Traditionally, baby showers were given only for the family’s first child and only women attended. What better excuse for getting a group of friends together than to celebrate a new life? The original intent was for women to share wisdom and lessons on the art of becoming a mother. Over time, it has become common to hold them for subsequent  children. It is not uncommon for a parent to have more than one baby shower, such as one with friends and another with co-workers.

According to etiquette, as the party centers on gift-giving, the baby shower is typically arranged and hosted by a close friend or  family member, often by  the expecting godmother.

You could either keep it as a surprise from the mum-to-be, or tell her what you are planning so that she has some input into the party.

There is no set rule for when or where showers are to be held. Baby showers tend to take place between the 6th and 8th month of pregnancy. The number of guests and style of entertainment are determined by the host. An all girls saturday afternoon or  early evening tea style event is by far the most popular and generally lasts from 2 or 3 hours.  Most hosts invite only women to baby showers, although there is no firm rule requiring this.

Baby showers at home are the most popular but don’t allow mummy-to-be to do any clearing up. A relaxed informal setting is most people’s preference.

The food usually consists of a variety of finger foods with some eye-catching desserts thrown in. Sandwiches, cocktail sausages and mini burgers to name some savoury examples. For dessert, scones with cream and strawberry jam,varoius mini dessert from some well known supermarkets or prehaps some baby themed cupcakes work very well and provide an eye catching display.

It isn’t essential to decorate but it does help to remind your guests why they are there. Decorations of course depend of whether you know the sex of the new baby. Most don’t and therefore a combination of pink and blue decorations as in  dunting, napkins or ballons, will surfice. A beautiful vase of pink and blue flowers as a table center piece, which the mum to be can take home after the party, is a nice idea.

Guests bring small or large gifts for the expectant mother. Typical gifts related to babies include nappies, bottles, bibs and toys. It is common to open the gifts during the party.

Some hosts arrange baby-themed activities, such as games to taste baby foods or to guess the baby’s birth date or gender.

Traditionally  favours provide a way to say thank you to your guests for attending your baby shower, and give them something to remember the event.

Baby Shower Favours @ www.bbbonbon.ie

A small token is all that is needed, we have delighful little baby charms and ornamental favours decorated with pink and blue ribbons and bows.  Our  baby powder scented soap is a big favourite and for thoes with a sweet tooth why not try our  pink and blue sugar coated milk chocolates or almonds. Each baby shower favour is personalised and can include a little thank you note. This saves ‘mummy to be’, having to send them later. They’re not essential but they’re always well received – everyone loves a gift!

Every little one loves their teddy bear.

If you’ve had a baby shower or are thinking of having one, please feel free to post your experiences or preparation ideas, we would love to hear from you. And as always,enjoy!

Booking the Service

Once you have decided to have a christening, the first step is to talk to your local celergy. You will need to find out whether a special service needs to be arranged or whether the christening will be part of a main church service. Some churches may ask few questions apart from which day you’d like the ceremony on and the names of the godparents, while others will want more details about your own faith, baptism and those of the godparents. Some may request that you participate in a pre-christening course. Six week after the baby is born, is considered the norm for a christening, but really it’s entirely up to you.

Choosing Godparents

Traditionally, godparents were chosen for their own strong Christian beliefs, so that they could help guide the growing child in his faith. While this is still preferable in the eyes of the church, in reality, these days godparents are chosen more because they are close friends of the parents or are family members. However, for the sake of your child, it is worth taking time to choose a godparent carefully. If you are choosing friends, think about what role you would like them to play in your child’s life. Are they likely to still be friends of yours in 10 years time? Are they going to offer you and your child support if needed?
It is traditional to have one godmother and one godfather, although it is up to you how many you have.

The Christening Gown

Both girls and boys traditionally wear a long white or cream christening gown. It’s wonderful if you have a family gown that has been passed down through the generations. If you don’t, you could either try to find one in a shop that sells vintage or antique clothing or buy one new. Many large department stores will sell appropriate clothes for christenings. Alternatively, try one of the many websites that sell everything related to christenings.

The Service

If the christening is being held especially for you rather than as part of a main service, ask everybody to turn up at least 10 minutes before it’s due to begin. Yours may not be the only event at the church that day and the vicar will need to keep to schedule. Everyone will gather around the font, with the parents and godparents at the front. A service sheet will be handed out with the words the godparents need to say usually printed in bold. The whole christening should only take 20-30 minutes.

Remember that even in summer churches can be pretty cold, so make sure your baby is warmly dressed. It may also be wise to take a spare set of clothes in case of an accident.

The ‘After’ Party

You might want an afternoon tea reception of sandwiches and cakes. However, if friends and family are coming from far afield, it might be a good idea to offer something more substantial. Plan your menu so that most things can be cooked in advance, frozen and just heated up on the day. If catering yourself, ask family and friends to help. Or, if you can splash out, consider caterers or a local hotel. If entertaining at home, a bouncy castle or a magician is a good idea, to entertain your younger guests. Pink or blue christening decorations are fast becoming the norm, with bunting, balloons and napkins, readily available online. The giving of Personalised Christening Favours are a delightful and inexpensive little way of thanking your guests for their gifts and their presence. Personalised Favours which include a little thank you note, also save you having to send out thank you cards later.

Baby girls Christening Favours @ www.bbbonbon.ie

Baby Boys Christening Favours @ www.bbbonbon.ie

Don’t forget:

To invite the priest/vicar as a way of saying thank you for the service!

To order a christening cake from you local bakery. Many high street supermarkets also offer off the self christening cakes.

To charge camera/camcorder the day before.

To have a great time and enjoy!

As always, we would love to hear your ideas and tips. Please leave your comments in the box below.

For June we have specials on: Birthday Party Bags and Christening Favours.

Hurry, they won’t be around for long!

Celebrate your summer  party in style, with these lovely ladybird pencil favours.

This swaroski crystal rosebub favour was originally designed for a bride in 2008, since then it has become one of our most popular wedding favours.

Swaroski Crystal Rosebuds Favour

www.bbbonbon.ie

Our favours are personalised just for you!

We offer free personalisation of all favours. You can choose the font, colour and message.

Please let us have the wording for your tags in the Personalisation Message box at checkout.

We need the name of the bride and groom for Wedding Favours, the baby’s name for Christening favours or birthday person’s name for Birthday favours.

Please also tell us the date of your occasion and choose your font and ink colour from the drop down menus.

Obviously, you can choose other words, though please try and limit it to 35 words.

For monogrammed tags we simply need the bride and groom’s names, plus the groom’s surname.

To help you make your choice, we will be adding images to the personalisation page, hopefully within the next two weeks!

You can have the wording in any language… just let us know your specific requirements, we are here to help, so please do not hesitate to contact us.

BBbonbon Personalisation Details

Birthday party bags and favours for boys and girls, delivered to your doorstep, for a hassel free party, visit us online at www.bbbonbon.ie
All our party bags are at competitive prices and we hope will add a little extra to your childs party.

Petal Party Favour

Animal Photo Clip Party Favours

Cavallo Favour Cake

Boys Christening Favours

Originally uploaded by BBbonbon favours

A Christening is a fun and meaningful way to celebrate a new addition to the family. Incorporating personalised Christening favours is a fabulous way to make the event a truly personal one. At www.bbbonbon.ie we strive to bring you the best and largest selection of Christening party favors, all at lowest prices guaranteed. www.bbbonbon.ie

Little Feet Favour Box

Originally uploaded by BBbonbon favours

A Christening is a fun and meaningful way to celebrate a new addition to the family. Incorporating personalised Christening favours is a fabulous way to make the event a truly personal one. At BBbonbon, we strive to bring you the best and largest selection of Christening party favors, all at lowest prices guaranteed.
www.bbbonbon.ie

Something old, something new
Something borrowed, something blue
And a silver sixpence in her shoe.
Each ‘something’  item refers to a good luck token for a bride. The custom is that if the bride carries all four items on her wedding day, she will have a long and happy marriage.

• Something old – continuity with the bride’s family and the past
• Something new – health, fortune and success in your new life as married woman
• Something borrowed – an item from a happily married friend or family member, whose good fortune in marriage is supposed to carry over to the new bride
• Something blue- this dates back to the bible when blue was thought to represent fidelity and purity and blue was a popular colour for wedding gowns.

What will you use?

We have added a few items to the lists below, please add your something items in the comments box below and we will add them to our list.

Something Old

• A relative’s wedding gown

• A family heirloom: jewelry, veil or headpiece

• Janets ‘older half’

Something New
• New shoes
• New jewelry
• New wedding Gown
• New lingerie or garter

Something Borrowed
• The most popular is an item of jewelry
• A veil or headpiece or even a wedding dress that was worn by a family member.

Something Blue
• Blue lingerie or garter would be the most popular
• Jewelry with a blue stone.

And, finally the silver sixpence. A silver sixpence placed into a brides left shoe is said to bring a bride wealth, joy and happiness throughout her married life.

While we can’t help with the something old and something borrowed, at www.bbbonbon.ie we do have the new and blue covered.

Something Blue Wedding Favours

Our ‘Something Blue range’ are timeless designs that come in three shades of blue, we now add a little silver horseshoe charm to wish our brides good luck.

The simpliest and easiest way to incorporate blue in your wedding favours, is simply to add one blue sweet to your chosen confectionery. This allows you to match your favours to your chosen theme or colour scheme while still incorporating the very important ‘something blue’.
We would love to hear what your something old, new, borrowed and blue are going to be. Please share your ideas and thoughts with all the other ‘brides to be’ in our comment box below and we will add them to the lists.

Many thanks and hope to see some wild and wonderful ‘something’ items to add.

Today (dear Son), as you walk down the aisle
You’ll see all the faces wearing a smile.
But as we remember those young tender years
Our smiles will conceal a few hidden tears.
They’re not tears of sorrow, but tears full of joy
As we’re both thinking back to our dear little boy
And now you have grown up and made us so proud
As you smile for the camera and the rest of the crowd
Remember dear (name) as you take your new wife
You’re still very much a part of our life!
We’re gaining a daughter. not losing a son,
You’re new lives as husband and wife have begun
So be blissfully happy and enjoy your ‘Big Day’
Have a wonderful marriage with a rose strewn way!

Today (dear daughter), as you walk down the aisle
You’ll see all the faces wearing a smile.
But as we remember those young tender years
Our smiles will conceal a few hidden tears.
It isn’t through sadness , our emotions just whirl
As we’re both thinking back to our dear little girl
And now you have grown and made us so proud
As you smile for the camera and the rest of the crowd
Remember dear (name) as you become a new wife
You’re still very much a part of our life!
We’re not losing a daughter, we are gaining a son,
You’re new lives as husband and wife have begun
So be blissfully happy and enjoy your ‘Big Day’
Have a wonderful marriage with a rose strewn way!

Both versions of verse by Marjie