Christening event ???

Legacy_user

We have never attended a christening before, so would welcome some info please. Being old, we assume people attend "suited & booted" in Sunday best. But have a feeling that's not the case theses days. Do the men wear suits, collars and ties?. Then what about gifts? Those silver plated items or bibles, are they a thing of the past. We have no idea.

Noz

Think really depends on the sort of church the family is associated with, some can be quite informal.

DigForVictory

Ask the mum.The photos are going in her album after all.

Quite agree a Bible & silver are a little vintage, but my beloved Uncle fell back on Desert Island tradition - presuming availability of Bible, he gave a Complete Shakespeare, sublimely unconcerned that it might outweigh the recipient & not be referred to for years. All I'd add would be to insist it's hardback, that the recipient's name is spelled correctly & in full (again, consult mum!) in the dedication (why not say On your Christening & include the date?!) & that it has All the Sonnets.

Me, I'm cautious about suits etc & newborn children - as where there is the latter there is laundry & unless you are up for the drycleaning bill as well, perhaps better not to wear the Very best. That said, be mindful these photos will appear in family photo albums & social media - do yourselves credit.

suki1964

Here in NI suited and booted is very much the norm, everyone dresses in their finest no matter what age

Traditional silver presents are still welcome

Gloomendoom

I've been to a fair few Christenings as they are often tacked on the end of a normal service and suited and booted is the norm.

System

My cousin's granddaughters' christenings were in my parents' words, trashy.

Men wore polo shirts and jeans or similar. Women, strapless dresses which are more suited on beach holidays. They were both on days where it was warm weather.

Both ended with discos! The girls were too young to participate in this as were 6 months and 10 months old respectively.

My parents and I didn't go, but this is what I heard from other relatives.


Been to proper christenings before. Smart clothing. Gifts we gave were bookends, silver photo frames, a plaque with name on - not in a baby or childlike way.

System

We have more or less decided that as oldies, we should do as we would have done "in our day" and be formal. As for gift, that is still undecided. The thing is, we wouldn't want duplication. The couple both have parents so they would presumably covered the basics?. We aim to ask the couple later today, if they have a list or preference. Will report back.

paddy's_mum

I usually give money for a christening gift as in the old gypsy meaning of 'cross my palm with silver' and that gives the parents the option of pooling money gifts to buy something very special rather than receiving 3 bibles....

My eldest daughter had enough to buy a gold bangle engraved with the date and church, which she still has.

tea_lover

Depends on the church (and the family). We get a string of people coming for baptisms to the church I attend. Some of the outfits are....interesting. I'll never be convinced that a strapless mini-dress is suitable for anywhere, let alone church. I'm there in jeans and a jumper every week so it's certainly not a case of 'sunday best', but a bit of decency wouldn't go amiss.

peachyprice

Depends on the reason for the christening, some view it as a religious service with tea and cakes afterwards, others view it as a reason to have an almighty p!ss up with the minor inconvenience of having to go to church first.

enthusiasticsaver

All the christenings/baptisms we have gone to are smart dress/suits. For presents we have tended to go for nice books as I think the bangles/silver plated spoons/china sets are probably slightly outdated these days and prone to duplication. The parents have always appreciated them but we have avoided religious books.