Thanksgiving is past and most of us have begun a month of celebrating, special events, programs and parties leading up to Christmas! Definitely a busy time of year, but also a time of year which has great potential to stir up “trouble” as you try to discern the best way for your Children’s Ministry to handle things such as; gift exchanges, special service projects, dealing with “Santa” and just how many special events should you plan in this month when families already tend to be so busy. Do any of the following sound familiar to you . . .- If you do not, “do enough”, some people may complain – “Why are you NOT having the children present a Christmas program/concert?” But, if you do, others may complain – “Why are you putting children on display and adding yet another thing for families to fit into their schedules?”
- If you do not give gifts or involve children in projects where they provide gifts for those in need, you may be criticized for, “missing a wonderful opportunity” and if you do for spending money unnecessarily or putting children in a difficult place if their families can not afford to participate.
- If you decorate with or refer to Santa as “real”, you may have parents who are unhappy you are promoting a fantasy as real and detracting from the Reason for the Season, but if you tell the truth about Santa, other parents may be upset with you for, “spoiling the fun” for their children.
The list goes on, but at a time of year when the focus should be on the joy we have because of the Gift God gave, we can easily become distracted by the busyness and the “controversies” which tend to come this time of year.
So, what do you do? How do you handle these situations and others which seem to come up during the Christmas Season?
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