Your biggest crowd of the year.
How to plan your Christmas Eve service bulletin
Your biggest crowd of the year will read this bulletin, and many of them won’t have been to church since last December. Here’s a sample order, the readings and the carols to go with them.
Updated November 5, 2026
The short answer
A Christmas Eve service usually moves from prophecy to the birth of Jesus, with carols between the readings, and ends with candles and Silent Night. Print the words of every carol, explain the candle lighting, and put your service times on the back page.
Set your Christmas Eve bulletin
Start from a candlelight pattern, with the readings in order and the carol words set.
No sign-up to try it. Ten services a year are free.
A sample Christmas Eve order
Print the instructions for the candles
Many visitors will never have done this. A few plain lines in the bulletin save a lot of whispering and keep everyone safe.
During the last carol, the light will be passed from the Christ candle down each row.
Tilt the unlit candle toward the lit one, and keep the lit candle upright.
Please blow out your candle before you leave your seat.
Carols to print
Print the words of every carol. Plenty of visitors won’t reach for a hymnal, and fewer will know the third verse. These are all out of copyright in the US.
A strong opening hymn that everyone knows.
St. Louis is the tune most American congregations expect.
Children can lead the first verse.
A strong close.
The usual carol for candle lighting. Have the words in large type, because the room will be dim.
Good with the reading from Matthew.
Works well with a solo first verse.
Better in Advent, but it can open a service.
If you sing a modern carol, keep the title in the bulletin and add the words under your church’s license. Our hymn library only holds texts that are out of copyright.
Make it work for visitors
- Say when to stand and when to sit. Most people will follow the bulletin closely.
- Add a short welcome that assumes nothing. Plenty of people will be unsure whether they belong.
- Put your other Christmas services on the back page, with times, so nobody has to ask.
- Say how to give, and include a QR code if you can. Plenty of people carry no cash.
- Add one line about what happens next, such as your first Sunday in January.
- Print more than you think you need. Last year’s number is a good start, plus some spare.
Get it done in good time
- 1
Book your readers
Ask now. December calendars fill up early.
- 2
Choose the carols with your musicians
Agree which verses to sing, and which carol the candles go with.
- 3
Set the bulletin by the start of Advent
You’ll have everything else to do by the middle of December.
- 4
Print one test copy
Read the names aloud to someone, then print the rest.
Set your Christmas Eve bulletin
Start from a candlelight pattern, with the readings in order and the carol words set.
No sign-up to try it. Ten services a year are free.
Questions people ask
How long should a Christmas Eve service be?
About an hour is usual. Families with small children will thank you for a shorter one, and many churches offer an early service for them.
What Scripture is read on Christmas Eve?
Luke 2 is the heart of it, usually with Isaiah 9 before it. John 1 works well near the end.
Should we have communion?
That depends on your tradition. If you do, print clear instructions, because many visitors won’t know what to do or whether they’re welcome.
Can we print carol words?
Traditional carols are mostly out of copyright, so you can print them freely. Modern ones need a license. Check each one, because a modern translation or arrangement can have its own rights.