Archive for the ‘Baptism & Baby Showers’ Category

shower party etiquette… don’t forget!

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

shower-party_001a day to shower with gifts!… no matter what kind of shower party it is, gift giving is a must.  i have attended numerous shower party, mostly bridal and indeed it is such a fun-filled event.  one thing i love about the shower party is its intimate gathering which means everyone who are  present in the party is a friend of the celebrant.

for those who want to throw a shower, the etiquette below will help a great deal to make a successful and non-awkward party.  there are three factors to make the event possible… 1st is the hostess, a person who will organize or initiate the party, 2nd is the guests, people who are friends of the guest of honor which is the 3rd factor of the event.  guest of honor is simply the person that the party is being given to.

here are the simple etiquette!

  • never give your own(guest of honor) shower… this must  be given by the hostess who is obviously your friend.
  • as a hostess, you are in-charge to choose where to hold it, sending out the invitations and shower favors are your responsibilities too…  as a hostess keep in mind that shower party is something informal so a friendly and pleasant atmosphere must be the goal.
  • the hostess should only invite guests that the guest of honor knows… sorry! but this is for friends and close friends only.
  • men and women are ok… don’t limit it for women’s gathering only.
  • the venue should be comfortable… usually being held at the place of the hostess or any place that everyone will feel at home.
  • must be a fun-filled celebration… that’s why the venue is important because of there are  games and activities involve.
  • as a guest of honor, you must send out a simple thank you note for the guests and hostess… a hand-written one is more personal and sincere.
  • foods are served… can be held at any time of the day, depending on the availability of the guest of honor.
  • 2-3 hour of celebration is enough… no need to prolong the celebration since the goal is mainly  to flourish the guests of honor with gifts by doing so dull moments can be avoided.

a great music to  indulge for a festive mood, why not?!… it’s not part of the etiquette but will surely make the party a blast!

Shower Parties not just for brides and babies

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

baby-shower the most common shower parties being thrown are for  baby and wedding events.    shower party as celebrated is derived from the idea of flourishing  or the word itself showering the celebrant with gifts so giving gift is  only but pertinent  and a sure sign of etiquette … i will expound in my future posting about the etiquette in shower party which is quite extensive.

i just want to focus now to the variety of shower parties being celebrated which are not familiar for others.  this may give you an idea to throw  one for your friend or better yet your close friend since this is an acceptable informal celebration initiated only by chums.

BABY SHOWER is celebrated before the baby is born, gifts may be for the use of the mother or the baby’s.  BRIDAL SHOWER is typically given for the bride but the gifts may be for the benefit of bride and groom. never equate this with stag party since gift giving is not required on this albeit this is given to the groom but stag party is merely focus on the get together of guys on the last day or days of bachelorhood.  ADOPTED BABY SHOWER, yes! adopting a baby can be celebrated but instead of the usual like ‘ the baby is brewing’, ‘welcome baby boy/girl’  use ‘for a chosen baby’ announcement.  celebrating this must be cleared with the adopting mother because others may not want the public to know about the scenario otherwise you may do so.  OFFICE SHOWER PARTY is given to a person who’s about to be promoted at the work setting by the closest office mate. this is usually held in the office per se and attended only from people at work.  HOUSE WARMING SHOWER is given to the couple or someone who just move to a new place,  gifts evolves for house decors, kitchen utensils, bedroom accessories… etc. GOING AWAY SHOWER is given to a friend who is migrating to other state or country, basically a shower for good wishes and gifts  are something  reminiscent of the place, friendship and shared experiences.  OFF TO SCHOOL SHOWER is given for someone who’s going to study in other state or country.  ANNIVERSARY SHOWER is given by the close friend of the couple who’s about to celebrate their wedding anniversary.  to guide you for the kind of gifts you may plan to give  check the list below…

1st year      paper                              20th year     china
2nd year    cotton                             25th year     silver
3rd year      leather                          30th year     pearl
4th year      books/flowers                35th year     coral/ jade
5th year      wood                             4oth year      ruby
6th year      iron                                45th year      sapphire
7th year      wool                               50th year      gold
8th year      bronze                            55th year     emerald
9th year      pottery                           60th year     diamond
10th year   tin                                   75th year      diamond jubilee
11th year    steel
12th year    linen/silk
13th year    lace
14th year    ivory
15th year    crystal

so if you have someone in mind who’s about to have a milestone in life… why don’t you throw one!





Baptism celebration 101

Monday, April 27th, 2009

baptism-rite_001 Welcoming your child to your religious belief is one of the important events that the parents have to tackle.
Rites vary depending on the church that a couple belongs to.  Baptism celebration can be a beautiful event to share with family and friends.  This is the time that the important people in your life can witness the welcoming rite of the infant to Christianity.  Baptism in Catholic rite is the most familiar one to me since I came from the genealogy of Catholic faithfuls.

It is recommendable that the rite should take place when the baby is still months old.  On the months that the baby has not receive the sacrament yet,  it is  practiced (by some, i guess) that the baby should not be brought out of the house.  Taking in consideration the modernization of times,  old practices can be a thing of the past.  Since lifestyle of the couple most specially the working couple,  baptism of the baby may take place later than the usual tradition.

To celebrate baptism, preparation has to be dealt with.

Church… yes, you have to schedule the date of baptism.  You can not just walk in and ask the priest to baptize your baby.  Depending on availability,  it’s better to allocate a conservative time like one to two months in advance.  Choose your own parish church or you may want to do it in a historical church of your choice. The advantage of allocating time is more time to prepare and convenience to  your out of town family and friends.

Reception… this can be at your house or restaurant for your convenience.  If you decide to hold the event in the restaurant, reservation is a must.  Again, allocating time is a must.  The convenience of having the reception in the restaurant is the “eat and go” idea.  No need to clean after the event in which most of the time is the  tiring part in any celebration.  This is mostly true to the working couple.  When you decide to hold it at home, you may consider catering.  This way  allocating time for the set-up of the table and some other whimsies are the only concern.  Cooking can consume majority of your time most especially when you’re expecting more than ten guests.  Must consider the distance between the church and the reception area for convenience.

Invitations… there are choices in the market to invite your family and friends.  E-vite, is the online invitation which is fine if all of your family or friends have computer access.  Affordable paper invitation is the traditional way  and you can do it your own.  If you have a creative skills, you can do wonders in a simple card stock.

Buying favors… there’s no other way to sincerely gratify the presence of the people who attended the important event of your baby.  There are lots of choices that your budget can handle.  You can choose buying it online for convenience and make sure to choose a favor store that offers free packaging, free thank you tags or you may spare some bucks by personalizing your tags in which the date of the event and the name of the celebrant are indicated.  You may browse www.whimsandlikes.com for some samples of baptism favors.

Godparents…  deliberately take time to choose the significant people you can assign the responsibility of being your baby’s godparents.  I must say that my parents did a poor job on this aspect,  I have only seen one of my six godparents and that is because she’s my Aunt, the rest just vanished!… Avoid this mistake.

Considering all the things above… you’re set for celebrating the baptism of your angel!