Advent and Christmas – Online Resource Center – PRC

Advent Devotionals
These devotionals for each day of Advent on the Advent Conspiracy website are written by pastors and church leaders from around the world.

Fling Wide the Door
The GodPause page of Luther Seminary offers a free downloadable devotional in regular and large print.

Kindling the Flame of Love
This free downloadable Advent devotional from Presbyterians Today embraces the observance of Celtic Advent, which encompasses a full 40-days, mirroring the season of Lent.

Living Well Through Advent 2023
Living Compass offers their Advent devotional as a free download in English and Spanish. Printed books are $1 with free shipping on orders of 10 or more. An ebook is available for .99 cents or you can sign up for daily emails. A facilitator's guide is offered as a free PDF download.

Seasonal Devotionals for Advent
Kate Bowler’s website offers several four-week downloadable devotionals with options for people to use solo, with a group, or in a more formal Bible study or Sunday school setting.

ADVENT FAMILY TAKE HOME KITS

Advent at Home in Community
This article has ideas for Christmas ornament kits to send home, weekly scripture and devotional readings, and suggestions for random acts of kindness.

Advent in a Box
Instructions are available here for a box of treats and treasures which include a variety of Advent activities.

Advent Kits Gallery
This article on the Building Faith website has photos and descriptions of Advent at Home bags, boxes, and kits from several churches.

Family Ministry Tools
There are four options to purchase downloadable resources to print for an Advent in a Box. Instructions for filling a pizza box with activities and devotions to help families celebrate Advent together are included.

ADVENT WREATHS

Companies That Sell Materials to Make Advent Wreaths
Autom
Catholic Supply

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

Advent Conspiracy
The Advent Conspiracy offers a free four week curriculum for kids based on the four tenets of Advent Conspiracy: Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, and Love All. There is also a free four week curriculum for families.

A Great Guide to a More Joyful, Less Debtful Christmas
This article discusses the book, Hundred Dollar Holiday by Bill McKibbe, which offers suggestions on how to rethink Christmastime, so that our current obsession with present-buying becomes less important than the dozens of other possible traditions and celebrations.

Ideas for Reclaiming Advent and Christmas
This booklet from the PC(USA) suggests ways to celebrate the birth of Christ in more meaningful ways than mainstream culture provides.

BLUE CHRISTMAS SERVICES

Many find Christmas a difficult time, especially those who are grieving the loss of loved-ones. There are many resources available for designing such a service in your church.

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

Sermons4Kids (Search for "Advent" and "Christmas.")
Talks2Kids

CHRISMONS

Chrismons
Chrismons information

CHRISTINGLES

How to Make a Christingle
Christingle

CHRISTMAS CAROLS

Can We Sing Christmas Carols During Advent?
This article from The Voice website 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 little known carols with lyrics and background notes.

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FOOD-RELATED CRAFTS AND ACTIVITIES

The Candy Cane Legend
Gingerbread Nativity
Gingerbread Nativity Scene
The Legend of the Candy Cane
Lollipop Angels
Lollipop Angels 2

GAMES

Advent Bingo
Advent Bingo Intergenerational
Christmas Charades Words
Christmas Games

INTERGENERATIONAL PROGRAMS

An Advent Intergenerational Event
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 through the ritual of lighting an advent candle each day of advent and doing age-appropriate family devotions together.

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. Each station has a light element, and paths are lined with luminary bags to emphasize the light of this season throughout the experience.

The Messiah Is Coming
Lifelong Faith offers free downloads for this intergenerational Advent program, which is designed to help participants develop a deeper understanding of Jesus the Messiah through the exploration of Advent readings and traditions. It includes instructions for a Home Kit and detailed instructions for activity centers.

JESSE TREE

My Jesse Tree
The Jesse Tree

MANGER CRAFTS

Good Deeds Manger for Baby Jesus
How to Make Jesus in a Manger
Manger of Love

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, how to welcome 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 posted on the Ministry-to-Children website as well as several other websites.

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
Theresa Cho offers this pageant which takes no rehearsal; the only planning involved is acquiring the costumes. The only speaking part is the narrator and everyone, adults and children, can participate at their comfort level, whether it is wearing a costume or singing in the pews.

A Rehearsal-Free Christmas Pageant
This intergenerational Christmas Pageant is designed to take place during worship service. Resources which are free to download include a list of what you need to get started, a narration script, an example bulletin, and lyrics for suggested songs.

Sunday School Center
This website offers a variety of free pageant scripts for different ages, as well as original songs. Suggestions for costumes, props, sound, and lighting are included, as well as director’s notes.

PRAYER STATIONS

Advent Prayer Stations
These stations are self-directed and participants can move from one station to the next in no particular order. Allow 40 minutes for people to travel around the room and explore and pray.

Advent Prayer Stations at Church
These eight prayer stations can be offered in place of the Sunday sermon. People all ages spent 15 minutes choosing one or more stations to engage with, as meditative music played in the background.

Interactive Prayer Stations for Advent I
Theresa Cho offers several different prayer station events for Advent.

PUPPET SKITS

Puppet Resources
What’s Christmas All About?

RETREATS

Create, Contemplate, and Calm: Hosting an Arts Retreat for Advent
This article from the Building Faith website 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. The retreats are not justs for women and can be done alone or in a group.

SERVICE AND MISSION ORGANIZATIONS FOR CHRISTMAS GIVING

Angel Tree
Heifer International
SERRV

SEVEN-WEEK ADVENT

Advent in Seven Weeks
This blog post on the Hope Lutheran Church of Calgary website 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 - St. Nicholas - how he is celebrated throughout the world, and 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.