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Close Church of Baptism, Date and Place

Talk to your spouse about the place, church and date of the baptism.

Place and church of Baptism

Where will the baptism take place? In your parish? In a chapel? In some quaint little church in the countryside or in the city? In your place of origin? On island; First decide where the baptism will take place. Keep in mind that if you plan to baptize with many guests, the church should be relatively close so that you don't have any absentees. If you wish to christen somewhere far away or on an island, you should think about how the godparents and guests will come, who will stay (if accommodation is needed) but also how all the necessary christening items will be transported (bomb favors, candles, decorations, flowers , balloons, baptismal font etc.) in the church. One solution is the estates that also have a church inside, so you can have a sacrament and a reception in the same place without a lot of travel for everyone.

Date of Baptism

When is the best time for this? Should the baptism take place inside the temple or outside? If it is done outside it should be summer or early September. Spring is risky for rain if you want to do the baptism outside the church or in a chapel.

Usually most baptisms take place after Easter and until July and the rest of the beginning of Autumn. So it would be good to book the church at least 5-6 months before the baptism to find open dates, since the more "popular" a church is, the harder it is to find an empty date.

Consider the time of Baptism. You should find some time so that the child does not go too far outside his daily schedule, especially if there will be a reception and a party. You may also find it difficult to find an available afternoon time for the baptism because after 6 the wedding ceremonies usually start. The best times are in the morning but that depends on you and what will follow after the baptism.

If you are simply offering sweets in the churchyard, time is not something you should be concerned about.

If after the baptism, you offer cocktails and finger food in your home, you can do the baptism at any time.

However, if a reception, party or celebration will follow in a reception center then consider that the best times are 12 to 1 in the afternoon or 6 to 7 in the afternoon, so that there is not much time between the ceremony and the reception.

If you want to treat yourself to sweets, snacks and drinks in the courtyard of the church, it is better to choose the afternoon or late afternoon, so that you can be the last sacrament of the day.

Also think about what times the baby sleeps, when he eats, when he is cheerful and relaxed and try to coincide the time of the baptism with the hours when the baby is appetizing and not hungry or sleepy.

Find Baby Name

Whether you like ancient Greek names, or Christian names, or you will traditionally give the name of the grandfather or grandmother, it is good to have decided with your partner the name you will give the child before the baptism. Let the godparents and grandparents know before the mystery to avoid unpleasant surprises, misunderstandings or anything else that could spoil the day. You don't want to see sullen and "sour" faces in the photos.

Justifications and procedures of Baptism

The sacrament of Baptism also has its bureaucracy. After you have found a name, the godfather or the godmother, you have booked a date and time and a church, you will need to gather the necessary documents for the baptism.

In order to close the church you will need the child's birth certificate (noted for baptism), a marriage certificate and your and the godparents' identity cards. You will need to sign for the baby's name and religion before the sacrament. The godparents will need to enter their details and sign.

The godparents also pay the church's operating expenses for the baptism, so it's a good idea to ask them in advance. Church expenses start from €50 and even reach a few hundred euros depending on the church. A receipt is given by the priest for these expenses.

After the ceremony, the priest will give you a baptism certificate to take to the registry office where you belong and there you will declare the child's name. Now baptism only states the child's religion and not the first name. Naming is done at the registry office. You will find more about naming in the Naming Act – Procedure, Application and Supporting Documents to name the child.

Baptism Guests – Guest List

Make your guest list so you know how many invitations, invitations, sweets, testimonials you will need for the christening. Don't forget to ask the godparents if they will invite other people as well, like your parents and in-laws.

If you also have a reception afterwards, calculate how many people you will invite, write them down on paper including the children and their ages to see how many children's menus you will need. Children's menus are more economical than adult menus and babies under three are usually not charged.

The number of children and their ages will also determine how many children's party favors you will need, whether you will need an entertainer (and how many) for the children, or small gifts you may want to offer the younger guests. These will help you calculate the cost of the above so you stay within your budget and don't go overboard.

Baptism Photographer

Although logically you will already have a first experience and contact from your wedding, one of the most important aspects of a baptism is the photography (and video recording). The truth is that these stay with you in the end and make the memories! For this you should choose the right photographer for the christening, he will keep that moment alive. See samples of his work before you book him and get a quote for baptism photography from one or more photographers as there are many options and different packages to choose from.

Prices start at 500 euros and usually include photography and videography of the mystery, a digital or analogue photo album for the parents and separate albums for the godfather or godmother and the video but you can add other services such as drone videography from above , next day photography and more.

Subject of Baptism

Before proceeding with invitations and favors and decorations, you should have decided what the theme of the baptism will be and the style it will have. Find a theme and create a festive and happy atmosphere.

There are countless options (eg Forest Fairies, Harry Potter, Butterflies, sea, unicorns, vintage, little pirate, football player, flower garden, Pinocchio, horses, etc.) and you can move in infinite color combinations (blue, pink, lilac , in pale shades, beige gold and anything else you can imagine. The materials for the decoration of the baptism are also countless, tulle, fabrics, flowers, structures and much more. If you cannot do it yourself, there are professionals in the field who they can help you.

The cost of the decoration is determined by your choices, so you can move from very economical to very expensive solutions. Clarify with the godfather or godmother who will cover the cost of decorating the church, your own definite obligation is the decoration of the reception, if you do.

Adornment baptism

The decoration of the swimming pool is one of the obligations of the godfather. Church decoration (if the church allows it) is another case. In some places it belongs to the obligations of the godfather or godmother and in others it belongs to the obligations of the parents. It is good to discuss it (parents and godparents) and agree on who will be responsible for this outing and what style the decorations will have. The decoration of the reception area is the responsibility of the parents.

There are simple solutions such as balloons (compositions with a man and balloons) that cost around 40 euros and very complex decorations with flowers, tulle, constructions, fabrics, bicycles, carriages and decorations that increase the cost considerably. The choice is yours.

Baptism Reception

What you will do after the christening to celebrate the event is another big issue and depends mainly on your budget and whether you will have the christening in a close family circle or with many guests. After the baptism, you can treat the guests to a snack and a cocktail in the surrounding area of the church if the time of the baptism allows it and there is no other baptism or wedding. You will need a good caterer who will take care of setting up the space, equipment, food and drinks. Good to be the last mystery of the day.

You can still have a party, a table or even a celebration at your home if you wish and have the food ready or have booked a catering service that will take care of the equipment, serving, food and drinks (You don't spare the cleaning afterwards) . Think about how many small guests you have and what you will be doing for them (or what they will be doing in your home), if you have a garden or terrace for them to be occupied or set up some space for them to be occupied there.

If you don't have a reception, you can still go with the closest relatives (the so-called soi), the godparents and some good friends to eat in a tavern or restaurant. It is good to have reserved a table and to have informed who you will invite in advance (to avoid misunderstandings).

If you decide to have a reception then the options are even more. You can book an estate, restaurant, tavern, hotel or event venue with a sit-down 'service' or buffet meal.

Please note:

• The season, so you can look for an open or closed space for the reception
• On time, so that there is not a long period of time between the time of the baptism and the time of the reception so that the child or the guests are not inconvenienced
• The number of guests
• The distance from the church to the reception area so that the child, you and the guests are not inconvenienced

Employment of children

In any case think about the small children, make sure they have their own space to eat and a children's menu so they have a good time! You can hire a professional entertainer, animator, clown, magician for their entertainment or educators to keep them creatively occupied. You can find different packages that include balloon building, face painting, pantomime, karaoke, treasure hunt, dance, group games, puppet show or even magic tricks and more. In many banquet halls there are also inflatable games or specially designed areas for children or a playground. So the children will have a good time and the parents will be more relaxed to enjoy the baptism celebration with you.

Decoration of the Baptism reception area

Do not forget that it is good to decorate the reception area in the same style as the baptism decoration. Banquet areas usually have glasses, pots and fabrics that you can match and use to add small touches to elevate the decor of the venue.