Event Planning

Keep it short but sweet

Usually, christenings involve a short service at the church and then ordinarily have light refreshments after the events have ceased. These refreshments could be held at your home, in the church hall itself or even in a local public house. Featured Product: Christening Invitations - Summer Pastel Flowers - Use Your Own Photo

Don’t forget to send an RSVP card

Fuss-free invitations from Dotty about Paper

Dotty about Paper is all about providing customers with a personalised experience that allows them to sit back and relax, knowing that the service they’re being provided with is of the highest order. We have a fantastic selection of affordable Christening invitations. Whether your taste is more traditional or leaning towards the contemporary, we have covered all angles. Featured Product: Christening Invitations - Suited & Booted

Welcoming a new child into the world is a happy occasion for any family. Traditionally, christenings and other services have been used to celebrate births. However, these ceremonies don’t always suit parents’ needs. For instance, they may not be members of any religion, or they may have multi-faith family members. Many parents are choosing to hold naming ceremonies instead. A naming ceremony is held to celebrate child’s arrival, regardless of age - this makes them popular with adopting and fostering families too. A ‘celebrant’ leads the ceremony. Parents usually read out special pledges to the child, such as a promise to care for them; supporting adults may do the same. Poetry or prose can be read out. And, of course, there will be an official naming. A few words about the story behind the name adds personal meaning.

Types of Naming Ceremonies

Civil naming ceremonies are a government-led way to mark your child’s arrival. To book one, contact your local Register Office. They are held in a licensed location, and religious content is not allowed. Choosing a civil ceremony means that you won’t have to stress about planning the structure - it is already set out. All you’ll have to do is practise reading your pledges and send out invitations. The Card Gallery has a range of naming ceremony stationery that can be fully personalised. Featured Designs: 'Twins Peeping Toes' and 'Bunny Fairy' Humanist naming ceremonies are conducted by The British Humanist Association. For a fee, they will provide a celebrant who works with guardians to tailor a ceremony that suits their ideas. They will also lead the ceremony. The venue is not limited, so you can choose your location. The guardians have control over what features they want in the celebration. This allows you to design your dream ceremony. It’s a more expensive option, but you’ll receive professional guidance to help make your own perfect welcoming.

Organise Your Own Ceremony

Remember, naming ceremonies have no legal status. But they are a great way of celebrating a memorable milestone. So why not simply organise a party yourself? Invite friends and relatives to celebrate the arrival of your new family member. Plan promises, speeches, or readings you want to give, and practise them so you’re confident on the day. A great list of poems can be found here if you need some inspiration! You could make refreshments for guests to give the day a celebratory atmosphere, as well as decorating with some bunting and confetti. You could even choose a theme that suits your child’s name, like matching a garden party to a floral name. Featured Designs: 'Singing Birds Postcard' and 'Rose Bud' Naming ceremonies are a great alternative to traditional christenings. The day can be as formal or as relaxed as you want! And you can choose your own budget, either opting to spend more for some extra help, or arranging the ceremony yourself. Whatever you choose, it’s sure to be a memorable day for all.

Having a baby is an almost indescribable joy, and giving birth to twins or triplets should double or treble the joy. In the UK, the latest statistics report that there were 12,675 multiple births in 2012 up from 7,375 in 1984. This equals just under 16 multiple births per every 1000 births, this has increased by 72% since 1984. To put this in perspective, in 1984, 1 of every 94 births was a multiple birth. By 2012 this was down to 1 in every 65. According to www.twinsuk.co.uk, this increase is due to: • Growing birth rate - more births equals more multiple births • Maternal age - 'older' women (30+) as multiple births increase with age • Assisted reproduction - accessibility of IVF, ICSI, fertility drugs etc • Medical advances - more babies now survive, even very premature ones. Interestingly, the chance of giving birth to identical twins remains the same: 1 in 250. Giving birth to identical triplets is rare, which is one of the reasons that the 1 year old Gilbert sisters have recently made the news. These little bundles are so alike that the parents can only distinguish them by painting their toe-nails different colours. You might have seen them in TV series Casualty lately, trebling up to play a single baby in the drama. Stories about twins often hit the newsstands, usually for the right reasons. Tennis champ, Roger Federer, is the proud father of two sets of identical twins; Leo and Lenny were born earlier this year and it has just been announced that Richard Branson’s daughter Holly is expecting twins too. We know, however, that although giving birth to twins or triplets is well worth a celebration, there are downsides – just the logistics of looking after them can be such a major task. Have you seen the youtube video of a Norwegian Mum trying to get her twin toddlers to sleep? And then there’s the cost of special equipment and not being able to use hand-me-downs. One of the areas where having twins or triplets makes life easier is the Christening, Baptism or Naming Ceremony. You only need to organise one ceremony, so just one set of invitations, one hall booking and one buffet. To make it even easier for you The Card Gallery has designed a series of invitations and thank you cards especially to celebrate the birth of twins and triplets.

When a new baby arrives many parents want to celebrate the birth with their family and friends. Often they will want to have some sort of occasion to do this – particularly if the family lives some distance away. Many people still follow the traditional route of a christening in a church, but there are alternatives for those who don’t.

It is estimated that half of new mums-to-be in the UK have a baby shower. As it is a relatively new event in this country, many people are worried that they will do it wrong; after all there is no precedent in the family for what to do. The main areas where people feel concerned are: timing, who hosts it, presents, cost and who to invite. In this blog we aim to give you some guidance on all these issues. Firstly, however, let’s clarify what a baby shower is. In its simplest form it is a celebration of the birth or imminent birth of a new baby. It is where friends and family of the mother (or parents) meet to share advice on bringing up children, offer support to the mother (or parents) and bring gifts for the baby. Traditionally in the USA it is for the first child, although this is not a strict rule. 1. When to hold a baby shower: many people still feel it is tempting fate to receive presents and celebrate a birth before it happens, so a baby shower can be held after the birth. The down side of this is that the mum could well be tired and/or anxious and really not feel like a party. If you do decide to hold the baby shower before the birth (as in the US tradition) it should be into the third trimester – probably about a month before the due date. A good time is when the mother-to-be goes on maternity leave as work colleagues will want to wish her well. 2. Who should organise the Baby Shower? – the person who organises/hosts the shower should certainly not be the mother or father- to-be. Ideally it would be a joint effort between a close friend and a relative (sister, mother or aunt). This shows that the event is a celebration and not an excuse to receive lots of presents. The organiser should, however, consult with the mum-to-be - it should not be a surprise party. 3. Who pays for the baby shower? – the person who hosts the party should pay for it, which is why having more than one organiser/host is a good idea. A baby shower tends to be an informal event, so can be held at one of the hosts’ houses or a clubhouse/ pub function room. Light refreshments plus a cake are all that is necessary, so you can share catering responsibility. Other costs will include invitations, decorations, goody bags and prizes for games. As with all parties the organiser needs to set a budget and stick to it. 4. Should there be a present list? – family and friends will want to buy any new-born baby a present, particularly if it is the first grand-child in the family. A first time mum will certainly need the some larger basic equipment like cots, prams and baby baths, but she may have made arrangements with family members for purchasing these. (I bought my pram with money left to me by my grandmother, so I always felt it was her gift to my family). A present list is helpful in that it gives a guide as to what the mother wants, however it can look a bit greedy, particularly if it is from an expensive store. Many people like to give gender specific gifts, so if the sex of the baby is not known you could request no presents until after the birth. Guests at your baby shower should certainly NOT be expected to give a gift at the shower and then again after the birth. 5. Who should be invited to a Baby Shower? Traditionally a baby shower was an all female event, but as Dads become more involved in parenting, there is no reason why it cannot be thrown for the couple. The organiser should discuss the guest list with the parents-to-be and agree on who should be invited. The number of people attending will influence where the party will be held and the budget. As a general rule of thumb 20% of people invited will not be able to attend, so if you invite 50 people, expect 40 to attend. Invitations should be sent out 6 weeks before the shower and include: who, where, when, RSVP details and a gift list if there is one. When organising a baby shower it should be remembered that this is an informal event of celebration that should reflect the wishes of the couple having the baby. There are no set rules, so just go with what feels right.

We were absolutely delighted to hear the news that Jessica Ennis-Hill and her husband Andy are expecting their first baby this summer. The announcement got us thinking about when and how do non-celebs tell their family and friends that they are pregnant. It is easy for a celeb to inform the world they are pregnant, they just tell the press. They probably also need to make the statement relatively early in pregnancy before the bump shows and speculation starts in the media. But they will have done what we all do and told their nearest and dearest first. Luckily for the rest of us we are not in the public gaze. Although we might post our news on social media, word-of-mouth is probably still the most common way of announcing pregnancies to those closest to us. In many families, once you have told your mother, the family jungle-drums start sending out the news as effectively as any press release. It can be more difficult to announce it at work as you may be worried how your pregnancy affects your job. The timing of your announcement will depend on your own experiences. You might be so excited that you just can’t keep it to yourself and tell everyone when you are about 6 weeks pregnant. Bad morning sickness might also force your hand into an early announcement. However, if you have experience of miscarriage, you may wait until the end of the first trimester (10 – 12 weeks) before going public. Whatever your approach, the bump will start showing at some point and then you will have to break the news. Once the baby is born you will want to shout it out to the world! The new grandparents will be equally proud and excited and will most likely start sending out the information in their favourite way – most likely phone calls or social media. Your friends will also want to know and although sending the news electronically is the quickest way, it is worth sending out cards. Hard copy is difficult to ignore and is a structured way of announcing name, date of birth and birth weight. Many people display cards on a mantelpiece or noticeboard, thereby reinforcing the name and birthday for future reference. After you have announced the baby’s birth, you will be amazed at how generous friends and family will be with presents for the baby. You will no doubt want to thanks all the well-wishers and etiquette still dictates that the best way to do this is by sending a Thank You card. Sending a card shows that you have spent time by writing something individual and not just sending a general thanks on e-mail or social media. Congratulations if you have just found out you are expecting a baby and enjoy the next few months.

The godparent and godchild relationship is a special bond directly between an adult and a child. Aside from any religious aspect, the relationship with a special adult nominated in a naming ceremony is exactly the same. Your naming ceremony gift to your godchild is one way of symbolising what that relationship means to you, setting the tone for how you would like that special bond to develop in the future. There is a vast array of christening, baptism and naming ceremony gifts to choose from - with something to suit everyone. We've created a list of the most popular gift types, from traditional to more unusual ideas for something truly memorable. You can find anything from financial investments and ride-on toys, to books and silverware – something for every budget! Here are a few of our ideas: Traditional silverware Classic book collections Memory/keepsake boxes Personalised gifts Ride-on/rocking toys Classic Disney films Soft toys Religious gifts Ethical gifts Playhouses Special relationship/wishes for the future It can be so hard knowing what to buy as a christening, baptism or naming ceremony present with so much to choose from - there’s also nothing worse than receiving three different silver napkin rings! Speak to the parents and seek advice form them if you aren't sure of what to get.

Decided to tackle the catering for your baby celebrations yourself? It can often be very difficult to decide what food to serve, how much of it.. and most crucially how much you are going to be out of pocket! Having a Fork Buffet, unlike Canapes, allows you to include more cold meats, quiches and salads to your menus. For a winter treat why not add jacket potatoes cut in half.. or even pizza. Fork buffets also mean that you need to include cutlery for your guests. This can often be a pain regarding finding matching china and dreaded washing and clearing up. However, China crockery can be hired from catering equipment companies at reasonable rates, from around £1.50 for ten plates. Disposable plastic plates and forks are not really advised as many are not strong enough and may collapse when guests are trying to eat, especially hot food. Plastic plates are a good option as they can be picked up from party shop for a good price, or simply borrow plastic picnic wear from your friends and family. Don't be scared to be adventurous with your menu.. but remember to include little ones in your choices! Here are a few examples of possible foods for your baby celebrations.. Hand Carved Meat Platter Tomato & Vegetable Quiche Party Pizza Selection Mozzarella & Tomato Salad Pesto Pasta with Pine Nuts & Spinach Chocolate Gateau