Christening help

[jenni16]

Who has had their little ones christened or is planning on it?

I've got a 23mo and am 11 week old. We always planned to get them both christened once the youngest came along. But we've recently found out that my Nan has cancer, and it's terminal �� so I really want to do it as soon as possible so she can be there before she gets too poorly.

How long (roughly!) would it take to organise?
Who do I need to speak to?
What do I need to organise/think about?
I have no idea how to do these things ��

Any help would be greatly appreciated ☺�� xxxx

 

[kumber]

You need to speak to your local priest or vicar depending on your denomination. Most clergy will expect you to attend a Sunday service at least once before they will perform the rite. All of our local priests require you to attend Mass for 4 weekends either in a row or alternate weekends before they set up a baptism. When they perform the rite depends on when they have a free slot, if you explain the situation they may move it up a bit for you.

Usually they request a contribution, between £80-£100 is the norm for this area.

You need to choose godparents, at least 1 will need to be christened within your chosen denomination. You can have 2+ but you must have at least 1 man and 1 woman.

Usually there's a party afterwards but there are no set rules on that front, it's whatever you decide. A party, a meal, a BBQ, the choice is up to you!

Hope that helps

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[jenni16]

Very helpful, thank you
It would have been so easy, we were meant to have been moving to a much bigger house anytime now, so could have had everyone back to ours afterwards - easy and cheap lol. But our house sale fell through, so I think that's going to be the hardest this to organise at short notice. Xxx

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[El1en]

Things are pretty laid back in my area.

I rang he vicar who came out for a chat, we discussed the date and godparents and he chatted about how he likes to do christenings.

We didn't have to attend church before hand and a donation was never mentioned, I put £50 in the donation box but itbhadnt been discussedand I did it discreetly.

After that we hired a local sports club for £50 and I did the catering and decorating myself for about £120.

We had two God mothers and one God father for our daughter and I have them all a little gift from her. They had to be christened but it didn't matter where

If youre buying a dress/gown from a special shop you may need to order 6 weeks in advance

 

[Lucyboo]

We had our lg christened. We just had immediate family and godparents making it easier to keep it small. You could always ring the vicar and ask what the nearest availability is. You could be surprised he may have a free slot and no harm in saying why you want it so soon. Ours never mentioned donations until the actual ceremony and had the after party at the in laws. We had 3 godparents and they asked if they were christened too.

We didn't have to attend church in advance but did have to attend after to receive the certificate and a gift.

When I was godmother at a christening a while back they just booked a huge table and bought everyone a roast dinner in a pub x

 

[ruby2015]

Most churches have a church hall and actually will sometimes even help with a little party afterwards- providing tea, coffee etc. Our church doesn't have a hall but we will still have a reception-type thing at the back of the church. I'm going to make a buffet and lay it out there. Don't worry about being short notice- explain to the vicar and I'm sure it'll be fine

 

[jenni16]

Thank you for all your help
I'm going to brave it and call today. I hate making calls and organising things, but this has to be done. I've got to call the church, and ring round a few places to see if they're available for afterwards. And sort out food - whether we do it ourselves, get the venue to do it, or have someone else supply.
A good family friend makes fabulous cakes so I've roped her in to sort that for us.
We should get it sorted pretty quickly hopefully.
I spoke to mom earlier and told her the plans, we both ended up getting upset at the reality of losing nan. We want to make this extra special and try to get as much of her family together as possible for a nice reason before its too late.
Mac partner lost his nan recently while I was pregnant, so it's even more important to get them christened now before my nan misses it too.
Xxx

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[B81292]

We got our 8 month old done last week
We just attended a church in the area on a Tuesday evening and they booked us a Sunday . It didn't cost anything just asked for donations on the day
We hired a function room and had about 40/50 people attend . Including food, decs, cake and dress cost us around £300
I was stressed to hell the week running up to it and on the day! But so glad I got her done

Hope it went well and you manage to get sorted!!

 

[Loula]

I got my lo christened at 7 months and 2 days before Xmas
I saw the vicar in September to arrange and it was during a morning service but was nice being Xmas.
We all went back to my mums for a lunch/ buffet as it was very small