Just wanted to clarify that I realize you can do both, but not knowing Catholic theology that well, I wasn’t sure if it was
required to pray to a saint *before* praying to Jesus. I’m guessing depending on the situation, you can do either, yes? It’s all a matter of personal preference?
Another question—in India, households will have favorite family gods they pray to on a regular basis (my SIL’s family actually has their own 300 year old family temple in India)—do Catholic families tend to have family favorites in which saint/s they choose to pray to, or is it more of an individual thing in families?
Devotions to saints are almost universally "unofficial". Even the Rosary and other Marian prayers are, sort of, "informal" or "popular".
I think I said earlier that at the Easter Vigil when we Baptize lots of adults, usually, we sing a "Litany of the Saints" in which we include patrons chosen by the catechumens.
But that's for fancy. In a normal regular Sunday Baptism, if the catechumen has a patron, the patron's name might be mentioned during the prayers, but it's by no means required.
I think there are national and regional saints, but I never heard of a family attachment to one particular saint. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen, I just never heard of it.
Marian devotion, though, is a different matter and I'd venture to guess that any devout practicing RC family probably says the Rosary together from time to time and may also sing Marian antiphons like the Salve Regina or the Regina Coeli.