LDS Ward Christmas Activities

The Witness of the Savior Is the Most Precious Gift You Can Give

Mormon billboard

Intellectual Reserve, Inc. 

Most LDS wards and branches have some sort of Christmas party or celebration. If you are in charge of such an event, or simply want to assist in planning it, the following ideas can be helpful.

Whatever you decide, you should try to make Jesus Christ the focus. The first and simplest gift given in honor of Christmas was Heavenly Father's gift to us of His Son, Jesus Christ. Events and activities that reflect this basic fact are most in keeping with the spirit of the season.

Christmas Activities That Emphasize and Give Service

Jesus Christ did not confine His ministering and assistance to just one day a year and neither should we. Activities that begin a tradition of service are most appropriate. Besides, rest homes and other such facilities report that they are flooded with service during the Christmas season, but often experience a shortage during the rest of the year.

Appropriate service activities could include:

  • Use the JustServe.org website to choose an activity.
  • Support preexisting worthy efforts and events that already exist in the community.
  • Give to those in need. This can involve food or other items.
  • Send care packages to missionaries and military members serving elsewhere.

Jesus Christ served others. We should do for others what Jesus Christ would do for them if He were here now.

Activities That Highlight That the LDS Are Indeed Christian

It is a curious fact that other people often do not know that LDS members are, in fact, Christians. We can use the Christmas season to emphasize this fact. Besides, people are more apt to go to church at Christmas time.

Appropriate activities could include:

  • Stage a Christ-centered open house at your local meetinghouse.
  • Offer nativity/creche exhibit(s) for viewing.
  • Provide a musical event that celebrates Christ's birth, like a cantata.
  • Offer a Handel's Messiah event to the public.
  • Stage a live nativity.
  • If you live in Canada, attend an LDS Nativity Pageant. Multiple pageants are held across Canada. Most do not have websites.

Making it a Missionary-Oriented Activity

Bringing people to Jesus Christ is the most precious gift we have to give. Any event that emphasizes Jesus Christ and how He paid the price for our sins is in keeping with the Christmas season.

Having a white Christmas does not have to be related to the weather. A white Christmas could include having baptisms or gifting temple clothing to new members soon to receive their own endowments.

Taking our friends to view the Christmas lights at a nearby temple or all the Christ-themed events that occur around temples is also appropriate.

De-emphasizing Santa Claus As Focal Point

Making Santa Claus the focal point of a ward Christmas party or event is not as appropriate as making Jesus Christ the focal point. It may take some effort to de-emphasize the commercial aspects of Christmas and re-emphasize Jesus Christ, but it should be done.

Give Gifts to Jesus Christ at Christmas

We are not limited to giving gifts to others, we can give gifts to Jesus Christ as well. President Henry B. Eyring once counseled us:

That is the spirit of Christmas, which puts in our hearts a desire to give joy to other people. We feel a spirit of giving and gratitude for what we have been given. The celebration of Christmas helps us keep our promise to always remember Him and His gifts to us. And that remembrance creates a desire in us to give gifts to Him.

Appropriate gifts include:

We are used to a ward Christmas dinner as a typical event. However, it can be so much more. Be open to the inspiration that can flow from Heavenly Father in truly focusing on the gift of Jesus Christ and His gospel at Christmas time. Structuring appropriate activities and events can make a real difference in our lives and in the lives of others. It deserves our best efforts.

Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Cook, Krista. "LDS Ward Christmas Activities." Learn Religions, Sep. 21, 2021, learnreligions.com/lds-ward-christmas-activities-2158684. Cook, Krista. (2021, September 21). LDS Ward Christmas Activities. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/lds-ward-christmas-activities-2158684 Cook, Krista. "LDS Ward Christmas Activities." Learn Religions. https://www.learnreligions.com/lds-ward-christmas-activities-2158684 (accessed March 28, 2024).