Most of the work in christening planning is not the service, which the church largely runs for you. It is everything either side of it — who comes, where they go afterwards, and the two-hour stretch in the middle of the afternoon that nobody plans for and everybody remembers. Getting the order of decisions right removes most of the difficulty. Our editable christening and baptism suite covers the invitations and order of service.
Just starting? Ring the church before anything else — every other decision waits on that date.
Shop Event Guest List Planner →The Order to Decide Things
- Church and date. Availability drives everything. Popular churches book months ahead, and some only do christenings on particular Sundays.
- Godparents. Ask early — people need to check they can travel, and some churches have requirements about who can stand.
- Numbers. Ask the church what the building comfortably holds. That often settles the guest list for you.
- Reception venue. Home, a hall, or a pub back room. Book once you know numbers.
- Invitations. Six to eight weeks out.
- Order of service. Last, once readings and hymns are agreed with the church.
People routinely do this in the wrong order — booking a venue before confirming the church date is the common one, and it usually means rebooking something.
Ask the church what they actually require
Practice varies more than people expect. Some churches ask that at least one godparent is baptised; some hold christenings only within a main Sunday service; some have preparation sessions for parents. One phone call answers all of it and saves assumptions.
What Goes in the Order of Service
One folded A4 sheet is genuinely enough. Include:
- The child's full name and the date, on the front — this is the bit people keep.
- The order of what happens, so guests who never attend church know when to stand.
- Hymns with the words printed in full. Assume nobody knows them.
- Readings, and who is reading each.
- The godparents' names.
Print more than you need — people take them home, and one always goes in the memory box. If you are producing it yourself, do the final version only after the church confirms the readings and hymns, because those change more often than you would think.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| 3-6 months before | Book church, confirm date, ask godparents |
| 2 months | Book reception, confirm numbers |
| 6-8 weeks | Send invitations |
| 3-4 weeks | Agree readings and hymns; order the gown if needed |
| 1-2 weeks | Print order of service; confirm catering numbers |
Shop Party Planning Checklist →How the Day Actually Runs
The service is short — usually 20 to 40 minutes, and often inside a normal Sunday service, which surprises families expecting a standalone event. The reception is the long part, two to three hours, and that is what the day should be planned around.
The gap between the two is where things go wrong. If the church empties at 12:15 and the venue is not ready until 1:00, forty people stand in a car park with a baby. Either make the gap deliberate and tell people what to do with it, or arrange for the venue to open early and let guests drift in.
Plan for the baby, not the schedule
The single most useful piece of advice: whatever time the service is, the child will need feeding or sleeping at some point in the middle of it. Have somewhere quiet available at the reception, and accept that the star of the day may sleep through their own party.
Guests, Gifts and the Bits Nobody Mentions
Christening guest lists are usually much smaller than weddings — close family, godparents and their families, a few close friends. Church capacity often decides it, which is a useful thing to be able to point at when the list gets political.
On gifts: many guests bring something keepsake-ish rather than practical. If you would rather they did not, say so on the invitation in one line, because otherwise people will bring something anyway and feel awkward if others have not.
Two practical things families forget. Photographs — ask the church what is allowed during the service, as many restrict it, and nominate one person rather than assuming. And the gown, if there is a family one, needs checking well in advance; heirloom fabric often needs cleaning or repair, and that takes weeks.
For the guest list and RSVPs, the event guest list planner keeps numbers straight for the caterer, and the party planning checklist covers the reception. The christening suite is editable, so the invitations, order of service and thank-you cards all match without a designer. If you have a baby shower coming first, the baby shower planner and our baby shower checklist cover that end of it.
Shop Baby Shower Planner →Choosing Godparents Without Falling Out
This causes more family friction than any other part, because it is a public ranking of people who all think they are close to you.
Three things reduce it. Decide together and privately first, then ask people individually rather than announcing a list — someone hearing they were not chosen from a group message is how it goes wrong. Ask early, because godparents may need to travel or, in some churches, provide a baptism certificate. And be honest about what you are asking for: some families mean a genuine spiritual role, others mean a lifelong close friend of the family. Saying which avoids a mismatch of expectations that surfaces years later.
If someone important is not going to be a godparent, give them a role anyway — a reading, holding the candle, saying a few words at the reception. It costs nothing and resolves almost all of the awkwardness.
If a church christening is not right for you
Naming ceremonies cover the same ground without the religious element, and most of this guide still applies — the order of decisions, the order of service, the timings, the guest list. You would book a celebrant or a registrar instead of a church, and gain a lot more flexibility on venue and wording. Some families do both, at different times, for different sides of the family.
Cost, honestly
Churches do not usually charge for the christening itself, though a donation is normal and expected. The cost is in the reception, and it scales with numbers more than anything else — which is another reason to let church capacity set the guest list rather than trying to fit everyone in.
Christening Planning FAQs
What is the first thing to sort when planning a christening?
The church and the date, before anything else. Availability drives every other decision, and popular churches book months ahead — venue, catering and invitations all wait on it.
How many godparents should you have?
Traditionally three, though many churches are flexible and some families have more. Ask what your church requires, because some ask that godparents are baptised themselves.
What goes in a christening order of service?
The child's full name and the date, the order of what happens, any hymns with words printed, readings and who is reading them, and the godparents' names. One folded A4 sheet is plenty.
How long does a christening take?
The service itself is usually 20 to 40 minutes, often within a normal Sunday service. The reception afterwards runs two to three hours, so plan the day around the reception rather than the service.
Who should you invite to a christening?
Usually smaller than a wedding — close family, godparents and their families, and a few close friends. Church capacity often decides it for you, so ask before you write the list.
Do guests bring gifts to a christening?
Many do, typically something keepsake-ish rather than practical. If you would rather not have gifts, say so on the invitation, because people will bring something otherwise.
Start with the invitations. The christening and baptism suite is fully editable, or browse the full Celebrations & Events collection.