Advent & Christmas
Explore a curated collection of resources designed to enrich your Advent and Christmas worship experiences and activities.
Recorded Webinars
You’ll find practical guidance and inspiration for planning and celebrating the Advent and Christmas seasons in this area. These webinars look at delving deeper into the meaning and significance of these sacred seasons, creating meaningful worship experiences, engaging all ages in crafts and activities, and sharing the message of Christmas with your community.
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Additional resources
Advent Calendars
Advent Devotionals
Advent Family Take Home Kits
Advent Wreaths
Companies That Sell Materials to Make Advent Wreaths
Directions for Making and Using Advent Wreaths
- Advent Wreath Craft for Preschoolers
- How to Make and Use an Advent Wreath
- Kid Friendly Family Christmas Advent Ceremony
- Making Advent Wreaths
Alternative Christmas
Blue Christmas Services
- Building Faith – Blue Christmas Liturgy with Hymn Suggestions
- Clergy Leadership Institute – Blue Christmas Resources
- Discipleship Ministries – Blue Christmas
- Discipleship Ministries – Blue Christmas/Longest Night Worship with those Who Mourn
- Discipleship Ministries – Blue Christmas: A Service of Reflection for the Longest Night
- Discipleship Ministries – A Service of Word and Table for Longest Night/Blue Christmas
- PCUSA – ‘Blue Christmas’ Services Offer Space for Feelings of Grief and Loss During Holidays
- Presbyterian Mission – Advent Longing for the Light of Healing Service
- Sermon for a Blue Christmas Service
- Young Clergy Women – Blue Christmas Service: When Christmas Hurts
Children's Christmas Sermons
On this site, you’ll find children’s sermons for Advent and Christmas along with other activities for children.
Figures of Faith: A Series of Children’s Messages for Advent
Reformed Worship has children’s message based on characters representing six great traditions of faith.
Christingles
There are directions here to make Christingles, which are typically made from an orange, a candle, a red ribbon, and sweets or dried fruit.
Christingle
This page has the history of the symbolic object and the meaning of each part.
Chrismons
This site explains the meaning behind the symbols used for Christmas ornaments called Chrismons and has links to more information, including patterns to make the ornaments.
Chrismons information
You’ll find here the history of Chrismons, explanations of the symbols used, and downloadable patterns.
Christmas Carols
This article makes the case for not singing Christmas carols in early Advent and provides a list of traditional, contemporary, and Instrumental songs for Advent.
Carols
The lyrics and origins of the most popular Christmas carols are included on this site together with popular Christmas songs and Christmas poems.
Christmas Carols
Wikipedia’s entry for Christmas carols includes the history of Christmas carols in various parts of the world.
The Christmas Music Quiz
This site has a Christmas Music Quiz with background stories of many Christmas carols.
Christmas Song Lyrics
The Bible Printables website has downloadable documents with lyrics to Christmas carols.
The History of Christmas Carols
The Christmas Customs website has a brief history of Christmas Carols.
Hymns and Carols of Christmas
This site has an extensive list of well-known and littl- known carols with lyrics and background notes
Food Related Crafts and Activities
Games
Intergenerational Programs
This intergenerational event has been designed to not only provide an opportunity for faith sharing and learning, but also to provide resources for families to continue to learn and worship together at home
Advent—Waiting for Jesus Christ
This event from Loyola Press includes a prayer service, take-home kit, and four activity center ideas.
Celebrating Advent
Wood Lake Publishing created this intergenerational event with activity centers, dinner, worship, and a Las Posadas activity.
Illuminated Advent Path: An Intergenerational Kick-Off to the Christmas Season
This outdoor event includes five different stations that introduce participants to the five candles of the Advent wreath: hope, joy, peace, love, and Christ
The Messiah Is Coming
Lifelong Faith offers free downloads for this intergenerational Advent program, which includes instructions for a Home Kit and detailed instructions for activity centers.
Jesse Tree
You can find information about the Jesse Tree here, a decorative tree used during Advent to retell the stories of the Bible that lead to Jesus’s birth. There are also links to printable and DIY ornaments.
The Jesse Tree
This page is a guide to the Jesse tree.
Manger Crafts
How to Make Jesus in a Manger
Step by step instructions are given to make a tiny manger scene.
Manger of Love
Children make a manger and fill it each day adding straw when they do a good deed.
Miscellaneous Crafts and Activities
Building Faith
The Christmas page of the Building Faith website has links to articles on a variety of topics including Christmas pageants, welcoming visitors on Christmas Eve, and children’s Christmas books.
Christmas Crafts
This website has Advent and Christmas craft instructions.
Nativity Crafts
There are ideas for a number of different nativity crafts using various materials.
Pageants
The Birth of Jesus
This simple kids Christmas skit is written directly from the Bible, only adding songs and direction for the actors. There are no speaking parts for the actors, only a narrator.
Christmas Pageant Ideas, Tips, and Scripts
The Building Faith website has several articles for inspiration and practical tips. They also offer six free Christmas pageant scripts and a link to professionally written scripts you can purchase for a small amount.
Christmas Plays for Children
This site links to free Christmas plays.
Interactive, No-Rehearsal Christmas Pageant
This humorous script has a narrator, two youth leaders, and three guest stars, with the congregation participating as prompted.
The No-Rehearsal Christmas Pageant
The narrator of this pageant calls upon those in the audience to play non-speaking parts of the story of Jesus’ birth. Two people are available to provide simple costumes.
No Stress, No Fuss Christmas Pageant & Worship
This pageant takes no rehearsal; the only planning involved is acquiring the costumes.
A Rehearsal-Free Christmas Pageant
This intergenerational Christmas Pageant is designed to take place during a worship service.
Sunday School Center
This website offers a variety of free pageant scripts for different ages, as well as original songs.
Prayer Stations
Advent Prayer Stations
These stations are self-directed and participants can move from one station to the next in no particular order.
Advent Prayer Stations at Church
These eight prayer stations can be offered in place of the Sunday sermon.
Interactive Prayer Stations for Advent I
Theresa Cho offers several different prayer station events for Advent.
PRC Booklets
- Advent Studies at PRC
- Celebrating Advent with Children in Worship booklet
- Exploring Advent Adult Studies booklet
- Focusing on True Meaning of Christmas with Children booklet
- Helping Families Celebrate a Holy Advent booklet
- New Ways of Doing the Christmas Pageant booklet
- Using Advent and Christmas Symbols in Sunday School booklet
Puppet Skits
Retreats
Create, Contemplate, and Calm: Hosting an Arts Retreat for Advent
This article includes ideas for an Engagement Space and a Contemplative Space, as well as a sample agenda.
Women’s Christmas Retreats
Each year, Jan Richardson offers a free PDF download of a Women’s Christmas Retreat which includes readings, art, questions, and blessings.
Seven-Week Advent
Advent in Seven Weeks
This blog post makes the case to extend the season of Advent from four to seven Sundays.
The Advent Project
This site has a rationale and resources for an expanded Advent.
My Heart Shall Sing
Barn Geese Worship offers a free worship series on the theme of endings and beginnings which can be used for a seven-week Advent.
Prepare Now for the 7 Weeks of Advent
The King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland, Georgia, relates the story of their experiment with a seven-week Advent and what they would change in the future.
Prepare Ye the Way of the Lord
This brochure for celebrating a seven-week Advent at home comes from the King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland, Georgia.
St. Nicholas
10 St. Nicholas Day Activities for Children
This website has information about St. Nicholas and directions for making 10 St. Nicholas crafts.
St. Nicholas Center
This website has extensive information about the first Santa Claus and how he is celebrated throughout the world, along with resources for celebrating him.
Worship
The ABCs of Christmas: A Worship Service
This service from the Young Clergy Women website is family-friendly and involves the children.
Christmas
The United Church of Canada’s Christmas page has numerous links to Advent and Christmas services, prayers, music, and other resources.
Christmas Eve
The UMC’s Ministry Matters website has ideas for Christmas Eve services.
Christmas Eve Late Night Prayer Service
A Christmas Eve prayer service for anyone, anywhere, anytime.
Lessons and Carols: A Christmas Eve Service
This service comes from the United Church of Canada.
Re:Worship Christmas Worship Resources Index
There are numerous prayers and other resources for Christmas worship here.