Celebrate the 2026 Holiday Season at First Pres Santa Monica

There is something about December at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica. Greenery appears along the sanctuary walls. The choir loft fills a little earlier on Sunday mornings. Children practice their lines for the pageant, and someone is always testing out a new batch of cookies for Christmas Eve.

In the church year, this season begins with Advent, the four weeks before Christmas. Advent is a time of waiting and hope. We remember the people of Israel longing for a savior, and we make room in our own busy lives for the One who came to be with us. Then, on Christmas Eve, we light our candles and celebrate that the waiting is over: God has come near.

Whether First Pres has been your church home for decades or you’re simply looking for a meaningful way to celebrate the holidays in Santa Monica, we would love to share this season with you. Here is a look at what Advent and Christmas 2026 hold for our community.

Walking the Road to Bethlehem This Advent

It’s easy to picture the nativity as a single, peaceful scene. But the Christmas story began with a long and uncertain journey. Mary and Joseph traveled about 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, on foot, with a baby on the way and no promise of a place to stay.

This Advent, we’re taking that journey together. Our four-part Advent study follows The Journey by Adam Hamilton, who walked the same roads Mary and Joseph would have traveled and reflects on what he learned along the way. Over the course of the season, we’ll read, watch, and talk together about faith, fear, and the surprising ways God shows up in ordinary lives. You don’t need to have done a Bible study before. Just bring your curiosity. The group meets Nov. 15, Nov. 29, Dec. 6 and Dec. 20, and you can register for the Advent study here.

Halfway through Advent, on Sunday, Dec. 6, our morning worship becomes a Service of Advent Lessons & Carols. This tradition has been loved in churches around the world for more than a century. Instead of a sermon, the story of God’s promise unfolds through a series of Scripture readings, or “lessons,” each answered by choral music, hymns, and carols. It moves from the prophets’ longing to the angel’s announcement to Mary, and it’s one of the most beautiful ways we know to prepare our hearts for Christmas.

A Season Filled With Music

From the very first Christmas, when the angels sang to shepherds in the fields, music has carried the good news of this season. At First Pres, our sanctuary has long been a gathering place for music in Santa Monica, and December is when it shines brightest. This year, two very different evenings invite you to slow down and simply listen.

On Friday, Dec. 4, the Long Beach Camerata Singers bring their voices to our sanctuary for a Candlelight Christmas Concert. Picture the room softly lit by candles and filled with choral music of the season. It’s the kind of evening that reminds you why these songs have been sung for generations.

One week later, on Friday, Dec. 11, we welcome Latin Grammy-winning Spanish guitarist and composer Diego García, known as “Twanguero,” for Christmas With El Twanguero. His music weaves together Spanish guitar traditions with sounds from across the Americas, and he brings that warmth and energy to the Christmas season. Bring a friend, a neighbor, or the whole family for a night of music you won’t hear anywhere else.

Christmas Through the Eyes of Our Children

Jesus welcomed children and reminded us to receive God’s kingdom like a child. Some years, the clearest telling of the Christmas story comes from our youngest members. On Sunday, Dec. 13, they lead the way.

During worship that morning, our JUBILATE! Children’s Choir and young actors present the Children’s Christmas Pageant. Through music and drama, they retell the birth of Jesus, complete with angels, shepherds, and maybe a wandering sheep or two. It’s joyful, heartfelt, and occasionally unscripted, and it’s one of our congregation’s favorite mornings of the year.

After worship, the celebration moves outside the sanctuary for our Christmas Festival. Families gather for a pasta lunch and a hot chocolate bar while live Christmas music plays. Kids can get their faces painted, make crafts to take home, and leave with a gift bag of their own, while grown-ups try their luck in the gingerbread house raffle. If you’re looking for a family-friendly Christmas event in Santa Monica, this is a wonderful one to put on your calendar and a warm way to meet our church family.

Christmas Eve by Candlelight

For many people, Christmas Eve is the heart of the whole season. It’s the night we gather with family, sing the carols we’ve known since childhood, and hear again the story of a child born in a stable. And at First Pres, it’s the night the light spreads from candle to candle until the whole sanctuary glows.

On Thursday, Dec. 24, we invite you to our Christmas Eve Candlelight Service, a time for family, reflection, warmth, and community. Together we’ll sing traditional carols, hear a message of hope, and close by lighting our candles as a sign that the light of Christ shines in every darkness. If this is your first time at First Pres, or your first time in a church in a while, you’ll be warmly welcomed. Christmas Eve is for everyone.

Afterwards, no one needs to rush home. Join us in the Renaissance Room for Christmas Eve Fellowship, where we celebrate the season as a community with good company, warm conversation, holiday treats, and plenty of Christmas cheer.

Celebrate Christmas With Us at First Pres

Advent reminds us that hope is worth waiting for, and Christmas tells us that the waiting ends in love. Whatever this year has held for you, we hope you’ll find a place at First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica to rest, to sing, and to celebrate.

For times and details on every event, visit our Event Calendar or our Church Holidays & Celebrations page. And all season long, you’re invited to worship with us every Sunday at
10:00 a.m., in person or via livestream. Planning your first visit? Our Visit Us page has everything you need to know.

We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

First Presbyterian Church of Santa Monica 1220 2nd Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401 310.451.1303 • info@fpcsantamonica.org