How to make festivities accessible - for all

Christmas is coming, and it’s looming fast! It’s also a time when those with disabilities and additional needs struggle with accessibility.

We love everything glittery, and twinkly. We cram everyone into whatever space we have. The noise is much greater. And we insist on colour combinations and fonts that should never get past the editing stage of our Christmas invites, slides on screens and our social media.

So, how can we make Christmas in our churches more accessible?

Accommodating everyone this Christmas

For people with mobility difficulties, make sure there is still a choice of places to sit, especially if disabled people want to sit with their family. For those using a walker, don’t take it away as it’s scary being left with no way to move - including being unable to go to the toilet independently.

Being in a crowd when you’re disabled can also be difficult. As a wheelchair user I often say that buildings can be accessible - until you put people in them. Once there are people, you can’t move around so easily because you are below where people look and they don’t see you trying to get through. So, if you see a wheelchair user not moving, don’t assume they need pushing anywhere - just stop and chat. If they need help, they will ask.

At the start of services, point out that your custom is to stand to sing, but this isn’t compulsory. Use a phrase such as: “if you need to - or would rather sit, then please do”. Then, don’t mention standing at all when you announce the following carols.

And try not to call wheelchair users "The Wheelchair"!

It is always good to have chairs with arms for those who would struggle to stand without the leverage arms on chairs give.

Sans serif

For visual impairment and dyslexia, try to keep handouts, flyers, screens and social media content as accessible as possible. Use a clear sans serif font in sentence case (not all capitals), and have it left aligned - not centrally aligned. Have a plain, non-moving background that doesn’t clash with the font colour. Best practice would be black text on a pale, but not white, background (best for dyslexics), or white text on a black background (best for visual impairment).

Avoid red text and red backgrounds, especially with a curly font. Only use pretty fonts on the info that doesn’t matter.

Always use Alt text on all of your social media and put key information in the body of your post. Not everyone can read a picture of your flyer. Alternative (Alt) Text is a brief text description of images and graphics, and is an essential part of making content accessible. It is read by screen readers (or other assistive tech) to provide information about the image to the reader.

Have large-print copies of your song words and readings available and a braille copy too. (Talk to the Torch Trust about how to do both of these.)

Those who remain seated for singing will also need large print words as they won’t see the screen due to people standing in front of them.

Consider paying a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter to come for key services or using a good speech-to-text app.

For those who are neurodivergent, create a quiet room where they can get away from the noise and bustle. This is not a place for people to go and talk because it’s too noisy to hear; this is a place to reset and regulate. Have some fiddle toys in there; make it a comfortable place to be. But, even better, look at being a neurodivergent-friendly space at Christmas - by talking to neurodivergent people in your church.