How Churches Prepare for the Holiday Season

Have you ever wondered what other churches do to get ready for the holidays? The holiday season is an important time for religious institutions; many churches see their highest levels of attendance and engagement during the holiday season. Statistics show that 51% of Americans will be attending church services around the Christmas season this year.¹ That’s a big increase from the standard 20% of the population who attend church regularly during the rest of the year.² 

So, what should churches do to prepare for this influx of visitors from the community and the return of sparse attendees to the fold? There are five ways that churches can prepare for the holiday season: decorating to reflect the season, scheduling meaningful events, planning for overflow seating, tuning instruments, and advertising events to the community.   

1. Decorate for the Season

There’s nothing like the sight of a holiday church service in a gorgeously decorated church. It can be breathtaking for people to walk into a church they visit every Sunday and see it transformed with garlands, sparkling lights, evergreen wreaths, ribbons, and other festive decorations. 

To prepare for the holiday season, churches can start by incorporating seasonal colors and decor into their worship spaces. For Thanksgiving, churches can adorn their altars with harvest-themed decorations such as pumpkins, cornucopias, and autumn leaves. Churches can also create a Thanksgiving gratitude display in the foyer. Provide a table or bulletin board where congregants can write down their blessings to help create a culture of gratitude in your congregation. 

When selecting Christmas decorations for your church, however, remember to keep your church’s doctrine and practices in mind. Some churches frown on non-religious holiday décor themes such as reindeer, Santa Claus, mistletoe, candy canes, snowmen, tinsel, or other similar items, even though these decorations are popular in secular culture. For this reason, it’s important that church Christmas decorating themes complement your church’s beliefs.  

Churches often decorate their spaces during Christmastime with traditional symbols like wreaths, nativity scenes, and twinkling lights. Hosting a community tree-trimming event where members can contribute ornaments can also foster a sense of togetherness. 

2. Arrange Meaningful Events  

Early in the autumn, sit down with your church committee to plan out what events will be held at your church. This will include special holiday services, concerts, dinners, service projects, nativity plays, and other events. In addition to these church-sponsored services and events, your church may also play host to community events. Make a list of the top priority events for your church. This might be holiday church services, concerts, family events, children’s church events, or dinners for the homeless or other people in need. 

Don’t give in to the temptation to overbook the church during the holiday season. Ideally, place a day between weekday events to allow for cleaning and setup. If that isn’t possible, ensure that your church setup staff or church volunteers are prepared to clean and tidy the church before and after events.  

3. Plan for Overflow Seating 

For most churches, the weeks surrounding the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays are the most well-attended services of the year. This means that churches will need to carefully plan for an influx of visitors. After all, there’s nothing worse than people showing up at church and being forced to leave because there aren’t enough chairs.  

To prepare for visitors, you’ll need to take stock of available seating. This might mean pulling out extra chairs from a storage closet, renting extra chairs, or purchasing additional chairs to accommodate guests during the holidays. Bertolini Church Chairs offer a comfortable, flexible seating option for holiday visitors.  

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Some churches have the advantage of being able to rearrange seating to accommodate the maximum number of congregants in the sanctuary during the holidays. This is a big advantage to having church chairs as opposed to church pews. 

4. Tune instruments 

One important task in preparing for church holidays is having the pianos and organs tuned. A sour note on the piano can spoil a whole church concert or choir performance. Schedule to have the piano tuning done by mid-November, so that the musicians will have a chance to practice on it after it’s tuned.  

The first step in getting instruments tuned in a church is to schedule a piano and organ tuning with a professional tuner. You can start by researching local piano tuners or reaching out to concert venues or nearby music stores for recommendations. Once you have found a tuner, contact them to schedule a time for the tuning session. It is recommended to schedule tunings once or twice a year (depending on the age and condition of the instrument) to keep it in optimal condition. Many churches tune the piano and organ in the spring and fall to make sure that the instruments are perfect for Christmas and Easter services. 

5. Announce the event schedule early 

Your congregation is busy with many things during the holidays, and you want to give them the best chance of attending church holidays and special events. Announce the event schedule as early as possible so that people can plan other holiday events around church services and concerts.  

Churches can advertise events in several ways. Some churches have a strong social media presence and stay connected to their congregation through Facebook or other sites. This is a great place to create a calendar of holiday events. If your congregation isn’t connected on social media, that’s okay—there are many other ways to share the activity schedule with your congregation. Plan to announce activities in weekly meetings (when appropriate), on billboards, and in flyers that can be passed out to churchgoers and the greater community.  

The Final Take 

As the holiday season approaches, churches play a vital role in creating a festive and welcoming atmosphere for their congregations. Some of the things that a church can do to prepare for the holidays are adding extra seating, planning meaningful events, advertising events, and decorating the church for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It’s also important to schedule to have pianos and organs tuned well in advance of holiday performances. These preparations can greatly enhance the spiritual experience and sense of community within the church. 

References

1. Pew Research Center, “Americans Say Religious Aspects of Christmas Are Declining in Public Life.” December 12, 2017. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2017/12/12/americans-say-religious-aspects-of-christmas-are-declining-in-public-life/ 
2. ChurchTrac, “The State of Church Attendance: Trends and Statistics [2024]. July 21, 2023. https://www.churchtrac.com/articles/the-state-of-church-attendance-trends-and-statistics-2023