A Christmas dinner prayer
Read it slowly. It fits a table of four or twenty.
A Christmas dinner prayer
Father, look at this table. Somebody started the ham before sunrise. Somebody drove three hours with a pie on their lap. Somebody set out the good plates. Thank You for every bit of it.
Thank You for Jesus. He didn't come to watch us from far away. He sat at tables like this one, passing the bread and listening to the stories. Sit with us today. Bless this food and the people sharing it. Make us patient with each other and generous with seconds. Amen.
The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
Christians have said these two verses as a table grace for centuries. They're still a good one-breath prayer if nobody else wants to pray.
One-line Christmas graces
For a table that's been waiting long enough, or a family that doesn't usually pray out loud.
- Thank You, Lord, for this food, these people and Your Son. Amen.
- Holy Spirit, You're welcome at this table too. Bless what we share. Amen.
- God, You gave us Christmas. We give You thanks. Amen.
30-second Christmas dinner prayers
Long enough to mean something, short enough that the kids stay in their seats.
A 30-second Christmas grace
Lord, we didn't earn any of this: the food, the warm room, the people next to us. It's all gift, like Christmas itself. Thank You. Help us enjoy it slowly and share it gladly, and remember the people who have much less tonight. Amen.
A grace for a hungry table
God, everyone here is starving, so we'll keep this short. Thank You for the cook, the meal and the reason we're together. Bless this food, bless this family and bless whoever ended up at the kids' table. Amen.
Christmas dinner prayer for a full table
For the year the extra leaf goes in the table, a table of friends or a table where people believe different things. For longer prayers for your relatives, see our Christmas prayers for family.
For a big, loud family table
Lord, it's crowded in here. Grandparents, cousins, the new boyfriend, the baby who won't stop banging a spoon. Thank You for every one of them.
We don't agree on everything, and we're not going to fix that over dinner. So help us do what we can do: pass the food, laugh at the old stories and listen to each other a little longer than usual. Thank You for Jesus, who makes room for all of us. Amen.
For a table of friends
Jesus, thank You for whoever ended up here: the nurse who's back on shift tomorrow, the couple who just moved to town, the friend who brought three desserts. None of us planned it this way, and it turned out to be good.
Bless this meal we all brought a piece of. Bless the people we're missing, wherever they are. And keep this circle close in the new year. Amen.
For a Friendsmas dinner, people who can't get home or anyone spending Christmas with friends instead of relatives.
For a table where not everyone prays
God, around this table are people who pray every day, people who haven't in years and at least one person hoping I keep this short. I will. Thank You for each of them, exactly as they are.
Thank You for this food and for a day when we put our phones down and pass the potatoes. For me, Christmas is about Jesus, and I'm grateful He came. Bless this meal and everyone sharing it. Amen.
Keep your voice ordinary. Nobody needs to bow their head to be included.
Christmas dinner prayer for an empty chair
Some families leave a place set, or light a candle beside the plate, for someone who isn't there this year. Saying their name in the grace means nobody has to be the first to bring them up. If the loss is recent, our prayers for grief may help in the weeks after.
For someone who has died
Lord, there's a chair at this table that nobody is going to sit in today. It was [Name]'s. We keep thinking of [the joke they told before every meal, the cranberry sauce from the can they insisted on, the grace that always ran long].
Thank You for every time they made this meal louder. We miss them, and nobody here has to hide that today. We trust [Name] to Your love. Hold us, and let this meal be full of their stories. Amen.
If you've lit a candle for them, pray this once it's lit.
For someone who couldn't come home
Father, [Name] isn't with us this year. [They're working, they're deployed, they're in the hospital.] We'll call later, but we wanted to start dinner by praying for them.
Wherever they are, give them a warm meal and good company. Let them know they were missed. And bring us all to the same table again soon. Amen.
Christmas dinner prayers for kids
Children love being asked to say grace, especially if they've had a chance to practice. The first one rhymes and is easy to memorize. The second works with toddlers: a grown-up says a few words and the kids say them back.
A rhyming Christmas grace for kids
Thank You, Lord, for every treat, The ham, the peas, the pie so sweet. Thank You for the baby small Who came at Christmas for us all. Amen.
A repeat-after-me grace for little ones
Dear God, thank You for our food. Thank You for our family. Thank You for Jesus. Help us share. Amen.
Pause after each line so the kids can say it back.
Let a child add one thing
After the prayer, before the Amen, let the youngest add one thing they're thankful for. You'll get "the dog" or "my new scooter," and that's exactly right. God cares about what children care about.
A call-and-response Christmas grace
A responsive grace lets everyone pray, not just the person at the head of the table. One person reads the Leader lines and everyone answers together. Print it on a card or put a phone in the center of the table.
A call-and-response grace
Leader: For the baby in the manger, God with us, All: Glory to God. Leader: For this feast and the people who cooked it, All: Glory to God. Leader: For the friends and family around this table, All: Glory to God. Leader: For the ones we're missing tonight, All: Lord, keep them close. Leader: Bless this food and keep us kind to one another. All: Amen.
O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 136 has the same refrain in the second half of every verse, and it was probably sung with the people answering each line.
A blessing over the cook
Before you eat, have everyone turn toward whoever cooked and pray for them by name. It takes twenty seconds, and cooks rarely hear their work prayed over.
A blessing over the cook
Lord, we want to thank You for [Name]. They planned this menu for weeks, braved the grocery store on the twenty-third and fed us before they fed themselves.
Bless the work they did today. Bless the burn on their wrist and [the recipe card in their mom's handwriting]. Every bite we take is a thank-you to them, and to You for giving them a gift for this. And tonight, may someone else do the dishes. Amen.
Texts to send the cook afterward
Thank you for today. That meal was a gift, and so are you. Merry Christmas.
Still thinking about your stuffing. Thanking God for you and your kitchen this Christmas.
You fed a whole crowd today. Praying you get a slow, quiet day tomorrow.
Christmas dinner prayer for a party or potluck
For a small group Christmas party, an office potluck or a church dinner where not everyone knows each other yet. Keep it warm and short, and welcome the newcomers by name if you can.
An opening prayer for a Christmas party
God, look who came tonight: old friends and a few brand-new faces. Thank You for the slow cookers lined up on the counter and the people who carried them in.
We celebrate tonight because You sent Jesus into the world. Let some of His welcome be in this room, with room for everyone and nobody left on the edges. Bless the food, the conversations and the drive home. Amen.
How to say grace on Christmas
A few practical things make Christmas grace go smoothly, especially at a table where people pray differently or not at all.
- 1
Wait until everyone is seated
Pray once the food is on the table and the last person has sat down, before anyone starts serving.
- 2
Say what you're about to do
"Let's thank God before we eat" gives guests who don't usually pray a moment to settle. Holding hands is lovely if it's your custom, but don't make it awkward for anyone who'd rather not.
- 3
Thank, don't preach
Most graces on this page take thirty seconds or less. Christmas dinner prayer is a thank-you, not a sermon.
- 4
Name someone
The cook, a new baby, someone in the hospital, someone who died this year. One name makes the prayer this year's, not every year's.
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.
The first Christians made a habit of eating together in each other's homes, glad and grateful. Christmas dinner is a good day to do the same. For the night before, see our Christmas Eve prayers.
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Questions people ask
What is the best prayer to say at dinner?
One the whole table can follow: thank God for what's on the plates, the people around them and the cook, then say Amen. On Christmas, add one line of thanks for Jesus. Thirty seconds is enough.
What is a short Christmas dinner prayer?
Try "Thank You, Lord, for this food, these people and Your Son. Amen." It covers what a Christmas grace needs to and takes about five seconds.
What is a good blessing before Christmas dinner?
"God bless this meal, the one who cooked it and everyone who came to share it, and thank You for Jesus. Amen." A blessing for the meal can be one sentence, said just before the first dish is passed.
How do you say grace at Christmas when not everyone is religious?
Keep it short, warm and grateful, and don't preach. Thank God for the food and for each person by name if you can, mention Jesus once and let it end there. There's a prayer for a mixed table on this page.
What is the traditional Catholic grace before meals?
"Bless us, O Lord, and these Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty, through Christ our Lord. Amen." Many Catholic families say it on Christmas too, sometimes with a line added for the day.
Who should say grace at Christmas dinner?
Usually the host, but it's a kind honor to hand to a grandparent, a child who's been practicing or a guest. Ask when you send everyone the dinner time.
