One of the best activities my troop loved to participate in each year was Christmas caroling. We sometimes went door to door, went to nursing homes, or we set a date for a Christmas tree lighting in the community and invited the community and sang at event. In this post I want to share a few tips for you to think about when you are planning your troops Christmas caroling event and also I included a free PDF booklet with 27 of the most popular Christmas songs you can use at your Christmas caroling event. Have fun!
Christmas Caroling Suggestions from one leader to another
- Before the actual event show the girls the songs and have them pick out what they want to sing, even practice them as a group before heading out.
- If your troop is large like mine, we split into a few groups and went down different sides of the street and meant at end.
- If your in a cold area make sure to tell everyone to dress warm with hats gloves scarves etc, I know that seems like a obvious thing but you will be surprised how many girls will show up not prepared to be outside.
- Plan for a stop for hot chocolate at a local cafe or McDonald to warm up your girls.
- If you are planning to sing in a hospital or nursing home rather than being out in cold, please be sure to contact them ahead of time to get permission. While some places would love to have kids come in and sing others have strict policies that wont allow you to come in without signing waivers or talking to manager.
- Don’t over do it, only sing a song or two at each house, people love to get carolers but to many songs could upset people.
Songs in the FREE BOOKLET of Songs:
- Away In A Manager
- Deck The Halls
- Did You Hear What I Hear?
- Frosty The Snow Man
- The First Noel
- Go Tell It On The Mountain
- Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
- Here Comes Santa Claus
- Holly Jolly Christmas
- Jingle Bell Rock
- I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
- It Is Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
- Jingle Bell Rock
- Jingle Bells
- Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
- Joy To The World
- Let It Snow!
- Let There Be Peace On Earth
- O Christmas Tree
- Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer
- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
- Silent Night
- Suzy Snowflake
- The Twelve Days of Christmas
- Up On The House Top
- We Wish You A Merry Christmas
Download Your Troops – 27 Song Christmas Carol Booklet
Need More Games?
Santa loves spreading Christmas Cheer and so do his elves. In this activity booklet become Santa’s elves and help search Santa’s sack, deliver packages, spread Christmas cheer to the less cheery, and together write a Christmas story to share with family and friends to continue passing on the amazing Christmas Cheer Santa and his elves do every year! All you need to do is print and gather the supplies and your party is ready to go. Get your booklet here.
To continue on with the theme of the 12 days of Christmas use the 12 days of Christmas my leader brought to me activity booklet. Using the popular song 12 days of Christmas, each part of the song has a game or activity to go with it. For example “On the First Day Of Christmas my leader gave to me…Three Candy Canes” and it is adaptable to every grade level so great for multi-level troops.
Plan your troops Christmas party with ease with the included 12 activities, a section with everything you need for each activity, and any additional templates required. All you need to do is print and gather the supplies and your party is ready to go. Get your booklet here.
This activity booklet has 3 very fun games all focused on Christmas. First play the 4 corner game which will have your girls running from one corner to the next, while laughing and getting to know each other. Then compete against one another to match 4 fall cards and be the fastest to win. Lastly play a game of Christmas bingo with 24 different images/words related to Christmas. Start playing with your troop now!
Beyond this free booklet I put together there are a number of great song books on the web you can purchase this is one of my favorites. Click Here
From one leader to another….Have a wonderful Holiday season with your Troop and Families.
Do you need more for your party?
- Ornament Time Capsule and Reindeer Ear Awards
- 12 Days of Christmas Gifts for Leaders Parents and Girls in Your Troop
Jodi, so how does it work for you going in a neighborhood. I have a very large troop 50 to be exact. all levels. we have caroled before at nursing homes but it gets a bit congested with us.. and we have even broken up into groups.
I need hints.. ugh..
That is about the size I had Daisy to Ambassador. We would mix up the groups makings sure we had adults and older girls with the younger girls. If we were say caroling on 4 streets we break into 4 groups of about 12 plus adults and each group would take a street. If your going to a nursing home, If your all going to be in one area, do the same but have each group go up in front of group sing a song and then they would step out and next group goes up. Or if you can break up locations in nursing home sing in different areas thats even better.
Oh my gosh, this is perfect timing, our Service Unit is going caroling at a nursing home in December and I’m in charge of coordinating it. Thank you for the tips!!!
[…] jolly holiday tunes. If you have never done caroling with your troop before or need a song book, click here for a free printable and some very helpful tips to get you started caroling with your […]