Introduction
Food and drink
Equipment
Weather
Decoration
Entertainment
Safety for children

Introduction

You might want to hold your naming ceremony or christening reception at home. This is a lovely option, resulting in a truly personal day, but it can mean quite a bit more work on your part. You need to weigh up the benefits of cost – receptions at home can be cheaper but not always – and the time it will take for your to organise, not forgetting that you’ve got a little person to look after at the same time!

We’ve highlighted some of the key things to consider as well as stress-busting tips to ensure the day goes smoothly.

Food and drink

You may be a domestic goddess and enjoy laying on a spread, but bear in mind that as the parents of the child being christened, it’s important for you to spend time with your guests and not be slaving in the kitchen.

If you want to make all your own food, ensure that it’s something that can be prepared in advance and that simply needs to be served on the day. You don’t want to be cooking at the last minute. The flipside of this is to ensure you have enough storage space – particularly fridge space – for the food to be kept in. Also think about where you’ll store drinks to keep them cool. Getting a large tub filled with ice is a good option but the ice won’t stay frozen all day!

It’s one thing to prepare the food, but the real work comes when serving it and clearing it away afterwards. A finger buffet or large self serve dishes of food laid out on a table are easiest as it requires the least amount of attention from you. To make clearing up easier, have a table assigned for dirty dishes so that the mess is concentrated in one place. Alternatively, ask some of the older children attending to help out with serving and clearing away.

Also bear in mind that when holding a christening, you may have guests travelling in from out of town to see you. If so, you might be putting a few people up the night before and may well have to cater for that too – meaning more work, more fridge space and more tidying up!

Stress-busting ideas:

• Get a caterer! Caterers can provide a range of services, from delivering ready made food for you to heat and serve, through to cooking on site and providing all the equipment and serving staff. It doesn’t have to break the bank. Look at the different options available – there’s something for most budgets. See our Supplier directory for suggestions.
• Pre-ordered party food. Supermarkets like Waitrose and M&S provide ready-prepared food like sandwich buffets, canapés, hot buffets, BBQ, desserts and christening cakes. These need to be pre-ordered. Alternatively, you can simply buy a selection of ready made canapés and nibbles from a supermarket, but this will still require you to heat up food on the day. See our Supplier directory for suggestions.

Equipment

When hosting a reception at home, you need to ensure you have enough chairs for everyone to sit on, tables for food and drinks, as well as sufficient crockery, cutlery, glassware, tea sets, table linen and cooking equipment. If you don’t have enough of everything, you can borrow extras from friends. But keeping track of which cutlery or glasses belong to who can be nightmare.

Stress-busting ideas:

• Hire equipment. Hire companies lease out just about anything you need for a party. For an additional charge, some companies will even accept items back without you having to clean them. If budgets are tight, consider speaking to your local village hall. Most have tables, chairs and crockery and might be willing to loan them out at a cheaper rate.
• Glass hire. Off licences and some supermarkets will loan out glasses for a small charge, sometimes free (breakages paid for) if you purchase wine or champagne from them too.
• Speak to your caterer. Most caterers will be able to supply equipment along with the food. Ask for prices when ordering food – you might be able to negotiate a discount or get a package deal.

Weather

Even if your baby celebration is in the height of summer, there is no guarantee that the good old British weather will play ball. Make sure you have enough space for everyone to be undercover should the heavens open. Also have a few mats or carpet offcuts for people to wipe there feet on to avoid your house getting covered in mud and slippery underfoot.

It’s not just rain that you need to consider. If you’re lucky enough to get a scorcher, you’ll need to make sure that there’s sufficient shade for guests, particularly children and older guests who need to stay out of the heat. Knowing where the suncream is may also be advisable.

Stress busting ideas:

• Hire a marquee or canopy. This will protect guests from sun or showers. Most companies are very adept at coping with any size or shaped garden as well as incorporating obstacles such as trees or flowerbeds. They can also provide flooring if required to protect a prized lawn.
• Get a gazebo. Most garden centres and DIY chains sell a range of reasonably priced gazebos which would protect the food or act as temporary shelter in a shower.
• Hire some heaters. If your reception will take place during the colder months, consider hiring some outdoor heaters to ensure everyone stays toasty.

Decoration

Getting your house clean and tidy is just the first step. You can also decorate it however you like. Fresh flowers and bunting are simple ways to brighten up a room or marquee and won’t take hours of your time. For a range of themes and decorating ideas, see our Decoration & Finishing Touches section.

Entertainment

Guests at a Christening won’t expect an all singing, all dancing troupe – that’s not what the day is about. But give some thought to background music as well as entertainment for children. A simple way to keep children happy is to have out a selection of toys suitable for different age groups including some colouring in kit, playdough, books or puzzles – things that aren’t going to make a massive amount of noise!

Stress-busting ideas:

• Get an entertainer or hire a bouncy castle. A children’s entertainer can keep children occupied while adults enjoy their lunch in peace while a bouncy castle will have them burning off energy for hours. Be aware that for both you’re likely to need space so make sure you have it before you book. See our Entertainment section for other ideas.
• Music management. Create a playlist of background music on your IPod or MP3 player and play it through stereo. This avoids having to constantly put on new music.

Safety for children

Children are prone to accidents, particularly when there’s a number of them charging around. Make sure you remove all safety hazards – like having ponds or pools enclosed, stairgates fitted and dangerous objects put away. If your child isn’t toddling yet, get a friend whose child is this age to cast a critical eye to make sure your house is child-friendly. You don’t want an accident ruining your day. 

If all of this sounds like it could end up being more work than you bargained for, why not let someone else take care of it while you simply relax and enjoy the day. See our Venue directory for suggestions.