Planning Tips For A Christening

By Author: Carolyn Clayton
Total Articles: 130
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Having a child christened is an important and special time for the family involved. As well as marking the child's introduction to Christ and the religious beliefs the day is also an all round celebration of the child. The day will be remembered by all of the parents family and friends so it is well worth some planning to make sure it all goes well.

First up you need to think about a convenient date for the occasion. If some of your family is living in different parts of the country this will need to be taken into consideration. It would be well worth having a couple of dates in mind so you can run it past the people who have the furthest to travel first. Once you have a couple of dates in mind go to the church and see if these are available. If they are then it's just a matter of what suites you guests more.

A very important part of a christening is choosing Godparents. Being a God parent is an important and serious role in the upbringing of any child. The idea of Godparents is that if something happened to the parents, the godparents will have the responsibility of bringing the child up. So make sure ...
... the people you choose as Godparents understand this responsibility. Obviously this is the last thing they will want to hear but its being practical and also ensuring you choose the right people.

Sending out invitations should be done as early as possible to allow for people to make their own arrangements. If people live far away they may need somewhere to stay. It would be nice to try and offer them accommodation within the invitation. If you have no spare rooms and can't possibly put people up it would be a nice idea to check local b&b's for prices and availability. You can then add this information in a separate sheet and sent along with the invitation. Also don't forget to send the address and directions to the place of the ceremony.

Most Christenings have a buffet after the ceremony. If you send the invitations out in good time you should get an idea of how many people will be attending. Then you can plan for the food and where the after cero0mondy buffet will take place. Sometimes these happen in the parents' home but if there is not enough room, a local venue will need to be arranged. The catering is another issue, do you want to do this yourself or outsource it? Whatever you choose make sure all the arrangements are confirmed plenty of time before the event.

Everyone that comes to the christening will be buying the child a gift. Now this is not like a wedding so you can't really give out a gift list, but if you have strong feelings regarding gifts you could put a note in with the invitation regarding your wishes. If you don't want any gifts being bought you could choose a favourite charity and ask guests to give that way.

Planning a Christening is pretty much like organising another other party really, the ceremony will take care of its self, your church priest will be able to tell you want to expect. Your job is to arrange everything around it. With a bit of early preparation your child's Christening should go well and it will be a day to remember for the rest of you and your child's life.
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