses with long sleeves. If you look up pictures of what girls used to wear on first communion day, it was just very beautiful and elegant. They would wear long white dresses with long sleeves and a veil that would go down to the floor.

Inspired by that, I’ve put together a few suggestions that you can choose from. There are also some great budget friendly ones on Amazon, which our flower girls wore for our own wedding. They looked like angels in it and even wore it for their own first communion a few months later. They call it their “fancy dress”.

Dress Recommendations:
Our flower girls’ dresses with the cardigan/bolero

Elegant and simple floor length long sleeve dress

Beautiful long sleeve, floor length white gown from Etsy

8. Veils for Girls

Another option besides a dress would also be the communion veil that most girls wear. Again, this is another gift you’d have to consult with the parents first. That way you can also coordinate on the style and design of the veil.

There are many great options online and are quite easy to find. Some of my favorite ones are the ones with a lace or floral headpiece but you can also go for a tiara style. 

If you don’t typically veil at Mass then this would be a veil for this special occasion. However, you can also gift Mass veils or a beret to any little girl if her family attends the Traditional Latin Mass.

I have given beautiful Mass veils as First Communion gifts before and they made the perfect first holy communion gift. Those girls finally had veils to call their own and it could be used again after. 

Veil Recommendations:
Elegant Lace Veil

Beautiful Floral Crown Veil

Floral Veil for Bun Hairstyle

Tiara Style Veil

Infinity Style Mass Veil

9. Jewelry for Girls

Another gift that would be a wonderful way to commemorate this special day for any little girl is to gift her religious jewelry. You can give her a rosary bracelet or a religious pendant.

This again is most often gifts perfect for any grandparent, close family and friends, or godparents. Jewelry is always a great way to mark special occasions and are meaningful presents especially when given by someone special to the child.

It becomes an heirloom or keepsake that will remind them of the first time they received the Eucharist as well as the person who gifted it to them. You can read more about our religious jewelry suggestions in this gifts idea list here.

10. Special Tie or Bow Tie for Boys

Now for the boys, a special gift would be a tie that they can wear specifically for the occasion. This is another gift you will have to consult with the parents first to make sure there isn’t already a dress code and that the tie would match the outfit he would wear.

I believe being gifted a tie specifically for him on this occasion would make for some precious moments. It would elevate the whole experience as something important and is a significant milestone.

Unless there is a specific dress code and the tie needs to be a certain color, you cannot go wrong with a Marian blue tie. It’s a blue that will go with any color suit and will also give honor to Our Lady. 

Instead of a tie, you can also gift him his very first tie clip. Make it even more special by giving him a tie clip with religious symbols on it. It will tie the whole outfit together wonderfully.

Tie Recommendations:
Cotton Marian Blue Tie 

Slate Blue Bow Tie for Boys

Tie Clip for First Holy Communion

11. Pocket Watch or Wrist Watch for Boys

This is one of the more unique first communion gifts ideas but I think any boy would love a pocket or wrist watch.

It signifies a special milestone in his life. As Roman Catholics, we receive our first confession and communion around this age because it is when we reach the age of reason.

So with growing up and with better understanding comes more responsibilities. A watch for any boy would signify this shift.

Also, what little boy didn’t grow up wanting a pocket watch like the ones you’d see in movies or books back in the days.

Make the gift spiritually meaningful by finding one with religious items engraved on it.

They also make memorable gifts as my husband still remembers getting his first watch ever from his grandmother for his First Communion.

Personalized Pocket Watch
First Communion Pocket Watch

Hoping this guide helps or inspires you in any way!

Yours in Christ,
A & D