Blog
The Time Of The Christening
Considering all of the different areas and considerations needed such as the choice of godparents, the church you would like the christening to take place in, the christening gown and who to invite, the time of the christening service may not seem that important. Well read on .
Before we go too far on this subject, you may not be given any choice in what time the christening takes place. In many churches christenings are part of the traditional Sunday service and this will obviously be at the time of this normal church service . This can be between 9.30am and 11.15am depending on the church or can even be a late afternoon service. Even if it is possible to have a christening service as an individual service for friends and family, the vicar may have set times that he or she carries these services out to fit around other duties.
So why is the time of the christening important? First let us consider the guests coming to the christening . Depending on how near your family live to you a 9.30am service on a Sunday morning may mean some rather early starts. If the service starts at 9.30 then really everybody should be gathered at the church by around 9.10 and this means a 7.00am start for people living just two hours away , or an overnight stay at a local hotel. . When still considering travelling times a late afternoon service may also not be that great If the service takes place as part of a 5.00pm service you will not be finished to later than 6.00pm. If guests are coming back to your house for a celebration it will either be a short drink or a late night on a Sunday which is not ideal if guests have children of school age. Or especially if they have a job that requires an early start the next morning!
Another consideration should be you and your own child. Again, an early christening of 10.00am or earlier will give you and friends that are helping to get food ready for a celebration just a short time to get ready. It may also touch on you if you have a baby that takes time to get ready in the mornings and could end up being quite a rush on what is supposed to be a special day for the family.
The ideal time would seem to be a christening that starts around 11.30am. This will allow enough time for family and friends to travel to the church and you enough time to prepare your house or venue for the party that is to follow. This will also mean that the christening will end at 12.30-1.00pm which is the ideal time for some food and a drink giving your guests the chance to catch up, you time to open those christening gifts and guests living a distance away the opportunity to leave at a sensible time without feeling they have missed out on pictures with the little one or any other part of the day’s festivities.
So a suggestion when looking for a church to have the christening in would be to find a morning service that starts between 11-11.30am, or a church that will offer a private christening at this time. This will hopefully make for the perfect day.