10 IDEAS TO bRIGHTEN YOUR CHRISTMAS SERVICES
By Vineyard Digital Membership
Christmas services are special moments in our worship life as communities; services that many people anticipate all year long! Here are some great ideas from Vineyard churches to make your services impacting, memorable, and magical.
1. Line Outdoor Walkways With Lights – There are many creative ways to light up walkways. As your congregation, newcomers, and children come in, make the path sparkle in a way that says “Welcome.”
2. Dickensian Carolers – Have any folks in your church or area that love to sing carols in 4 part harmony? Have them singing outside, or in the foyer, as people come into the service.
3. Bright Lights On Bare Limbs – Put up bare limbs of trees, filled with white Christmas lights, at various spots among the seats in your sanctuary (you’ll lose a few seats doing this one). The ambient light creates a wonderful atmosphere in the room.
4. Christmas Cookie & Hot Drink Bar – In the foyer, trays of cookies and hot drinks (cider, coffee, hot chocolate, and tea) give the sense of a Christmas party as people enter the main meeting area.
5. Door Knocker Campaign – Using one of our Christmas door knockers, have a day where you distribute these to the church, encouraging them to invite their neighborhood to your services. Put a beautiful quote on it they can hang on a doorknob inside their house.
6. Children’s Candle Lighting Experience – Put candles across the front of your stage (or on a table) that parents can help their children light for the service. Attach a theme to the candle lighting, like “Light a candle for the Light of the world.”
7. String Quartet In The Foyer – Using your classical music contacts (high schools? local orchestras?), find a string quartet willing to fill your foyer with Christmas music. Or go with jazz, bluegrass, or another genre of music.
8. Christmas Bags For The Needy – Before or after a Christmas or Christmas Eve service, have a party where youth and/or children fill hygiene kit bags with special gifts for the poor in your area. Have the youth, or families, distribute them.
9. Themed Photo Booth – Create a free photo booth with props for individuals or families themed with the Nativity, or themes like Winter Wonderland, Candy Land, Narnia, or Who-ville. Or have an artist paint a backdrop that says “Christmas at the _________ Vineyard.” Take family photos there.
10. Kids Christmas Story In The Service – Gather the children at the front during the service for a 10 minute special Christmas story. Read or tell a short story, share a lesson, and give them a treat to take back to their seats.
VDM Resources Ready To Enhance Your Christmas Services
- Kid‘s Christmas Coloring Pages
- Christmas Media Backgrounds
- Christmas Stock Photos
- Christmas Door Knockers
- Christmas Sermons & Tools
- Christmas Devotionals
- Christmas Small Group Tools
- Family Christmas Scripture Readings
- Search All Things Christmas
Check out INBREAKING Sermon and Slide resources here.
