Caroling Instructions
The following recommendations will help you to have a successful and safe caroling experience.
Every caroling group starts with a leader who is willing to invite family, friends, neighbors, church members, colleagues, youth groups, scout troops, employers or senior groups to join them.
Pick up free copies of the Christmas Blue Pages (or download) for each caroler. See GoCaroling.com
Form a group of 7-20 people. Dress warm, bring flashlights! Set a time to meet and decide where you want to go and sing; coordinate with one another if have to drive to your caroling location from your gathering location (i.e. a church, school, or someone’s home).
Plan on 60 to 120 minutes of caroling. Start your effort with a prayer for the people to whom you’ll be singing, and protection for your group.
Don’t make it too complex - just get together and sing! God inhabits the praises of His people. Psalm 22:3
Where to Carol
You get to choose the path that your caroling group will follow. Great places to caroling include:
- Your neighborhood or neighborhood around your church
- The community around your workplace
- The parking lots of apartment complexes
With advanced permission, consider caroling:
- To the residents of a nursing home or senior living center
- To the patrons of a restaurant
- At the entrance of a church service or event
- At a Nativity display or a lot where Christmas trees are sold
Choose a well-lit area and consider the safety needs of your group. In a one and a half or two-hour time frame, you can ring the doorbells of 10-20 homes and sing 7-10 times.
How to Carol
Stay together as you walk on the sidewalks through a neighborhood .
Count your carolers at the start and at the end.
Stand 10-20 feet away from the front door of the residence. Don’t crowd onto the front porch, but also don’t be too far away. Usually caroling from the sidewalk or in the driveway is best. Choose one or two (kids) to be the door bell ringers/door knockers. Have them drop off a couple copies of the songbook on the porch/inside screen door for the people to whom you are caroling to participate. When you can see a person starting to approach the door (and/or open it), the leader should start the singing of a (predetermined) song. Sing prescribed # of verses (if indicated in songbook) or sing the verses with which you are most familiar. Feel free to incorporate a short portion of the readings from the Christmas program found inside the songbook before singing the adjacent/recommended song. Sing one or (at most) two songs. If they don’t ask first, after the first song (or before leaving) say “we’re from (name the group/church).”
When finished singing the last song, the leader leads everyone to say in unison, ”Merry Christmas”.
As you are leaving the house/other location, sing the song “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” or other.
Do NOT Do This When Caroling
Do not enter the home. Do not accept any donations. We don’t want anyone to feel obligated to give – this is instead a Christmas gift from your group to our neighbors (you can tell them that).
