Relatives of the 11 people who died when wreckage from Pam Am flight 103 crashed into the town say they want a small church service to mark the day.
Another 259 people died on board the flight from London to New York when it exploded at 31,000ft on December 21, 1988.
At a meeting in Lockerbie town hall, local resident Clive Wilsonham said: "I think we should recognise that there are others involved besides people in the town, but it must remain very personal.
"The main fear we have is that it will be taken over by politicians and turned into a media circus. Neither do we want it to be a political circus.
"Prime ministers and presidents must stay away. We should have a remembrance the way we want it."
Only residents of the town and other relatives of victims will be invited to attend the service, he said.
The meeting also touched on how to prevent the anniversary from being overwhelmed by media interest. The people of Dunblane had much the same problem and ended up appealing for privacy on the first anniversary of the gun tragedy in a primary school there.
Dryfe councillor Stephen Berry said: "The media will have to be controlled otherwise it will become too intense and out of control.
"It is 10 months before the anniversary, yet the interest is already building up."
But the meeting of 70 residents unanimously agreed that American families hit by the explosion should be welcome.
Resident Donald Bogie told the group it would be "highly churlish" not to do so.
"While it has been a tragic affair, a lot of friendships have been formed. It would be terrible for them to sit in a hotel room on their own on a night like that," he said.
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