Christening Invitation Etiquette

The christening or baptism ceremony for a newborn child typically takes place within six months of birth. Because it is performed in a church, christening is a public event, but its personal nature is attested to by the presence of relatives and close friends who have been invited to attend. Sending and Writing Christening Invitations Christening invitations should be sent out three to six weeks before the event is scheduled to take place. Godparents and grandparents should be invited in addition to close relatives and family friends.

The christening ceremony usually takes place during a Sunday church service, in which case a christening invitation does not need to be sent to fellow church members. A notice on the church bulletin board or service pamphlet would be an appropriate christening invitation for fellow congregants.

Christening invitations may be written in a formal or casual tone. The wording of a formal baptism invitation would resemble that of a wedding invitation: "Mr. and Mrs. John Doe request the honor of your presence at the christening of their son Robert." An informal christening invitation might read: "Please join us for Ann's christening."

A christening invitation should include the following pertinent information:

• the date, time, and location of the ceremony
• directions, a map, or an Internet map link for traveling guests
• notice of a subsequent reception and its location
• attire instructions, i.e. formal attire, casual attire, church attire
• a self-addressed stamped envelope if R.S.V.P. is requested

If you do not want christening gifts for your child, you should state "no gifts please" on the christening invitations. This will make it easier for guests who are not certain about christening gift etiquette.

If a post-baptism reception is held afterwards at the church, it is customary for the family to bring a cake to serve to fellow church members.