Christmas parties can often be difficult to plan!
A few years ago a friend and I were planning a Christmas party for friends from our church and we were trying to decide what activities to do. We were struggling because we didn’t want to just play games and eat. We wanted to plan something worthwhile. After thought, struggle, and prayer, this is what materialized:
CHRISTMAS FISHING
We divided into two even teams and gave each team a video camera, a vehicle to drive, a list of instructions, and Christmas tracts. The goal was to finish everything on the list and be the first ones back. I’ll give you some examples of what was on our list, but I’d also recommend coming up with your own ideas to add.
-Christmas carol at 2 houses with lighted Christmas trees in their front yard. Compliment their tree, and leave them with a tract and plate of cookies.
-Take a Christmas Survey* to someone wearing a Santa hat.
-Take a Christmas survey to someone wearing green.
-Pass out 50 Christmas Tracts
-Sing “Joy to the World” in front of a Nativity scene (everyone in the group must sing).
-Go through a fast food drive-through, buy something, and leave them with a Christmas tract.
-Buy a Christmas dessert to bring back and share with the rest of us.
We all came back excited, laughing, and full of funny stories and good reports. Next we filled our plates with Christmas munchies and watched the documentary videos we had just taken. Talk about hilarious…. we laughed so much that night.
The best part was the satisfactory feeling that we had brightened the lives of others that evening and passed out tracts with a thought-provoking message. When the party had ended, we knew that there was fruit that was going to last. It’s always more blessed to give than to receive. The houses where we caroled were so tickled and excited. In fact, a few days later we received a very enthusiastic thank you note from one of the houses we had caroled at. The mother wrote how her daughter had never heard Christmas carolers before and it was such a highlight for their family.
Just a warning– if you do the “Christmas Fishing” activity, be aware that you may not be able to take video cameras into stores.
If any of you have other ideas for “profitable Christmas parties” or of ways to be a bright light for the Lord this Christmas, please post a comment and share your ideas with the rest of us! And, if any of you try this and it goes well, please come back and post a comment telling us about it!
*Below is a Christmas survey my dad wrote the year I was born. Thanks, dad! 🙂
Feel free to add or subtract questions. Taking a survey is a wonderful springboard for a great conversation. Christmas is an outstanding time to witness! Make sure you don’t let yourself get sucked into the shopping rush and forget to be talking to people about the Lord! During the Christmas season, people are happy, feeling social, and generally they are excited to talk with someone. (Just don’t pick people who are in a hurry! 🙂 ) Also remember: never give up witnessing after a conversation that you feel didn’t go well.
I guarantee you will enjoy your shopping more if you also talk with people about the Lord. “It is more blessed to give than to receive” Acts 20:35
WOW! Awesome ideas Grace.I think I’m going to try and organize this around here. 🙂
Grace, thank you so much for sharing! That Christmas party sounds like so much fun. What a great idea! Our family has enjoyed Christmas caroling in our neighborhood. It has been amazing to see some of the fruit that’s come of it! It seems like such a simple thing but we have really seen the Lord work through it in an exciting way. Thank you for your post!
That sounds like so much fun, and alot more worthwhile! Thanks you for the wonderful ideas!
That’s really neat Grace – I LOVE the idea of a “profitable Christmas party”. It IS best to used our time, even our ‘parties’ for God’s kingdom – what a marvelous idea!