Written by School has just started back up for our students, and it may seem a little early to start talking about Christmas. It still feels like summer here in Pennsylvania. But remember that once the back to school advertisements end, we need to be prepared for Christmas adds to start dropping—whether it’s commercials, ads online, or walking through stores and seeing Christmas displays slowly popping up.
With that in mind, we need to look ahead to the Christmas season and all that entails for student ministries. One of the big events that student ministries typically look toward at Christmas time are Christmas parties. It’s important to begin thinking through the essential details so you can start planning now and purchase your items ahead of time.
So what do you need to start planning?
Communication.
When you figure out your Christmas party well ahead of time, you are able to communicate this to your students, leaders, and families so they can coordinate their schedules and make sure they can attend.
It also allows you to build anticipation and excitement about the party among your students, which in turn allows them to share that information with their friends so they can invite them along to the party.
The theme and feel for your party.
Are you doing a white elephant gift exchange? Is everyone wearing an ugly Christmas sweater? Is the party more casual or more structured?
Whatever you decide to do, picking a theme and feel ahead of time allows you to begin preparing and shaping the party now. You can start thinking through activities and games, purchasing supplies, and enlisting the help you need.
This also allows you to think through your schedule and where you’d like different elements to be. You will also able to intentionally shape this event and its elements to reflect your ministry’s vision.
Timing.
When it comes to special events the schedule may be different to accommodate your plans. You may start earlier or go longer than normal.
As you think through your event, it’s important to figure out any timing changes so you can communicate that out to families well in advance. Figuring out your event timing also allows you to build structure and organization into your plans to make sure you have enough time for what you’re seeking to do.
Special elements.
These types of events have special elements to them. Whether it’s a gift exchange, some sort of costumes, worship, a guest speaker, unique snacks, or a special theme, competition, or prize, when you think well ahead of time it allows you to get more creative with what you are doing.
Games and supplies.
Once your schedule is finalized and you know what games you will be playing or activities you’ll be hosting, you can begin purchasing supplies.
Typically, holiday supplies are more expensive during the holidays. Buying holiday supplies outside of the holiday schedule means you may actually be able to save some money and find some deals. So building out your games and activities ahead of time helps you to be more creative and proactive with your budget.
Snacks.
Snacks at Christmas are always special because they help evoke the holiday spirit and make your event feel special. If you know what you’re doing for snacks ahead of time, you can do some unique and special things for students.
You could ask people in the church to bake cookies, which as a baker the more time you have to prepare the better. You could purchase supplies to decorate your own Christmas cookies or gingerbread people. There’s the classic hot cocoa bar that you could make into a build-your-own extreme cocoa. You could do breakfast for dinner or even a Christmas dinner depending on the size of your group and your budget.
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