Hosting a Christmas carol service at your school or church is a great way to get everyone in the Christmas spirit and remind everyone why we celebrate this special time of year. You could even take the opportunity to raise awareness and funds for less fortunate children around the world. This article explains how to organize a children’s carol service, helping you ensure the day is a success.

Organize a Christmas carol service

Before you do anything else, tell the school principal or church pastor that you are thinking of hosting a children’s carol service. Once you have their permission, reserve a place (for example, the assembly hall of the local school or church) at a time and date that makes it easy for the children and their parents to attend.

This is what you will need:

• Service order
• Welcome speechprepared by yourself / director / boy and girl director / pastor of the church
• Good selection of children’s Christmas songs.. Give your carol service a celebratory yet heartwarming atmosphere with a mix of fun, contemporary Christmas songs and more traditional, soulful ones. Ask a pianist or a band to play the backing, or if you’re short on time, use an audio CD with backing tracks.
• readings. The readings should also be varied, with a good mix of biblical messages and current events. Speakers can include anyone from children to esteemed church members. The more mix you have, the more varied and interesting the carol service will be.
• fundraising ideas. Hosting a children’s carol service is also a great opportunity to raise money for charity, and in doing so, teach them valuable lessons about caring for others. Hold a collection at the beginning and/or end of the service and include a reading about your chosen charity. You could even incorporate a holiday bake sale or ask the kids to bring in unwanted items to send to underprivileged children.
• Christmas Blessing/Take Home Message, prepared by yourself, the director or the pastor of the church. This should consolidate the lessons learned throughout the service.

Once you have found willing volunteers for the welcome address, musical accompaniments, readings, etc., arrange a meeting so everyone can discuss their ideas and combine them to create a cohesive Christmas carol service with a consistent message.

Give each speaker a specific amount of time (eg, 3-5 minutes per reading) and let them plan their individual readings. If you’re concerned about how the service will work that day, get everyone together beforehand for a quick rehearsal.

Now that you have a better idea of ​​how to organize a children’s carol service, you should feel much more confident. For more fundraising ideas, check out charity websites like The Children’s Society, which offers some great advice.