Christmas Day

25 December 2025

Bible readings for today

Isaiah 9:2-7
Psalms 96:1-13
Titus 2:11-14
Luke 2:1-14 (15-20)

Liturgical Colour: WHITE

Collect

Son of God,
light that shines in the dark,
child of joy and peace,
help us to come to you
and be born anew this holy night.
Hear this prayer for your love’s sake.
Amen.

E te Tama a te Atua, te rama e tīaho nei i te pō,
te tamaiti o te hari koa, o te rangimārie,
āwhinatia mātou ki te haere atu ki a koe
kia whānau hōu ai i tēnei pō tapu.
Whakarongo ki tēnei īnoi i runga i tōu ake aroha.
Āmine.

Christmas Day (Luke 2:1-20)

Meri Kirihimete! Today we celebrate the birth of the Saviour of the world!

Leaders Input

What do your Christmas Services look like?
Christmas is one of those services where everyone in the church can feel strongly about how the service looks. This may mean you don't get much say in the shape of the service, when, where, what happens. If your Christmas services are a place where kids are welcome, feel a sense of belonging, love and connection to God then rejoice! But if not, keep advocating, and remember that sometimes small things make a big difference. Try these:

have some families with kids as part of the welcoming team.
provide a welcoming pack with some paper and pens.
think about how to incorporate visual elements and movement into your services - these help both kids and adults be more engaged.
are their bits of the service that are hard to understand for kids or for adults who haven't been to church before. How can these be more accessible?
ask the kids you know what they like about Christmas service and what they would change. Take them seriously.

Visio Lectio
This print from Rev. Sarah West at Visio Lectio is a beautiful image to contemplate, as you prepare for Christmas Day.
PNG Download
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Gospel Conversations 2025: Coming soon.

Gospel Conversations 2022: Join us as nine of us tackle the Christmas Gospel, all within 15 minutes! This year we took a verse or two each and dug for the Good News. Who knew there could be good news in a census, or the power of an emperor, or the terror of the shepherds? Join us as we celebrate this joyous Christmas message and promise. [Thanks Dunedin team - these have been so great!]

Gospel Conversations 2021: We decided to do something special this week as we join in the excitement and joy of Christmas. We threw it open to anyone who has been a part of the Gospel Conversations this year to join us if they were available in this increasingly busy time. The result was a slightly chaotic but joyful and varied sharing of what the challenges, good news and "so what's" of the story of Christmas might be.

Christmas Welcome Packs

Thinking about how to welcome children at your Christmas services this year? How about a welcome pack? Strandz has some suggestions for these:

We put this Christmas activity booklet together to go in kids welcome packs for the Christmas weekend, along with some 'Christmas on the Move' nativity characters, a glowstick, candy cane and some other bits and pieces. You can print it out on 2 A4 pages, staple and fold to make a little booklet.
You can also print out any of our new Advent Funsheets. There is a special page for Christmas day.
The printable nativity in Christmas on the Move is great to print out and give to families as at your christmas services. Encourage them to make their own at home, or give them a pack with pens to start making it in the service.

Lighting the Christ Candle

Each week we gather together and light another candle. We see the light growing brighter and brighter as we get closer to the birth of the “Light of the World.”

Here is one way to do it (there are lots of different ways!):
Today we remember the birth of Jesus "Light of the World."
Light all five candles, including the white candle in the centre, to symbolize Hope, Peace, Joy, Love, and Jesus, the Light of the World.

Say: Today, we light the fifth candle, the Christ candle. Jesus has come into the world, just as God promised! This candle reminds us that Jesus is the Light of the World. His light shines in the darkness, and nothing can put it out. Today, we celebrate that Jesus is with us, bringing hope, peace, joy, and love to the world.
Read: John 1:1-5, 9-14, about Jesus as the Light of the World and the Word made flesh.
Ask: I wonder how Jesus brings light to the world? I wonder how we can share His light with others?
Pray: Thank you, God, for sending Jesus to be the Light of the World. Thank you that His light shines in the darkness, giving us hope, peace, joy, and love. Help us to share Jesus’ light with everyone we meet. Amen.

Intergenerational Christmas

Christmas Day (Intergen Australia)
Advent to Christmas Series: Year A 2026

Written and compiled by Katherine Ruhle. Bible references: Isaiah, John, Luke, Titus.

Christmas Day: Rejoice! Our Saviour is here! (Intergen Australia)
Advent to Christmas Series: Year A 2023

Written and compiled by Alison Knox. Bible references: Isaiah, Luke, Psalms.

Rags to Riches - An intergenerational all age service (SUNZ)

Collected Resources
A collection of Intergenerational Christmas Service ideas from the Uniting Church in Australia.

I wonder

I wonder what you really want for Christmas?
I wonder what God wants for Christmas?
I wonder if there's something that you can give God that will make him very happy?

Game: The Human Christmas Tree

The Human Christmas Tree

You will need:

Players for the game, including one person for the tree and 2 people to decorate. This can work well with family groups (1 kid and 2 parents, or 1 parent and 2 kids).
Red and green crepe paper, Aluminum foil, String, Scissors, Tape, Prizes for the different teams if desired.

Divide players into teams. Each team selects someone to be the tree. Give each team some of each of the materials, plus scissors and tape. Give the teams 5-10 minutes to decorate their tree. Have the teams pose with their trees for photos. If you want to have judging and prizes: You can give each team a prize for something, ie, most decorated tree, best looking tree, etc. Or you can choose the best decorated tree.

Pohutakawa Prayers

The red blossom of the Pohutakawa tree is a vivid image for Christmas in New Zealand! Print off some of these Pohutakawa frond templates and use them as an intergenerational prayer for Christmas Day.

Examples of prayer prompts:

Write something you are thankful for
Write a prayer for someone you hold in your heart at Christmas time
Write down a name of someone you miss at Christmas time

You could encourage people to hang them on your christmas tree, or peg them onto a piece of string on the front of a communion altar.

Download
Download template (both)
Colour template
Greyscale template

Gift Prayers

You will need:

Images of presents, cut out on paper - like this template
Pens or felts, scissors, 2 rolls of wrapping paper to make a stocking, sellotape or staples.
Optional: glitter and stickers to decorate the presents (if you'd like, you can use plain presents, rather than the ones provided above, and allow everyone to decorate them completely)

Before the service

make 2 large Christmas stockings using the wrapping paper. Cut each side out and then tape or staple the sides together leaving the top open. Hang these up near the front of the church.
Set out a table near the entrance of church. Put out some printed images of the presents, along with scissors and pens. As people come in, invite them to cut out a present to take into the service. They can also decorate it.

During the service, at prayer time

give out the felts and pens and invite people to write down their prayer. It can be something they're sorry for, something they need help with, a thank you prayer or a praise.
Explain that we're going to pretend that the two Christmas stockings hanging up front are God's stockings (that's why they're soooo big!) and during this time, we're going to give our prayers to him.
You might like to play some background music during this time. Give people time to write or draw their prayer on a present, bring it up and put it in one of the stockings.
Rather than set a definite time, keep watch and be prepared to move on when most people have come up. At that point, lower the music and close the prayer by giving all the gifts that have been shared to God— and thanking him for the many gifts he gives to us.

For lots more Christmas ideas including All Age talks & stories, activities, media, songs and activities head to our Strandz Christmas and Christmas Media pages.

Over the summer

You may have fewer services or regulars over the summer months, but its always a great idea to anticipate that children will be present in your Sunday gatherings.

Quick checklist:

Is your website up to date for visitors?
Do you have signage on the church doors or noticeboard for your summer services?
Are you ready to welcome new faces who are visiting or exploring new churches over the summer break? Think about your space, and how you can help families feel welcome in your time of worship.
How can your services accommodate all ages?
Have some things printed out and a creative station available for kids who want an interactive space.

Head over to our Holiday Page to check out ideas for Activity Bags (to use in the service) and Summer Packs for families.

Download our Strandz 2026 wallplanner

Check out our planning and leadership resources

Summer Holiday ideas >>

Bible Explore in 2026

We're excited to keep sharing ideas and resources to support the church across Aotearoa New Zealand and abroad. If you are creating material, writing prayers, coming up with fun games for kids... let us know!
Email us at [email protected]