Tips and Tricks
What are you already doing?
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Love Christmas is designed to complement the fantastic ways your church is already serving its community. It doesn't have to be a brand-new project or a separate programme. A great place to start is by looking at your existing ministries and asking how they could be part of Love Christmas.
Could you speak with the community groups, schools, charities, or organisations you already partner with and find out what would bless them most this Christmas?
Sometimes small changes can make a big difference. For example, Saint Mary's Southampton adapted their Bags of Kindness project for refugees in their community, replacing paper bags and boxes with reusable drawstring backpacks. Simple ideas like this can make your support more practical, meaningful, and lasting.
Love Christmas isn't about doing more. It's about building on what's already working and finding new ways to share kindness with the people you're already connected to.
Who can you bless?
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Love Christmas is all about showing kindness to the people around you. Take a moment to think about who in your community, church, workplace, or neighbourhood could be encouraged through a simple act of generosity. Perhaps you already have connections with local residents, community groups, or charities that could help you get started.
When you identify who you want to serve, you begin to discover your why. Every Love Christmas initiative has a story at its heart. Knowing who you're reaching and why it matters gives your project purpose, helps inspire others to get involved, and keeps you motivated along the way.
The people you're serving become the reason behind everything you do. Their stories remind you that even small acts of kindness can make a lasting difference in your community.
Start small
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Love Christmas works whether you're delivering ten Bags of Kindness or ten thousand. Every person reached is part of a growing wave of kindness across the nation. There is no Love Christmas that is too small.
We encourage you to start local and make the most of the opportunities right in front of you. Small acts of kindness can have a significant impact, and over time, those opportunities can grow into something even more meaningful and sustainable.
Together, our collective impact is far greater than anything we could achieve alone. As churches across the country join in, every person reached, every church involved, and every act of kindness helps bring hope and generosity to communities this Christmas.
Start where you are. Serve who you can. Every act of kindness makes a difference.
Get your church involved
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Love Christmas works best when the whole church gets involved. As a community, everyone has something to contribute, and creating opportunities for people to play a part helps build excitement, ownership, and impact.
This will look different in every context. It could be a team of volunteers organising logistics, a youth or student group hosting a packing evening, or church members fundraising in creative ways. You might invite a local school, college, or community group to help pack Bags of Kindness and play their part too. Bringing people together around a shared purpose can be one of the most rewarding parts of the journey.
Your congregation is also one of your greatest connections to the wider community. Encourage people to reach out to friends, neighbours, colleagues, and local organisations and ask, "Who could be blessed this Christmas?"
The invitation is simple and open to everyone: together, we can share kindness, bring hope, and make a difference in the lives of others this Christmas.
Prep for your bags
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A little preparation can make a big difference. Decide what you want to include in your Bags of Kindness and look out for offers or bulk-buy discounts. Local supermarkets may also be able to help through their community teams.
Before buying everything, pack a sample bag to check that the items fit well, won't break or spill, and create the experience you want for the recipient. It's also worth thinking about sustainability by choosing bags and items that can be reused or recycled.
Taking time to plan ahead will help you create practical, thoughtful Bags of Kindness that are a real blessing to those who receive them.
Be creative
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Love Christmas isn't a set of rules or a one-size-fits-all model. While every church shares the same goal of blessing their community, how you do that will look different in every place and context.
There's plenty of room to make Love Christmas your own. Listen to your volunteers, explore new ideas, and build on the unique relationships and opportunities your church already has within the community.
A great place to start is by creating activities that reflect your church's mission. For example, you could partner with a food or clothing bank to offer a shopping-style experience that gives people choice and dignity.
Be creative, be ambitious, and ask: how can we best serve the community God has placed us in? Love Christmas is at its most powerful when it reflects the heart, vision, and gifts of your local church.
Include a personal touch
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At the heart of Love Christmas is the desire to help every person feel seen, valued, and loved. Adding a personal touch to your Bags of Kindness is a simple but powerful way to show that someone has been thought about and cared for.
One easy way to do this is by including a Christmas card or gift tag with an encouraging message. These can be handwritten by church members, printed by your church, or even created in partnership with local schools or colleges.
A few thoughtful words can turn a bag of gifts into a meaningful expression of kindness and remind someone that they are not forgotten this Christmas.
Partnership is at the heart of Love Christmas. It's through working together with schools, churches, charities, businesses, and community organisations that we can spread kindness further and reach more people.
Start with the relationships you already have. Reach out to local partners and explore how they could be involved. They may be able to help identify people who would benefit from a Bag of Kindness, support with resources, or connect you with others in the community.
Love Christmas can also be a catalyst for new partnerships. As one church shared, "Love Christmas has helped us to reach out more." By working together, we learn from one another, strengthen community connections, and increase our collective impact.
Every contribution matters. Together, our efforts go further, and more people can experience kindness, hope, and care this Christmas.
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Be in community
To view the timeline, or download resources, head to the Love Christmas resource page below.