This article originally appeared in the family-friendly HomeLife magazine, available for your church in bulk subscriptions from www.lifeway.com.

Ah, Christmas!  Just say the word and visions of sugarplums begin to dance in my head. 

Actually, it’s the hustle and bustle of the season and the smell of evergreen and cinnamon that invade my thoughts.

The decorations will go up, treasured ornaments will be hung on the tree, and baking marathons will begin in warm and cozy kitchens across America.  And, truthfully speaking, we can’t wait! 

Yet, sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the season for the wrong reasons, isn’t it?  Even Christian homes can lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas, but for many unchurched families - perhaps even the one living right next door to you - Christmas is no more than a season of parties and spending sprees that will leave them spiritually empty and financially depleted when the New Year rolls around. 

Why not encourage your members to open their homes and invite the world in to experience Christ with Christmas? This year ask your members to host a party with a purpose – a Christmas open house. 

You can pass the suggestions offered here to your congregation, offering them a simple and practical approach to hosting an evangelistic holiday event.  The casual come-and-go format will afford them the chance to build relationships with those they invite. 

Schedule Your Open House

Pull out your December calendar and take a look at your holiday schedule.  And while you’re at it, be sure to check the schedules of other family members as well.  No doubt office parties, family get-togethers, school presentations, church festivities and holiday traveling will play a part in choosing the right date for your open house.

Depending on the number of guests you decide to invite, you'll want to allow at least two hours for your open house.  If you’re expecting a large crowd, you may wish to allow more time.  Guests tend to linger and talk more when a crowd is present. 

Choosing a Saturday or Sunday will give you more options in selecting a time.  Many people choose Saturday evening or Sunday afternoon because that allows extra preparation time over the weekend.  Once you choose the date and time, decide when your holiday decorations will go up.  If you’re decorating with live evergreens, you’ll want to make sure everything is still fresh for your special event. 

Making Your Guest List

How many people can comfortably move about in your home?  Once you decide on a number, invite those who need to hear the good news!  Prayerfully construct a list of neighbors and acquaintances.  Be sure to include new families on the street as well as those you’d like to know better.  You may also want to include casual acquaintances, all those moms and dads who kept you company on the bleachers during soccer and Little League baseball last season or the parents of your children’s friends at school.

If you have Christian neighbors who are friends, consider inviting them to attend or co-host your open house.  Not only can they offer spiritual support, but they may be willing to share expenses as well.

Selecting the Menu

A menu made up exclusively of finger foods is the best choice for an open house. You’ll want to think about the following questions:

Setting the Tables

Since open house guests generally come and go at their leisure, you can set up a buffet on your dinning room table for fast and easy serving.  The buffet set-up offers you the opportunity to mingle with your guests and replenish food as needed.  Remove chairs and set the table so guests can pick up a plate and napkin at one end and move toward an open area, filling their plates along the way.  You’ll also minimize crowding if you place your beverages on another table in a different location.

Make sure your table is kid-friendly.  You may want to consider using disposable plates, napkins and cups.  With the wide variety of beautiful, festive patterns and bright colors available at your local discount store or card shop, you’re bound to find one that enhances your decorating theme.

Don’t wait until the last minute to prepare your holiday table.  Unpack holiday linens and wash and press them if needed.  If you decide to use china and crystal, wash it so that it’s sparkling, and polish the silver if it’s tarnished.  Arrange your table the day before your open house, placing the serving pieces in optimum positions and laying out plates and napkins as well. 

Your menu will be more appetizing if it is beautifully presented.  Use paper lace doilies on your serving trays, and garnish the sandwich trays with plenty of leaf lettuce and brightly colored fruit slices.  To replenish trays and serving dishes efficiently, keep prepared food stored in a convenient location in the kitchen. 

Details That Make a Difference

Pay close attention to housecleaning the week before your open house.  Enlist family members to help give your home a deep cleaning and ask them to be responsible for last-minute clean-ups in specific areas of the house.  Make sure the guest bathroom is gleaming and has fresh towels and hand soaps available.

Since your objective is to share the true meaning of Christmas, consider decorating your table and home around the theme “Jesus – the Light of the World.”  Place nativity sets in strategic locations around your home and surround them with pillared candles of different sizes.  If small children are present, make sure lighted candles are placed only where adults are present.

Remember that food and decorations are just a small part of your open house.  Christian hospitality and the opportunity to share a positive testimony of your faith are, by far, the most important elements. 

In the days or weeks approaching your open house, prepare your family for the important task ahead.  Using your guest list, pray for each person by name during your family devotions.  Ask God to help each member of the family be a reflection of His love and hospitality, and pray that your home will be a place of acceptance, comfort and unconditional love.

What Will We Do?

When families arrive, ask them to sign a guest book.  Take time to speak with each person, encouraging each to share about personal interests and family. 

If you have several children in attendance, you might want to offer a play area or set up a children’s video in another part of the house. (VeggieTales: The Toy That Saved Christmas would be a good choice.)  The kids will love it, and parents are likely to visit longer if their children are not bored and clingy.

As you make plans to share your faith, remember that friends and neighbors will be more receptive if you don’t preach a sermon!  If a guest is responsive and asks questions about new life in Christ, be prepared to share that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World and pray with them to receive Christ.

As guests prepare to leave, don’t forget to thank them for coming.  If they don’t have a regular church home, invite them to be your guests at church next Sunday and make arrangements to pick them up or meet them there.  And finally, as you share a parting gift, offer to be available should they ever need anything. 

Subtle Ways to Share the Gospel

Saying Welcome Before the Door Opens

Your house will say “Welcome” when wreaths are hung on the front door and gates and mailboxes are dressed in their holiday attire of evergreen and red bows.  If your open house is slated for the evening, why not add a special glow to your walkway to greet your guests as they arrive?  Luminaries are not only inexpensive, they’re also easy to make:

Materials for making luminaries:
1 dozen white lunch bags
(Brown or other colors may be used if white bags are not available)
36 cups of sand
12 votive candles
Ice pick, hammer and Christmas cookie cutters

To make luminaries:

Please Come to Our Open House

What could be more warmly received than saying, “Please Come to Our Open House” with invitations your family designs and decorates around the kitchen table?  These invitations are so simple, even the children can share in the fun and excitement of creating them.

Materials:
A selection of handmade or card-weight papers
Ribbons and sequins
Craft glue
Calligraphy pen
Assorted markers
Pre-printed invitations for your open house – rectangular (can be computer generated and copied or handwritten)

Deck the Halls...

Create a centerpiece for the buffet table by designing a Christmas tablescape.  Nestle an assortment of your favorite things in the center of the table on velvet or a rich tapestry.  Add brilliant red poinsettias, a bowl of gleaming fruit and an arrangement of ornaments and candles in crystal holders.  You can also decorate with the smells of Christmas.  Light the fireplace and toss in scraps of fir or pine.  The wonderful aroma will greet your guests as they enter your home.  Using scented candles and boiling potpourri on the stove in the kitchen will also add that extra-special touch. 

Tis the Season to Give

Don’t let your guests leave empty-handed!  Giving is the very essence of Christmas.  Just as God gave His Son to show His love for humankind, we have the opportunity to share a gift that represents our love for our neighbors. 

The gift doesn’t have to be expensive.  Nothing says “you’re special” more than a lovingly crafted present that will bring joy and remembrance of your special time together.  Even the smallest remembrance will be appreciated.

Fill a be-ribboned basket with your offerings and place it near the front door.  That will make it easy to remember as guests are leaving.

Decorated Candles – Take a simple candle, embellish it with clothing studs and sequins, and create a dazzling masterpiece.

Materials:
Votive candles (scented)
Clothing studs – jewels, stars and gold balls
Sequins and sequin pins
Cellophane wrap

Ready or Not...

Well, the neighbors have been invited, the table is beautifully set, and the candles are lit.  The children, along with the house, have been spit-shined and practically glow.  The lights on the Christmas tree twinkle daintily, and music plays softly throughout the house.  The recipes have been prepared with love and laid out with skill.

You’ve poured your heart out in prayer to the Lord and asked Him to use you as His instrument.  His presence fills your home and you know the open house is bound to be a success.  Now, as the doorbell rings, the only thing left to do is open the front door and say, “Welcome to our home.”

-Pastors.com^®-

Recommended resources:
NeighborHope Ministries - resources to help introduce your friends to Jesus during this holiday season.

When God is the Life of the Party: Reaching Neighbors through Creative Hospitality, by Norm and Becky Wretlind, with Jim Killiam (Navpress, 2003)

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