Your child’s baptism, or christening if you prefer, is a special event. It is an amazing moment, and it deserves to be recognized and made truly memorable. Even though your baby won’t remember the day, you and your family will and your child will enjoy hearing stories about this event as he or she grows up. With a little planning, you can give your child a beautiful, memorable baptism that will serve as a strong religious foundation for them.
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.
Some faiths require that the parents take special baptism classes before their child can be baptized. It is important that you speak to your church to clarify what all the requirements will be ahead of time. Once you have confirmed that all requirements can be met, you are ready to prepare invitations. Store bought invitations will work nicely, or you can choose to have the invitations custom made.
Many people choose to have receptions after the baptism. If you will be having a small affair with close family and friends only, you might want to have it at your home and cater it yourself. If the gathering will be very large, you might want to rent a hall. If your baby will enjoy an individual christening, you can talk to the church about having the reception at their hall immediately after the ceremony. Once these fine details are determined, you can meet with a caterer to discuss menu options.
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.
The final decision to make is what you will buy your child to commemorate this glorious event. You will want to choose something that they can always keep with them. A special cross or crucifix is a nice idea, although it can be hard to keep track of through the years. Another idea is a new bible or prayer book. You can then make notes in this book including the names of the Godparents and the date and place of the baptism. If your family is close to the minister or priest you can also document that information in the book. This bible can then become something your child will always keep not only as a reminder of their baptism, but as a source to help guide them on their journey.
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Tags: christening, culture, christianity, children, Babies, baptism, religion, toddlers