Preparing for your son or daughter’s baptism necessitates a lot of work. You have to consider numerous details, from the baby’s clothes to the godparents’ gifts. Furthermore, you will also have to take care of all the church preparations and sharing the invitations for your guests. Each church may have different practices and customs.

When organizing your child’s christening and the party that follows, one of the most important things to consider is making the best choices for godparent gifts to show them your appreciation. Some churches may not allow guests during the ceremony. That is why you have to contact the church’s personnel and ask for details.

Preparations

As the host family, you will have to contact the church office as soon as you want to schedule the baptism service for your little one. Offer them details like the name of the child, his date of birth, yours and your spouse’s names and the godparents’ names. Furthermore, you should also inform the administrative person or the pastor of the number of attendees to the service. The most important thing after establishing the date and hour of the service is to prevent being late.

Invitation Protocol

This is an important event in yours and little one’s life. Therefore, you should consider inviting part of your friends and relatives. You can do this formally, by sending out traditional paper invitations. Most people choose to do this. However, if you do not want to waste money on invitations, you can clearly use the modern approach. Calling or sending an email to the people you want to invite is just as efficient as sending paper invitations. Make sure they save the date for your big event. Besides inviting friends and relatives to the party, you can also invite them to take part in the church ceremony.

Dress Code

When preparing your fancy clothes for this event, make sure that what you wear suits the special occasion and is also in accordance with church’s customs. You would want to wear decent, elegant clothes, without showing cleavage or too much skin. Women can wear a nice dress, one suitable for special occasions like a wedding or baby shower. Men could choose a suit or a sports coat and a tie. When you send the invitations, you should consider specifying the suitable attire for the guests. If the ceremony is in a Catholic church, women should consider covering their shoulders and wearing knee-length skirts or dresses.

Participation

In case you were invited to your friend’s or relative’s child’s baptism and you are not a religious person, you will not be expected to participate in any religious rituals. Nevertheless, in case you want to be present to this important event, you can search for a booklet where the order of the ritual is described. In this way, you will know what to do when you get there. The most important things when going to the service is to remain quiet and show respect. There are occasions when you will be requested to stand or sing along with the choir.

Gifts

Baptism gifts represent a crucial part of the baptism tradition. The gifts that your child receives from your friends and relatives are meant to nurture their relationship with Jesus Christ. The most appropriate gifts for such an occasion are generally the religious ones. Therefore, your little one a spiritual book, a cross or artwork with a religious theme. Another beautiful present is a necklace with a cross. If it is silver, this represents the wish for prosperity. A suitable gift for the child who is baptized is a Catholic children’s book or a Children’s Bible that they could first read when they grow up. Nevertheless, you may also expect to receive non-religious gifts as well. Some guests may not be religious at all or they might not have the same faith as you. Hence, they could choose a personalized gift. In this case, a glassware with baptism date, a special blanket, a keepsake box or an engraved photo album are the perfect gifts.

Learning about the customs and traditions of a baptism service and reception can help you respect the etiquette and appropriate set of rules. Inform all the guests about the dress code and the times scheduled for the church service and reception. Make sure you purchase appropriate gifts for your child’s grandparents to show them your gratitude and respect. Besides taking care of all the details when organizing the event, you should also make sure that you fully enjoy it, without stressing out.

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