St. Nicholas Family Party
Invitation Team Guide
from Open Doors by LeaderResources
One of the challenges parents face is how to handle that time when their child begins to ask questions about Santa Claus. How do they help a child understand that Santa Claus is a concept, rather than a person? How do they deal with fact that, to a greater or lesser extent, they may have been stretching the truth for years? How will knowing the truth effect Christmas for their child—or the family?
St. Nicholas is the basis of the Santa Claus myth. So telling children the St. Nicholas story helps them understand how that story about a real bishop morphed into the Santa Claus story. This is useful beyond the Santa Claus story—over time it helps children understand how humans create stories and find meaning in them. So the clergy time with parents is designed to help parents with the process. The party is just a party and follows the same format as the Back-to-School Party. Your inviters will be inviting families to the party—and telling parents there will be a talk about the connection between St. Nicholas and Santa Claus. You will need to prepare your inviters to respond to parental concerns. "Will you tell my child Santa Claus doesn't exist?" ("No.") What will happen? (A party: crafts, food, fun.) Brainstorm the concerns you think parents might have and develop responses to them.
As before, talk with your Inviters, make sure they have the information they need. Encourage and pray for them. Keep track of who they invite, who comes and whether they come back to another event or to worship.
Introduction to Open Doors
Seasonal Background
Invitation Team Guide
Communications Team: Sample newsletter & bulletin announcement, press release & poster
Event Team Planning Guide
Hospitality Team Recipes & name tags
Santa and Saint Nicholas Sample talk for parents and adults
Purchase from LeaderResources. Available for download as PDFs or editable Word.docs, with full reproducible rights for the original purchaser.