I love this family snap from Toby’s Christening! It’s one of those rare moments where we could all be together instead of one of us behind the camera!
I’ve been thinking about Edith’s Christening lately because I have just booked it and I love a good family get together, especially one of our Christenings! For all of our children we have booked their Christening in the middle of the year when it’s beautiful weather and we’ve then enjoyed spending time with out friends and family out in the beautiful sunshine!
This time around I have also been giving some serious thought to what I want to gift Edie from my husband and I. As a little girl I was given a truck load of jewellery for my christening and one of the things I was given was a beautiful charm bracelet that my godmothers all put together for me. I distinctly remember a little emerald bird in a cage that I was enthralled with from a very young age – it was so beautiful and I just wanted to wear that bracelet all the time. When Edie was born I decided that I was going to buy her a charm bracelet, something that she could have when she was 18, not before, but that I would buy her a charm for for every special occasion. I think that is such a wonderful alternative to the usual silver ‘christening gifts’ and its something that you can add to, or other family members and friends can add to. So, a charm for her bracelet maybe?
If you aren’t a jewellery lover like me and you wanted something else that was a keepsake (which is really what I believe Christening gifts should be) why not try something like a hand print engraving? My son’s Godparents bought them a stunning glass engraving kit each for their Christening’s, and you take an invisible non-toxic imprint which is then sent off and engraved into a glass of your choice. I can’t tell you how much these glasses mean to me, and when the boy’s get older they will make wonderful gifts to pass on to them and eventually their children.
Lastly, my other thought, which is very simple is a baby book. I have two ‘baby’ books for each of the boys – one for their first year, and one for 0 – 5 years. I changed my mind with Edith because I remember the milestone press baby book I came across at a trade show one year. I had to have one – it can be adapted for any type of family and has such wonderful, nifty suggestions for what you could add to the book. You might remember I wrote all about it here. Anyhoo, I think if you wanted to give this as a gift then it would be perfect to add a message from the gift giver in the form of a letter in the wallet at the back, maybe even some newspaper clippings from the day the baby was born (incidentally a friend did this for Reuben’s Christening and it was so lovely!).
Harriet x
P.s – What are your thoughts? What did you give your child/children or maybe if you didn’t gift your own children, how about family members or godchildren?
For my first god daughters christening, I bought her two silver necklaces, both had an engraved angel on them with a pink diamond. The idea is that she keeps one and I keep one too so she will always have me with her 🙂 x