Living in Ireland it is pretty much essential to get your baby baptised/ christened or whatever you would like to call it. I don’t come from a religious background at all but I still feel for later in life it is important that your child at least has the choice whether he wants to have a communion with all his friends. This wouldn’t be possible if not baptised.
There is a few things you need to consider before having your child baptised.
– When is the perfect time to get your baby christened?
Matthew was christened at the age of 3 months. I think that’s the perfect age. Not too early and not too late. Chloe will be christened at the same age.
– Location: The next step is to choose in which church you would like the event to happen. Once you picked it, meet up with the priest and talk about the bits and pieces. Pick the date and time of the christening.
– Godparents: Sit down with your other half and discuss who is going to be the godfather and the godmother. Whether it is someone out of the family or a good friend.
– The guests: Discuss who you want to invite. I didn’t bother sending any invitations because it was only close family attending.
– The gown: Christening gowns can be very expensive depending on where you buy them from. There is no need to spend that amount of money when you only need it for one day or in fact for one hour max. I purchased mine off a shop on ebay and it was gorgeous. As Matthew’s was a top and trousers, I will have to purchase an actual dress for Chloe.
– The candle: Don’t forget to order the candle that is going to be lit. Matthew had a personalised one which I ordered online. It had his name, the date of the christening and his godparents names on it.
– The after service: When the christening is over the whole family normally gathers together to celebrate the baptism with a meal or a buffet in a restaurant or hall. Discuss where you want this to happen and what exactly you want. I had a cake made for Matthew’s christening. You should get this organised with your local cake shop or anyone you know who makes celebration cakes.
Last but most importantly charge that camera and decide on a person who is going to be responsible taking the photos during the ceremony to capture those special moments.
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Oh I think you do get the choice of receiving a candle in the church too but most people these days have a custom one made with name of baby, godparents names and dare of christening on it. I prefer that myself. That way we have a keepsake of the day. xx
It sounds a wee bit different from here in England – things like the candle needing to be ordered, you just get that here as you’re leaving, and I think most people aren’t really expecting it! We still haven’t got Reuben Christened at the age of 2 and half…shameful really as my dad is a vicar!! I think we’ll probably get him and the next (if there is one!) done at the same time now 🙂
Thanks for linking up, really interesting post xx #Thelist