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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.

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 all this planning, you will be purchasing your child’s outfit for the christening. Some families have heirloom gowns that are passed down through the generations. This is a lovely idea that brings additional sentiment to the day, but if your family does not have anything like this, or if you just don’t care for the heirloom gown, you can find the perfect outfit for your child at the stores. Christening gowns can be purchased in a range of colors, styles and lengths. When you take the time to shop around, you are sure to find the perfect gown for your child’s special moment.

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.

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