Things to consider when planning a Christening
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Family
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Whatever your religious or moral beliefs, a christening is a very special time for you as a parent, for your child and for your family as well. The timing and nature of the ceremony or event is entirely up to you as a new parent to decide on. Even though this sounds rather overwhelming, this is an opportunity to welcome your new bundle of joy into the world while surrounded by all your closest friends and family who you wish to have an important part in your child’s life.
Once the initial decision of whether to baptise your child has been tackled, the next natural decision to make is selecting the godparent or godparents for your child. This may be an old family friend of yours or your partners, a sibling, or anyone who you feel you have a special connection to.
The nature of your christening will have to be discussed. Depending on the beliefs of you and your partner, a decision will have to be met that suits both of you, and sometimes your family may wish to be consulted. The event does not have to be entirely religious if that does not represent the beliefs of your family. If you’re an active and committed member of a religious community or church, there’s typically a pre-defined formal ceremony like a traditional christening or baptism that greets the arrival of a new baby. But if you’re not part of an established church, many civil celebrants now suggest baby naming ceremonies which are the non-religious equivalent of a christening. The event can be a get together for you all to celebrate life and a blessing for your child upon their entry into the world. Depending on the church or location of the christening you have in mind, there will be different requirements; you’ll just need to about talk it all a couple of months before the big day. Once you have decided upon the godparents, you can always involve them in the process of decision making. They will probably be more than happy to help, and delegating certain tasks with them can take the pressure of you as the parents in the weeks approaching the big day, as planning a christening can often be more time consuming than you think.
Once you have all of the details such a guest list, godparents and religious tone sorted, the most exciting part to organise is the christening party! This is when you will be able to let your hair down, and all of the family and friends who have not had the opportunity to meet your child yet can spend some quality time with them. The christening party can be as elaborate as you wish, ranging from central London venue hire to an all-inclusive home event. The post-ceremony gathering can be a lot of fun, where you can create special memories for the whole family. Depending on your budget, and your overall intention for theme and tone, music, photography and food are all areas to be creative in.
Once the initial decision of whether to baptise your child has been tackled, the next natural decision to make is selecting the godparent or godparents for your child. This may be an old family friend of yours or your partners, a sibling, or anyone who you feel you have a special connection to.
The nature of your christening will have to be discussed. Depending on the beliefs of you and your partner, a decision will have to be met that suits both of you, and sometimes your family may wish to be consulted. The event does not have to be entirely religious if that does not represent the beliefs of your family. If you’re an active and committed member of a religious community or church, there’s typically a pre-defined formal ceremony like a traditional christening or baptism that greets the arrival of a new baby. But if you’re not part of an established church, many civil celebrants now suggest baby naming ceremonies which are the non-religious equivalent of a christening. The event can be a get together for you all to celebrate life and a blessing for your child upon their entry into the world. Depending on the church or location of the christening you have in mind, there will be different requirements; you’ll just need to about talk it all a couple of months before the big day. Once you have decided upon the godparents, you can always involve them in the process of decision making. They will probably be more than happy to help, and delegating certain tasks with them can take the pressure of you as the parents in the weeks approaching the big day, as planning a christening can often be more time consuming than you think.
Once you have all of the details such a guest list, godparents and religious tone sorted, the most exciting part to organise is the christening party! This is when you will be able to let your hair down, and all of the family and friends who have not had the opportunity to meet your child yet can spend some quality time with them. The christening party can be as elaborate as you wish, ranging from central London venue hire to an all-inclusive home event. The post-ceremony gathering can be a lot of fun, where you can create special memories for the whole family. Depending on your budget, and your overall intention for theme and tone, music, photography and food are all areas to be creative in.
