Christening-House party or rent hall/restaurant?

I desperately want it at our house. I just think it is more relaxed and there is no time constraint. DH wants it at like a Knights of Columbus/VFW.

If you had a big christening party at your house was it too much to handle?

Re: Christening-House party or rent hall/restaurant?

DS christening is next week. We're just doing immediate family only b/c our party list was getting to be 45 guests and i couldnt afford to do it at a hall. And i have no room in my house during the winter for that many pple.

If i were having a small group I'd have a house party, but the cleanup and set up suck. I didnt want to deal with it.

just something to think about.

Re: Christening-House party or rent hall/restaurant?

Message edited 1/2/2010 1:48:56 PM.

Re: Christening-House party or rent hall/restaurant?

I say either at your house or a restaurant/catering hall where everything is taken care of for you...
We did my DS's and DD's at a catering hall...

With a VFW, there is a lot that needs to be done beforehand and being as many times the party immedately precedes the church, I can see it being very stressful on the parents the morning of the christening....Between getting the baby dressed, making sure they have napped, packing the baby's essentials for the day etc...

If you have it at home, at least you can do a majority of the prep work the night before and all the baby's needs are right there and you dont have to tote anything with you(swing, bouncy seat etc..)

A restaurant/catering facility you can sit back and relax...

Either a home or VFW I highly reccomend a waitress service...best thing ever !!

Re: Christening-House party or rent hall/restaurant?

I had it out our house with around 50 ppl. I waited until June to have DD christened so we could use the backyard. It was great. I also hired a caterer who, set up, cooked, served and cleaned up. She was awesome and the food was delicious. And it was reasonable. I can look her info up if you are interested.

Re: Christening-House party or rent hall/restaurant?

Hey K, we've done both christenings at restaurants/catering halls. DD's we had 75 people, DJ & it was a catering hall...For DS we had it at a local restaurant down the block from the church & it was the best thing ever. We walked in, were catered to & then once it was over you walk away; no stress, no mess. Also in the end, it ended up costing what a house party would have (we only had about 35 for him).

Re: Christening-House party or rent hall/restaurant?

ds's was at my parents house (do o space)... it really wasnt that bad.... but we did a very easy food setup in which we made past and rice and then had four differen options for sauces... we then put them all in slow cookers....

Re: Christening-House party or rent hall/restaurant?

We did the christening at the house. it worked out great for two main reasons:

1. DD was only 8 weeks old so it was great that she was home and comfortable.

2. People really got to enjoy themselves and stayed as long as they wanted. There was no time constraint - our party was much longer than 4 hours.

3. SOO much cheaper than having it out.

We did get food catered (i.e. trays of chicken, ziti, etc.) but it was still cheaper than having it out. We got papergoods from Costco, got a keg of beer, people brought wine, etc. \

ETA: We had about 50 people and it was the summer so people were outside in the yard and on the deck, so weather and space is also a factor to think about.

Message edited 1/2/2010 4:22:05 PM.

Re: Christening-House party or rent hall/restaurant?

I did it at home. I liked the relaxed atmosphere, plus I catered it and hired a waitress, so I did NOTHING. She took care of everything and then some. My kitchen was spotless when the party was over. I have her number if you want it.

Re: Christening-House party or rent hall/restaurant?

i loved it at my house - same reason.. more relaxed...

how many people are you expecting??

i did it at our home in this summer, so that was easier and only had about 25 people.. but i loved it..

my only suggestion: maybe hire a company/person for setting and cleaning the food - it would be so much easier and you would enjoy yourself so much more - i never sat down and that was with my mom, sister and friend helping with everything..

Re: Christening-House party or rent hall/restaurant?

The only reason we didn't do it at home is because my house isn't big enough for the amount of people we were inviting. DD was born in Oct and I didn't want to wait until summer to have her baptized, although had I waited I could have had it at home (outdoors).

I had it at a restaurant down the block from the church. It was completely stress-free for me and I really enjoyed myself. I know if I had it at home I would have been driving myself crazy with making sure everyone was taken care of food and drink wise. Restaurant was costly, but the right choice for us.

Re: Christening-House party or rent hall/restaurant?

we did it at the house but it was on the smaller side. I wanted to save the big hall party for her 1st bday.

Re: Christening-House party or rent hall/restaurant?

We did DS Christening party at our house at the end of October. We had about 50 adults & 12 kids....We were lucky enough to have a beautiful day so the kids were occupied outside in the bounce house.

But we do all our family functions at our house. DH & I like the laid back atmosphere. We catered in everything & that was a big help. Family helped us with the setup & the cleanup, which was so helpful especially with DS being less then 8 weeks old. I would do it again in a heartbeat though

Re: Christening-House party or rent hall/restaurant?

We had DD's christening party at our house. Had it in April, outside with a tent for about 50 people.

It was stressful because I don't handle hosting big functions well, but we hired a waitress to help and it took a ton of pressure of me.

WE will most likely do the same for this one when the time comes.

IT can get crazy, but worth it in the end.