Another “Christmas in July” idea for church leaders…
If you have read any of my posts, you’ll know that I’m a fan of planning. The earlier, the better. I realize that sometimes changes have to be made because of something that has shifted, but – in the vast majority of cases – earlier planning = superior results.
It is NOT too early to start doing preliminary planning for Christmas. You don’t have to nail down details at this point – who is singing “O Holy Night,” for example. However, the “figuring out” of big picture concepts can certainly move ahead.
One easy starting point is to choose the color scheme. Hopefully, you’re not just doing the exact same thing every year and put at least a bit of thought, energy, and resources towards “big days” like Christmas and Easter. It’s OK to celebrate and deviate from the norm sometimes (a post and discussion for a different day). Choosing the color scheme helps get your mind working in that direction – in fact, your brain can’t HELP working on it (similarly to when you pause during a word game and can immediately answer many of the questions when you pick it up the next day).
Simply choose two colors that work together for Christmas: red/green, red/gold, silver/gold, silver/blue, etc… and decide the general “vibe:” traditional, modern/edgy, “nature-y,” classy, etc… Set a time a month or so from now for a preliminary planning meeting, and gradually start gathering ideas.
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