5 Ways to Honor Your Volunteers Over the Holidays

The holidays are a festive time of year.. From the months of November to January, there is lots to be thankful for and celebrate as we prepare for the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. One of the best things this season provides is an opportunity to appreciate and honor your volunteer leadership team. 

So, how can you honor them? What are ways you can appreciate them this holiday season? Here are 5 ways you can honor and appreciate your volunteer leaders this holiday season.

A simple, easy way to appreciate volunteers over the holidays is to write them notes and let them know why you appreciate them and how much they mean to you and the ministry. Handwriting notes, as opposed to typing something is best because it shows them that you took the time to think about them and write them a note. After all, in this digital and online world, most everything people get these days are typed or texted. That is why a handwritten note is especially encouraging.  

People have different love languages. They receive appreciation and love in different ways. While there are different ways people feel appreciated, when you give your leaders a gift, especially around Christmas, it goes a long way for them feeling appreciated. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, but it $25-$50 Visa/Mastercard gift card or a gift card to that person's favorite spot is a great idea. 

Whether it is Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years, the months from November to January are very festive. That means it is a great opportunity to bring your team together for a party. It could be a house party, a dinner out at a restaurant or at the Church. It's a great time for fun and dinner celebrating the first half the year in ministry. Whatever you choose to do, this is a fun way to appreciate and honor your volunteer team.

The holidays are a very busy time. So probably the first thing that comes to mind is to NOT give people time off because there are a variety of extra needs. But, by letting them know you understand the stress of the season and give them flexibility and some time off, if needed, is great. By you being an understanding Team Leader, it could actually work in your favor where they will want to keep on serving with you and the team because you understand the stresses.  

Whether its on social media, a blog post, in a Church service, email newsletter or in some other way, spotlighting your volunteers in some way will go a long way for them to feel appreciated and honored. A lot of volunteers love to serve in secret as they are giving to the Lord, not for worldly recognition. However, people always feel appreciated when they get some sort of recognition for their service. It doesn't have to be a full length email, blog post or social media highlight, but something to let them know that you appreciate what they are doing. 

These are five different ways you can choose to appreciate you volunteer team during the Christmas season. You can do some of these, all of these or none of these. After all, there are a variety of other opportunities for you. See what works best for your team and do that. The main encouragement and challenge here is to use the holiday season and the festivities that are a natural part of it to appreciate the team of people that are so important to you and the ministry. The more creative and specific you cam make it to the team the more effective it will be and inspiring for the volunteers to keep going hard into the new year. And, the more inspired and encouraged they are headed into the new year, the more potential impact your ministry has.

What do you think? What are you thankful for?  Share your ideas below or on social media.

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