Joe Reger of Reger's Church Supplies and Religious Articles shows some of the "hot items" for Christmas that abound at religious goods stores in the diocese.

What parent among us won’t reluctantly admit to having scurried out one Christmas season in a desperate, frantic search for the hot toy of the season, whether it be a Tickle Me Elmo, Nintendo Wii, Cabbage Patch Doll, Beanie Baby or whatever else struck our child’s fancy that particular year?

While we here at the Catholic Chronicle might not be chasing the latest toy craze, we did, however, wonder if the religious goods stores in our diocese felt they had any one “hot” item that would be a must- have on the Catholic Christmas list this year.

The short answer would have to be, “no.” In surveying six stores, there were six differing opinions on what customers will want to scoop up this holiday season. Oh, sure, they all mentioned the usual Christmas standards — nativity sets, religious ornaments and advent wreaths, but from there the answers were as varied as the stores themselves.

So what do each of our religious goods experts think will be the hot Catholic gift this year?

The one item we did hear about the most from our religious goods experts was the book, “Mother Teresa: Come be My Light: The Private Writings of the ‘Saint of Calcutta’ ” written by Brian Kolodiejchuk.

“I think books are going to be the hot item this year,” says Cara Rawlins, manager of Drouillard Catholic Books and Gifts. She also believes Matthew Kelly’s “The Dream Manager” and “Mother Angelica’s Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality” will be popular.

Sheila Churchill, manager of Churchill’s Religious Goods and Gifts agrees that religious books are always a popular Christmas gift. She notes her store is also selling a lot of St. Christopher and St. Michael medals with the armed service emblems on the back. “They want their boys and girls to be safe,” Ms. Churchill says.

After attending the Catholic Marketing Network Convention, Jacqui Logan, owner of Heaven’s Door in Lima feels a family tree wall plaque will be a popular Christmas item. The tree is a special order item that can be etched on wood or framed and is on display at their store.

Heaven’s Door is also expecting to sell a lot of the book, “Fox and the Hunter,” written by Lima St. Gerard’s parishioners Sheila Silone and Ann Mulcahy. “It’s a retelling of an old Irish tale and would make a good Christmas gift,” says Mrs. Logan.
Christmas bracelets that tell the story of the birth of Jesus through different stones are popular at The Angelus in Tiffin. Manager Judy Brickner adds the statue of Santa Claus holding Jesus is always a big seller as are St. Nicholas statues that look more like Santa.

But the most popular items at The Angelus would have to be anything related to the University of Notre Dame. “Notre Dame stands for Our Blessed Mother Mary so I think they belong in a religious goods store,” laughs Mrs. Brickner.

Admitting picking out the hot religious item would be the “guessing game of the year,” Phil Dinovo, owner of Sandusky Holy Family Books & Gifts says his store has a new line of Catholic T-shirts he’s hoping will be a big seller. The line includes everything from Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict, the Holy Trinity, Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Celtic symbol.

Nativity sets are always very much in demand at Reger’s Church Supplies and Religious Articles says owner Gina Layman. Customers particularly like the Willow Tree and Fontanini nativity sets. Both of these sets allow you to buy a base set and then add new pieces every year. Mrs. Layman notes a lot of Godparents will buy the small starter set for their Godchildren and then add a piece every year.

According to Mrs. Layman, another popular item at Christmas time is the oplatek Christmas Wafers.

“We sell a lot of these,” she says. A Polish tradition, the oplatek wafer is shared among family members and friends who each break off a small piece and give it to one another along with a blessing.

Traditional rosaries are very much in demand at the holiday season as are the relatively new rosary bracelets, which have one decade of the rosary with a clasp. “They get more and more popular every year,” says Drouillard’s manager Mrs. Rawlins.

All of these items (except maybe the University of Notre Dame paraphernalia) will help us keep in mind the true reason for our Christmas season. And, perhaps best of all, we won’t have to camp out overnight in front of any of these stores to purchase these “hot” holiday gifts.