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Welcome to the world, baby!

As formal christenings decline, naming ceremonies are the new way of welcoming your new arrival.  Here's a quick starter guide:

So you're not keen on the idea of a christening but still want to celebrate a new baby with family and friends.  According to the Catholic church and the Church of England, you're not alone - christenings have fallen my 61% over the last 45 years.  To fill the gap, parents are turning to naming ceremonies - a non-religious way of marking a baby's arrival.  "Naming ceremonies have been around since ancient times" says Rachel Fry, founder of mybabycelebration.co.uk.  "They're having a resurgence as parents find an alternative to a religious ceremony, tailored to their needs."  Here are Rachel's tips for holding a memorable naming ceremony.

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How to hold a naming ceremony

Rachel Fry recently launched mybabycelebration.co.uk aimed at parents organising any type of celebration for their baby, including conventional christenings, thanksgivings and the increasingly popular naming ceremonies.  It provides information on all aspects from choosing godparents or special adults to food and venue decoration, as well as useful planning tools to keep everything running smoothly.  Here is her advice for hosting your own:

• Most celebrants will work with you to customise the naming ceremony within boundaries so my advice would be to make the ceremony very personal to you and your family whilst still retaining the dignity and solemnity of the occasion.
  
• Make sure the promises made by all those involved are ones that they are able and willing to honour.  Add in things that are important to you and take out the sections that are not particularly relevant to your circumstances as this will make the ceremony much more meaningful to all those concerned.
  
• Remember that whatever type of ceremony you have, the important aspect of the day is that you are celebrating your baby because you have chose to; you are not doing it simply out of tradition or duty.  It is important that your commitments as a parent are meaningful rather than words recited but not heard.
  
• Your child is unlikely to remember much about the day so spend some time afterwards preserving a record with a photo album, messages from the guests or a memory box.
  
• Make sure you leave enough time for yourself on the day (I spent so much time making sure everything else was ready that i didn't have time to brush my hair and those photos are a permanent memory!
  
• Most of all, enjoy yourselves, you have a beautiful baby so celebrate!

Did you know?

How to throw a celeb style christening party

Summer is christening season and Gavin Henson and Charlotte Church's recent blessing of baby Ruby is just the start.

MyBabyCelebration.co.uk advises new parents to send out their invitations in plenty of time and also to set a formal style and dress code as this will give a sense of occasion to the event.

It reminded hosts that they and the baby will be the centre of attention and will need to look their best, adding that parents should ensure they have a comfortable way of holding their child for photographs.

"Most celebrities choose traditional christening gowns or cute sailor outfits for their babies to distinguish them from the other children," the firm stated. "A knee-length dress/coat ensemble for mummy and a smart non-work suit for daddy usually works well."

The best christening parties have simple decorations, caterers, children's entertainers and party bags for the little ones, it added.

Welsh couple Charlotte and Gavin held their party in a large marquee at their Vale of Glamorgan home, reported the Daily Mail.

Five tips on how to throw a celeb style christening party

3 July 2008 – Summer’s here which means it’s christening season. And following the recent christening of Charlotte Church and Gavin Henson’s daughter,  www.mybabycelebration.co.uk has these tips for parents looking for inspiration on how to add celebrity style to their baby’s christening or naming ceremony:

1. Create a sense of occasion. For your guests, the invitations are the first taster of what to expect so use them to create a buzz of anticipation around your event. Send them out in plenty of time so that the christening becomes a firm fixture in people’s diaries. Choose a formal style and include a dress code. If guests have made a special effort when choosing an outfit, they will feel the occasion is more special: this will become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Be aware that guests may have their own interpretation of your dress code – Liz Hurley turned up at Brooklyn and Romeo Beckham’s christening in a dress with a plunging neckline despite the request from Victoria Beckham for “modest attire”.

2. Be prepared for the paparazzi. Naturally the baby and parents are the stars of the show so make sure that the photos show you at your best. Most celebrities choose traditional christening gowns or cute sailor outfits for their babies to distinguish them from the other children. A knee length dress /coat ensemble for Mummy and a smart non-work suit for Daddy usually works well for those proud parent poses after the ceremony. Have a change of clothes handy for your baby in case of accidents or spillages but get someone else to look after the paraphernalia. Find the best way of holding your baby to show him/her off to best effect for the cameras – make sure the position is comfortable as it is likely that you will have to keep this up throughout the ceremony and much of the reception afterwards.

3. Simple and elegant – Many celebrities choose to have the christening reception in a marquee on the lawn at home for reasons of privacy but you don’t necessarily have to have a country mansion to do the same. Go for a sit down lunch if you have the space. Keep decorations simple but co-ordinated - use fresh flowers such as peonies, roses or gerberas in simple posies on tables. Keep linen and crockery white; ban paper plates, banners, balloons or streamers.

4. Be the hostess with the mostest - Get caterers in or buy ready-prepared food and pretend. Don’t do it yourself. You wouldn’t catch a celebrity preparing plates of food in the kitchen or stacking the dishwasher instead of mingling with the guests so hire waiting staff or ask close friends or family to help by doing specific jobs, thus freeing you up to be the sparkling hostess.

5. Keep guests entertained –Try to work the seating plan for the meal so that each guest can talk to someone they know or are likely to get on with. Have an order to the proceedings so that there are no long gaps with nothing to do. Party bags at the table will help to occupy children during the meal. Whilst your budget may not stretch to a celebrity-style goody bag, one or two well thought out gifts are likely to be appreciated more than a big bag of cheap fillers. After lunch, keep the children amused with a kids’ entertainer so that the adults can have a good chat. Have your event finish at a specific time so that guests go home wanting more rather than letting the party fizzle out.

For more insight, ideas and inspiration on how to throw a christening or naming ceremony for your baby, go to www.mybabycelebration.co.uk

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For more information, contact Melissa Talago at Peekaboo Communications, melissa@peekaboocoms.co.uk or 01635 248496

About Mybabycelebration.co.uk
www.mybabycelebration.co.uk is the only UK-wide website exclusively dedicated to christenings and baby celebrations and includes in-depth information on a range of subjects as well as online planning tools. The site provides comprehensive articles and supplier directories on venues, catering, entertainment, gifts, venue decoration, outfits and more. There’s also a section specifically addressing the role of godparents so that both the parents and the chosen godparents know what to expect. For sleep deprived mums who need some organisational help, the online planning tools make organising a celebration simple. They include an online guest list and gift tracker, table planner, budget tool and supplier short list – all of which are free to use. The site also lets parents share their experiences and get ideas and inspiration from others who’re also planning a celebration.

16 May 2008 - Bounty.com

Parents 'unsure' about baby celebrations

Nearly half of all UK parents intend to hold a celebration of some kind for their newborn baby, it has been revealed.

Mybabycelebration.co.uk found that despite baptism having decreased by 73 per cent over the past 45 years, parents are still keen on welcoming their child into the world with some kind of naming ceremony or event.

However, a fifth said they were undecided whether to hold a celebration or not, which has led the firm's founder Rachel Fry to claim that non-church goers are often left in the dark about what options are available.

"Getting a child christened has been the traditional thing to do, but with fewer people attending church, many parents are looking for alternative ways to mark the arrival of their baby," she said.

The company provides information on a range of options for new parents, including venues, entertainment, decoration and advice for godparents.

Last year, the favourite UK baby names were Jack for a boy and Grace for a girl.

16 May 2008 - Kiddicare.com

15 May 2008 - Press Release (featured on UK Parents Lounge; Grub4Life; Salford Online Lifestyles; Gift or Present; Feed Fury)

Christening or naming ceremony? New website helps parents celebrate their baby

15 May 2008 - A new website – www.mybabycelebration.co.uk - has been created to help parents celebrate their baby at a naming ceremony or christening. It is the only UK-wide website exclusively dedicated to christenings and baby celebrations and includes in-depth information on a range of subjects as well as online planning tools.

Infant baptisms have fallen by 73% in the last 45 years, in line with declining church attendances. Yet despite this downward trend, nearly half* of all UK parents say they intend to hold a celebration of some kind, while one in five are undecided as to whether to hold a celebration or not.

The founder of Mybabycelebration, Rachel Fry, believes that many parents want to do something to celebrate the arrival of their baby, but those who are not regular church-goers aren’t always sure what their options are.

“Getting a child christened has been the traditional thing to do, but with fewer people attending church, many parents are looking for alternative ways to mark the arrival of their baby. Mybabycelebration explains all the options available to them – both religious and secular - so that they can find something to suit their family,” says Fry, who set up the site after having battled to find information when planning her own son’s naming ceremony.

Once parents have decided on the type of ceremony, the site also provides comprehensive articles and supplier directories on venues, catering, entertainment, gifts, venue decoration, outfits and more. There’s also a section specifically addressing the role of godparents so that both the parents and the chosen godparents know what to expect.

For sleep deprived mums who need some organisational help, the online planning tools make organising a celebration simple. They include an online guest list and gift tracker, table planner, budget tool and supplier short list – all of which are free to use. The site also lets parents share their experiences and get ideas and inspiration from others who’re also planning a celebration.

Suppliers wishing to be listed on the site can do so online at www.mybabycelebration.co.uk or by emailing suppliers@mybabycelebration.co.uk. For more information, go to www.mybabycelebration.co.uk or call 01727 893677.

~Ends~

Notes for editors
*Based on a poll with 900 parents.

My Baby Celebration was set up in April 2008 and is run by Rachel Fry, a mother to Barney aged 15 months. She previously was a Vice President for an investment management company. She lives in St Albans with her husband Chris.

Rachel will be exhibiting at the Baby Show, NEC Birmingham on 16 – 18 May 2008. If you’re planning on going to the show and would like to meet Rachel for a guided tour of the site, please contact Melissa, details below.

For further information, interviews or images, please contact:
Melissa Talago
Peekaboo Communications
Tel: 01635 248 496
melissa@peekaboocoms.co.uk