2013 was different for me around Christmas time.  I had just landed in Chicago only 3 months prior and God hooked me up with a new gig at a great church.  Turns out, the media team (creative/tech) including myself were all mostly new to the church as well and we were tasked with quickly piecing together a Christmas production for the church unlike anything they had ever seen.  Needless to say, we jumped in head first.  Now that we have emerged from the craziness of Christmas production world, I have three takeaways to share that will save us all a few headaches during Easter/Christmas 2014 productions. Without further ado, here are the takeaways:

1.  Go Big, Be Flexible

Anytime to you sit down with creative people, once they get inspired, ideas flow like water.  Our pin boards were stuffed with ideas.  Luckily for me, our creative director is actually very technical and he understands exactly what it takes to pull off each idea.  Some of these ideas looked completely impossible.  Tech gurus like … and … have written about the tendency for tech team members to say no by default to these ideas.  While we would love to see these crazy ideas come to life, in the back of our head, we calculate the amount time, money, and crew it will take to actually pull them off.  In those program meetings, you do not want to be Donny or Debby Downer.  Instead of shooting down ideas left and right like target practice, try visualizing alternative methods to accomplish the heart of the original idea.  This Christmas I found myself shooting down a doable idea that turned out to be the hit of the event.  I’m so glad I was out voted on that one.

2.  Tweak it Until It’s Right

I don’t buy into this idea that every showing of the production has to be exactly identical.  If your Christmas production is shown several times, making small changes is crucial in my opinion.  Especially if something is just wrong for the production.  Why repeat bad?  If something can be done better, why not make slight improvements along the way.  We all try to get to the issues before hand in tech and dress rehearsals, but realistically, at curtain call, things are different.  There is an audience out there.  They may respond differently to things in ways you didn’t anticipate.  Don’t be afraid to jump in there and make the small tweaks or the large deviations.  Don’t live with bad.  Eliminate dead space.  Build in better cues.  Sacrifice good for great.

3.  Keep Your Family First

Long hours at the church does not just take a hefty toll on you, but on your loved ones as well.  Do not give away all of your capacity to the church and leave your family with leftover exhaustion and frustration.  Anticipate the amount of hours you will be away from your family, communicate it to them but also plan to have an incredible Christmas at your house as well.  If you have services on Christmas Eve or Christmas day, move up Christmas dinner, gift exchange, and family gatherings.   Push yourself to be intentional about thinking through and communicating what Christmas at you house will look like.    You can still keep your family first even through the craziness that is church Christmas production.