This Season: Fall, Thanksgiving, and Christmas
Fall is the busiest stretch outside of Easter for a lot of churches. It starts with pastor appreciation and a fall festival, moves through Thanksgiving, and runs to Christmas Eve on Thursday, December 24, 2026. If your church lights Advent candles, Advent begins Sunday, November 29, 2026. If you don't, skip the candles and still lock the Christmas Eve times. Most of this is predictable, so you can start early.
What this season is
For Baptist, Pentecostal, and community churches, this is a season of thanks, neighborhood events, and a clear Christmas invitation. You do not need a saint's day or a minor feast to have something worth saying.
Key dates
| Date | What | Start promoting by |
|---|---|---|
| Oct (all month) | Pastor Appreciation Month | Early Sept |
| Sat, Oct 31 | Trunk or Treat or fall festival | Early Oct |
| Sun, Nov 1 | Clocks fall back | Mid-Oct |
| Sun, Nov 15 | Invite Sunday (suggested) | Oct 25 |
| Thu, Nov 26 | Thanksgiving | Oct 29 |
| Sun, Nov 29 | First Sunday of Advent, if you observe it | Oct 18 |
| Tue, Dec 1 | Giving Tuesday | Nov 3 |
| Thu, Dec 24 | Christmas Eve | Oct 29 |
The live countdown in the sidebar updates every day. See the full calendar.
The planning timeline
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| Early Oct | Confirm Christmas Eve times with your pastor. If you use an Advent series, name it. If you don't, say so and move on. |
| Mid-Oct | Book Christmas volunteers. Order devotionals only if you will actually hand them out. |
| Late Oct | Design the fall festival graphic and the Christmas schedule card. |
| Early Nov | Christmas Eve save-the-date. Food drive launches. Invite cards printed. |
| Mid-Nov | Invite Sunday. Thanksgiving posts. One preview of Christmas Eve in the bulletin. |
| Thanksgiving week | A thank-you week. Gratitude posts, no extra asks. |
| Late Nov | If you mark Advent, start it simply: one candle, one sentence. Giving Tuesday is two days later. |
Ideas for the season
Neighborhood events
- Trunk or treat or a fall festival, with a Christmas Eve card in every treat bag
- A community Thanksgiving meal or pie social
- A coat, food, or toy drive with a clear end date
Invitation
- Invite Sunday: one card, one ask, "Come with me"
- A back-to-church style welcome for anyone who has been away
- Christmas Eve invites that name the time and the address
Gratitude
- A thanks board where people add one sentence
- One short thank-you post each week in November
- Thank volunteers by name before the Christmas rush
The post set for this season
The Post Library has ready-to-use captions for pastor appreciation, trunk or treat, Invite Sunday, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Advent, and Christmas Eve. Scripture on this site is King James Version.
Related ideas
- Trunk or Treat and Fall Festival Promo Ideas
- Invite Sundays and Back to Church
- Christmas Bulletin Ideas Your Church Will Love
- How to Run a Year-End Giving Campaign
This week
New ideas land every Monday on This Week.