subject: Planning A Christening : The Basics Explained [print this page] Planning A Christening : The Basics Explained
Your child's christening is an important time and a beautiful ceremony that you will want to remember forever. Luckily, planning a baptism that is special and memorable is not difficult, you just have to take the time to do some careful planning. Your first order of business will be to talk with your church. Some churches only do baptisms on certain days. Other churches provide more freedom and let you choose any day. Once you know how your church handles baptisms, you can set about the task of choosing the date and confirming that date with your church. Your next step will be to choose your baby's Godparents. Your child's Godparents will help you with your child's spiritual upbringing. They will help teach your child about your religion, so you will definitely want to choose Godparents who are the same religion as you. It is important that you choose someone who will always be part of your child's life. If you do not pick a family member, try to choose someone you believe will maintain regular contact with your child even if one of you moves. Many people choose name the Godparents as the Legal Guardians of their child if something should happen to them. You can see why this decision is so important. Once you know about your church's specific requirements, the date and time are set, and the Godparents have agreed; you are ready to send out the invitations. Custom invitations are beautiful and unique, but even store bought invitations are lovely and will work nicely. The main thing is to take the time to send written invitations.
Once the invitation list is complete, the date is set, the Godparents have agreed and all baptism requirements are met; you are ready to start making decisions regarding having a reception and what might be served. Smaller groups can be handled at home, while larger groups could be hosted at a reception hall. If you will be having the invent catered, it is important to meet with the caterer and make those arrangements as soon as possible. At some point during this process you will need to choose your baby's christening gown. Some family's have special, heirloom christening gowns that are actually worn by most of the baby's. If your family has such a tradition, you can follow it or you can choose to buy an outfit just for your baby. Christening gowns are a little like wedding dresses in that they can be anything from extremely basic and simple to very elaborate and detailed. If you are buying your baby's christening outfit new, take the time to shop around for the perfect outfit for this special occasion. Finally, you may want to purchase a special gift for the child. You will want to choose something that they can always have to remind them of this occasion. One great choice is a new bible or prayer book. The details of the day; including the Godparents, priest, date and location; can then be added to the book. This would not only be a keepsake, but could also be used by your child throughout his or her life as a guide for making the right choices.
