Advent and Christmas theme: The Joy of Christmas

The angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see - I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people ...’

Luke 2.10-11

The Church of England’s Advent and Christmas theme for 2025 revolves round a single word: Joy!

Our churches and cathedrals will - as always - be seeking to make the most of the opportunity December brings to share The Joy of Christmas with their communities.

The great joy of Christmas, of course, is the good news the angel declared to the shepherds - the news of Jesus’ birth as Emmanuel (God With Us).

On this page you will find Advent and Christmas resources for churches, individuals and schools designed to help all ages to be drawn into the joy of the first Christmas.

Resources for churches

Brand guidelines and logos: To help you use The Joy of Christmas logos and other assets in materials you produce, making the most of these attractive new designs. Brand guidelines, plus logo packs for digital and print in PNG, JPG and EPS formats are available now to download.
Get our largest ever selection of downloadable resources: Including activity sheets for children, digital Christmas card templates, icons, social media covers and templates, 'What's On' and 'Keep in Touch' flyer templates, poster templates, and PowerPoint templates from AChurchNearYou.com (login required).
A directory of resources for use at home, church and school: Provided by members of the Parachurch Organisations Network of the Growing Faith Foundation, be inspired by this range of resources for children, young people and families.
Christmas episodes from the Cheeky Pandas: These free resources feature cartoons, songs and Bible stories to help you engage the children in your church with the Christmas story.
Advent reflections content outline: To help you plan how you might use the reflections with your congregation, an outline of the daily reflections and themes.
Digital Labs blogs: Advent and Christmas blogs with resources, how-to guides and advice on design and social media to help you and your church throughout this busy period.

Resources for individuals

Reflections via email: Sign up to our Christmas reflection emails and receive daily messages straight to your inbox. Our daily emails will offer Bible readings, short reflections and a practical challenge, as well as prayers linked to weekly themes.
Downloadable reflections for 11-15 year olds: Following the same themes and Bible verses as our Advent reflections for adults, these bitesize daily reflections for young people written by Lucy Rycroft can be downloaded in full colour or black and white. A four week session plan for youth groups using the reflections together is also available to be downloaded.
Daily reflections via Everyday Faith app: You can read and listen to daily Advent and Christmas reflections from 1 December through the Everyday Faith app, the daily devotional app from the Church of England, which is available to download here.
Women of the Nativity: A collection of nine imagined stories told from the perspective of women, written by Paula Gooder, recreating the events of the Nativity. Listen here.
Online services: Can't make it to church this Advent and Christmas? Watch our weekly online worship services from across the Church of England and worship with us this festive season.

Resources for schools

Four weeks of collective worship resource materials is available from the National Society for Education for use by schools during Advent. The resources unpack the theme of ‘The Joy of Christmas’ and include activities, prayers, practical actions and videos. Sign up now to get access to this resource.
Weekly Advent activity and colouring sheets

At the heart of this year’s offering are three creative and compelling publications:

The Grumpy Owl and the Joy of Christmas

To help schools and churches share the joy of Christmas with children and families, a heart-warming retelling of the Christmas story. Illustrated by Jago, the award-winning illustrator of The Jesus Storybook Bible. The Grumpy Owl and the Joy of Christmas tells the story of Jesus’ birth through the eyes of an owl who seems determined to miss all the excitement.

Supporting digital resources to support schools, churches and households can be found here.

This wonderful story from Jonathan Maltz and Christopher Poch is published as a picture book from Church House Publishing and is available now.

Order your copy of The Grumpy Owl and the Joy of Christmas

Advent: O Come, Emmanuel

To help congregations to prepare for the joy of Christmas, a unique Advent resource exploring the symbolism behind the hymn ‘O Come Emmanuel’.

With daily reflections by Jane Williams, Chris Russell, Esther Prior, Philip North, Muthuraj Swamy, Tanya Marlow and David Hoyle, O Come Emmanuel is available as a full-colour book from Church House Publishing (published 1 September). You can view downloadable sample pages here. The reflections will also appear on the Everyday Faith app from 1 to 24 December, accompanied by a range of online music, artwork and creative suggestions for local use. You can download an outline of these reflections, including themes and Bible verses.

For more than a thousand years, Christians have prepared for the nativity of Christ with the Advent Antiphons – an ancient and rich tapestry of biblical titles for Christ – on which the much-loved hymn O Come, O Come Emmanuel is based. Find out more here.

O Come Emmanuel available from Church House Publishing

Twelve Joys of Christmas

To help all who will engage with church this Christmas enter deeper into prayer, a set of funny and profound reflections for the festive period. This year, The Very Revd Nicholas Papadopulos, the Dean of Salisbury, explores twelve classic hallmarks of the festive season - from Christmas jumpers to the Pantomime - in search of a deeper truth about the good news of God’s love.

The Church House Publishing booklet Twelve Joys of Christmas: Meditations for Christmas and the New Year is available to order individually, in discounted packs of 10 or packs of 50 and in LARGE PRINT. These printed versions - ideal for giving away at Advent and Christmas services – will be accompanied by free digital versions in the Everyday Faith app, and printed prayer cards to point visitors and worshippers to them. Sample pages of the booklet are available here.

Twelve Joys of Christmas available to order

Get ready for Advent and Christmas on AChurchNearYou.com today!

Make sure your site’s key pages are up to date, with relevant and inviting information about your church.

Make the most of our recently launched new features for editors.

Add and tag your services and events for December to make sure your church is easy to find when people search on the site. Use relevant Advent and Christmas tags to help people find services more easily - our AChurchNearYou.com Advent homepage will give users the ability to search for the type of service they want to attend.

Social media content

Start thinking about ideas for content now – whether that’s graphics, creative ideas, or videos.

Perhaps there are some posts you can get started on, scheduling them in advance. Our wide range of downloadable icons, templates and graphics will help you easily create attractive social media content.

Plan what you’ll share and when – from Bible verses and prayers, to videos of behind the scenes moments as you prepare for Christmas, inviting members of your congregation to share their stories and highlighting your community outreach.

Download the Digital Promo Planner to help you share your Advent and Christmas events online this year.

Get the planner and read about how it can help you and your church.

Watch our webinars

5 ways to thrive on digital this Advent and Christmas: Watch the special webinar as we provide a sneak peak of our 2025 Advent and Christmas theme, the digital resources that will be available, and explain how you can make the most of the festive season.
2025 Advent and Christmas Resources: This special webinar explores the resources for churches that are available this Advent and Christmas. The Church of England’s Advent and Christmas theme for 2025 revolves round a single word: Joy! The national resources we will be offering this year are all designed to help all ages to be drawn into the joy of the first Christmas.
Sharing The Joy of Christmas with children, young people and families: This special webinar will give you plenty of ideas, as well as unpacking the resources available for churches, schools and individuals this year as part of the Church of England’s Advent and Christmas theme, The Joy of Christmas.
Digital Giving at Christmas: This webinar dives into Digital Giving and how it can help your church, whether it's online donations or contactless and in-person. We look at the theme and resources for Advent and Christmas 2025 and how these can help you; templates for promoting donation QR codes, and sharing on giving devices, and how to edit these on Canva; and how you can maximise opportunities for giving over the Advent and Christmas period.
Church websites at Christmas: This webinar helps you make strategic use of your church’s online home, whether it’s on AChurchNearYou.com, another website, or both. We share advice and exercises to help you optimise your website, and look at how you can use AChurchNearYou.com to share church events and help people find you online.
Livestreaming and recording church services at Christmas: In this special webinar we share advice and take questions on how to make the most of these opportunities and engage your community. We look at top tools and tips for recording and livestreaming church services, and how you can use service clips to create engaging digital content.
Social media tips for Advent and Christmas: It’s nearly Advent! In this webinar we’ll share last minute tips to help you make the most of social media opportunities across December. We’ll be joined by two members of the Church of England’s social media team to share ideas, inspiration and resources for what you could be sharing online.