Baptism

Our church ladies group was kind enough to provide cake and punch for our son's baptism. Afterwards, just the family went out to eat at a local restaurant. If you chose to do something at home, see if family members would mind doing a potluck of sorts but don't feel bad if its just cake and punch.

For the baptism, if it's allowed in your church, see if a relative or friend could video tape the ceremony from off to the side or somewhere out of the way. I know our church did not allow photographs during the ceremony but our pastor did a few posed shots afterwards. Also...CONSIDER THIS...instead of getting a full or long gown with a lot of material, see if you can find a nice little white dress or outfit. Our pastor asked us not to use the frilly or long type (I think he forgot we had a 6 month old boy ) because it's easy to 'lose' where the baby is and they could have a hard time holding on. Just a suggestion, the most important thing is that you enjoy this special day with your family!

K.: Your precious child is being baptized, congratulations to you and your family. Make sure, first and foremost, that you have a baptizmal gown, they're so beautiful - I love them. We have so many large spreads of food at my church, and you can really get carried away with the food. My suggestion is to make the meal that you're most comfortable with because it's what you do best. You'll then feel confident about what's fixed. Also, don't be afraid to look online for ideas. They have wonderful 5 star recipes that are a hit.

God bless you in your endeavors,

M. G.

We just baptised my daughter and this is what we did. I invited everyone to attend the mass and advised the baptism will be immediately following. Afterwords I had an open house. I had Cake, Punch, and Pizza. Everyone will be so busy you will not need to have a huge spread. Keep it simple for yourself a lot less stress. God bless you and your family.

For my first, I did a whole spread with ham, etc., as a brunch. Way too much when I wanted to be focused on the baby and church and also was nursing. (I didn't even get to eat until after everything was over, and it was Mother's Day!) So, for the second, we just did cake and punch at the church for the entire congregation present and took a very few family members to dinner at a nice but reasonable place.

If you decide to go for the at-home dinner, my advice is to make sure you have something that you can throw in a crockpot and serve with previously prepared salad/rolls and like things that can just be set out in minutes; make it a potluck where everyone will have a bit to prepare; or have a friend or family member willing to stay home from the ceremony to finish things up and have everything ready when folks come back expecting food.

Honestly, you could do a huge variety of things. I've never been to a baptism of a baby, but I would definitely do something to remember the occasion whether it be pictures or a certificate. Our pastor gives certificates and a gift (my daughter got a picture frame) for dedications. We don't do baptism until the child accept Christ as their Savior and can make the choice for themselves. But, you could easily print up a certificate giving the time, date, baby's age and officiant's name and hang it on the wall of the nursery to have as a keepsake. You're going to be so busy with things going on that you may not even really remember much of the event itself.

As for food, I would do something simple. Finger foods are great. Like sandwiches, cocktail weenies, meatballs, chips and veggies. That's just my opinion though. It makes things much easier. I mean, how hard is it to throw some ham or turkey sandwiches together or make up some tuna or chicken salad the night before. If you aren't comfortable with letting people make their own sandwiches, you could still have them thrown together in a matter of minutes. I love the suggestion of buying premade stuff too like veggie platters, fruit platters, cheese and cracker platters and all that. In fact, Subway does a 'catered' spread that I think is reasonably priced if you wanted to do something like that.

May the Lord bless your family at such a special time.

God bless,
A.

Hi K.:
If you are planing a dinner, I suggest you to do things that you can make the day before an refrigerate and then is just a thing of heat it very slowly during the morning, so you can have time to dress up and not feel rush or overwhelmed. Depending on how many guests you are having you can do: a spiral ham with seasonal vegetables(steamed with butter and galic salt) or potatoes boiled and cut in slices and then put them in a pan and add olive oil, minced garlic and rosemary or basil this can be served either hot or cold you can add a green salad:spinach, grape tomatoes, red onion,sunflower seeds and croutons (you can add bacon bites optional)and your favorite dressing. Then with the cake as a dessert and the punch or iced tea will be very light and refreshing.I think that the most important thing is to have a single menu so you and your famuly enjoy such a special occasion.For more easy recipies you can go to Kraftfoods.com
Congratulations!!!

What time is the baptism? If it is preceeding the dinner hour, I would make a dinner. I would feel obligated for some reason. If it's midafternoon, you could get away with just a few snacks (cheese, crackers, chips, dip, veggie tray) in addition to your cake and drinks. If you're planning on doing a full scale dinner, use crock pots! You can make your dishes in the morning and leave them in the crock pot while you attend the baptism. You could also ask close family (your parents, your husbands parents, siblings) to each bring a dish. It makes life so much easier if people help!

It sounds like they had good ideas, but I also wanted to
suggest hiring a photographer as well. It's hard to be the hostess, mom, and photographer, too.

I would do whatever is easiest for you , I always do things outside the home due to not wanting clutter mess and afterwards just want to come home change and relax :) But for my sons we went to dinner locally and for my daughter the same -- we had a larger part of the family here from PA and OH so ....we just did italian and called it a day! everyone went home afterwards and she napped!

I did cake and drinks. I also had a fruit tray and vege tray, you can get them at Kroger, Cosco, Sams, or even Meijer. They are usually premade. I also found some places that offer a cheese and cracker tray. I would not do anything major. Just make your life easier. You could if you want and if you have a crock pot. You can put meatball, in the frozen section, spaghetti sauce and noodles in the crock pot right before you leave on high and by the time you get back they should be good to eat. My kids love this. BUt don't worry over this people understand and if most people are like me I am there to see the little one and visit food is usually last on my mind.

Always a winner for my gatherings, homemade chicken salad garnished with red and green grapes, green beans, rolls, cake and punch. Everyone is satisfied and you can prepare it the night before. Whatever you decide, have fun and enjoy this special time with family and friends.