Building an inexpensive home altar

Growing up in the '70s and '80s, I didn't know anyone who had a home altar. In fact, if you had a Crucifix on the wall, you were pretty religious in my book.

After re-embracing the faith and trying to practice it as best I can, I've learned about so many cool - and sadly seemingly-rare - traditions found in Catholic homes. One that I think is wonderful is the home altar.

But with a 2-year-old and an infant, a traditional home altar (table, altar cloth, etc.) wouldn't last long in my house. In fact, I can barely keep my daughter out of the dog's dish, so a poor altar wouldn't stand a chance. I can just see her pulling on the altar cloth, with Crucifixes, holy cards and candles a-rainin' down.

Yet I figured there had to be a compromise somewhere. I tucked the idea back in my head, and it has returned complete with answers. Woo hoo!

First: Where to put it? A stand-alone table, even small, is out of the question due to the Toddler Factor, so I decided on the hutch in the dining room. It holds family photos and my grandmother's tea set, and I figured a small altar in the middle would look lovely - and out of reach of a tiny trouble-magnet.



Second: What to do about the altar cloth? The hutch is too small for a table cloth and, again, I needed something small hands couldn't reach, grab and pull. The compromise: Placemats. I went to Linens-N-Things and bought basic, but pretty, mats in green, white, blue, red and purple, to reflect the liturigcal colors of the year. The mats were only $2.99 each and are just big enough to hold a standing Crucifix, holy card holder and candle.



Third, I found a small standing Crucifix at Autom.com.



Fourth: I had a lot of fun going holy card shopping. Each month I hit my local Catholic bookstore and try to find holy cards for the major feasts of the month.



And, lastly, for the finishing touches, I added a small votive.

I love the idea of a home altar, as it'll be a way to share and teach feast days and special Church celebrations with my children. Then, hopefully, they'll grow up a little more catechized than their Mom.

A small Editor's Note: If you look closely, you'll notice something's off with the altar photos - the "altar cloth" is green. The reason is I've had this post written for a while, but I kept forgetting to post it, so these photos are from the fall (hence the St. Cecilia holy card on the altar, too). I did get home from Mass last week, glance at the altar and say, "Hey, I have to change to purple again!"