If you’ve got a christening coming up that you and your family are invited to attend, you may have a variety of things running through your head. How will you get your son to behave? How will you get your daughter to keep her dress clean? How will you get your husband to sit still? This article will help you to prepare for a full day out with the family with no mishaps:
Start With a Light Breakfast
Every good day starts off with a nice breakfast! You shouldn’t have something too heavy, or you probably won’t be hungry for the food at the after-party later (I’m assuming there will be a buffet of some kind). Make sure the kids eat their food so they aren’t whispering in your ear throughout the service about how hungry they are – even if it’s just a piece of fruit!
Explain to the Children What They Should Expect and How They Should Behave
For children, christenings can be awfully boring. Explain to them what to expect through the ceremony, and how long they should expect to be sat there before it’s time to go and have fun at the afterparty. As long as they know they’ll be having fun after, they should be fine. Make sure they know that they should be as quiet as they can, and if they want you for something important they should whisper. If you know you’ll have trouble keeping them still and quiet, you might want to bring something to distract them, like a coloring book.
Make Sure Everybody Looks Presentable
Make sure the whole family has a nice outfit to wear for the christening. It may look especially nice in photos if you choose outfits that coordinate with each other! Make sure there are no collars sticking up, shirts untucked, or marks on the material. Grubby faces should be washed, hair brushed, and smiles plastered on.
Pack a Big Bag With the Essentials
Depending on how old your kids are, you’ll need to pack a bag filled with essentials. If you have especially young children, you may need to bring nappies, juice, milk, and baby wipes. If your kids are a little older, you might need to bring some items to distract them if they get bored and restless. You could put many things in your bag of essentials, but I thoroughly recommend a change of clothes for the very young ones, plasters, and baby wipes. In this big bag, you can even include a card and some baptism gifts for the child to be christened.
Take a Camera
You’ll want lots of lovely pictures of the family spending quality time together in their best Sunday attire, so make sure you take a charged camera or at least a camera phone. Don’t just have to pose pictures though – take some natural, action shots too. They’re usually the best kind of photos!
Prepare things like outfits in advance, and make sure everybody knows the Christening is coming up a few days before. If you follow this advice, you’ll all have a great day together!
