Pastors’ wives (PW) and women in ministry are incredible sources of wisdom and creativity as they use their gifts in leadership and service. I highly value their insight, faithfulness, and diligent labor. That’s why I’m hosting Wednesdays Are for Women. Each week, we’ll hear from a different PW or ministry leader and gain her perspective on God’s activity on her ministry team, her local church, or the issues facing church leaders today.
This week I want to hear from YOU! Take a peek at our Christmas plans and then chime in with your own.
The holidays are here! Over the next six weeks, we’ll cook too much food, decorate every square inch of our homes, send Christmas cards to those we love, and enjoy time with our families. I’m pumped about every single minute of the fun. Yet, my fun doesn’t stop there. Shawn and I will celebrate with our Mountain Lake Ministry Team, too, at our annual Christmas Party. We’ll play a game of Dirty Santa and laugh a lot, but then we’ll circle our Team up and tell them how we’ve seen God work in their lives and ministries over the past year. The laughter is good…..the encouragement is better. We also treat our Team to a few surprises because we love them so much.
Here’s where YOU come in. I love to hear what other teams do to celebrate each other.
Do you plan a party for the staff kids?
Do you treat the Pastors’ wives to a fun treat?
Do you celebrate weeks in advance to avoid the busyiness of the holiday?
Do you plan a huge event or keep it home-spun with a potluck party?
What gifts have you given/gotten in the past?
Remember, all work and no play makes for a burned-out team! Go ahead. Let us know what you do for your teams or what your Pastor does for you. Maybe we’ll spark some ideas for one another so we can have even more fun showing our appreciation for the people we serve with.
SharpenHer.com 
We have done a nice Dinner party for our staff for the 16 yrs. we’ve been in ministry. It varies from elegant to casual, but Jeff and I serve as the waiters, and make our team sit down and RELAX! This year, we are doing a “Favorite Things Party”. Each person brings their favorite thing that costs $6 and under and we swap and learn a little nugget about one another in the process. I’m also throwing in a little extra something for the PWs, too. We always have so much fun having them in our home. The kids stay in another team member’s home and the older PKs babysit and they have a Pizza party. Some of the best gifts we’ve gotten are chocolates from Germany, Coffee, nativities, or homemade goodies. I always like the most simple, from the heart gifts! And yes, I pretty much plan for months because I LOVE to party plan too much and I need time to reign myself in! 😉 Have fun with your Christmas plans!
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Amy, that all sounds like fun! Send a pic of you and Jeff dressed as the waiters. 😉 What have you gotten the PW’s in the past?
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I don’t usually just get just the PWs something at Christmas, but we usually do a family gift, but I do take about a 6 month span and gift them small things like flowers, jewelry, a decorative serving dish, etc., for a “just because” gift, but it also usually symbolizes areas of ministry I pray for them in….like hospitality when I give them the serving dish. Today, Tabitha Lewis and I crafted something special for our PWs this year as a little extra somethin’, somethin’. We’ll post pics later! 😉 As for dressing up like waiters, NO WAY! 😉 I use the dinner party as an excuse to get a new outfit! ;0)
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We do a staff party during the work day. They voted on that a few years ago and preferred it to something at night. Busy time of year.
I have thought about doing something kid specific but every year as Christmas closes in I wimp out. 🙂
I get gifts for our Exec team wives and Campus Pastor Wives. I always get them all the same thing. I wish I could get all the Pastor/Director wives something. Maybe I need to look at finding something small since there are lots of them. Ideas?
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Lori, feel your pain on “wimping out” on the kid’s party! We attempted a Fall party, instead, just to relieve all of the busy calendar commitments of December. We planned a trip to a local pumpkin patch (hay rides, apple cider, family pictures). But, the plans were foiled and we had to cancel! I’m booking it again next year, though. I’m determined to plan something so our staff kids get a little something special.
As for gift ideas, a few months ago I emailed a quick survey to our team and wives to ask all of their favorites (restaurants, drinks, sports, past time, hobbby…even fav home colors and flowers). I made a spreadsheet of the info and shared it with our team. Now we have a go-to list when we want to pick up a treat for someone else. Man, have they used that list! Maybe a similar list would help you buy gifts for the additional wives on your team. Or, scap all that and pick up some cute tote bags for them. 🙂
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