How to Plan a Birthday and Baptism Party in the Philippines
Are you a first time mom curious about how to plan for your baby’s first birthday and baptism party here in the Philippines? I got you.
The planning stage can be both exciting and overwhelming if you don’t know where to start and what you need.
Few months ago, our baby was baptized on the same day as his first birthday.
We were so overwhelmed with a lot of things we wanted to happen that we didn’t know what to do first or what to prepare first.
We have family and friends telling us what to think about but that only added to our already pre-occupied minds and we ended up overlooking some details.
So in this blog, I will share with you the steps we’ve taken, the documents we prepared, and some tips on how to plan smoothly for your child’s birthday and baptism party in the Philippines.
Choose a Church
This is where your planning begins. Choose your preferred church where you want your child to be baptized.
It can be the church where you got married if you’re a sentimental person or it can be the local church nearest to you.
If you already have a venue in mind, you might also consider the church closest to that place for convenience.
As early as you can, list down your options and decide where your baby will be baptized.
Pick a Date
It is crucial to choose a church first before you plan on anything else for the party because this is where you confirm the availability of the date and time.
Will it be a weekday or a weekend?
If it’s a solo baptism, confirm with the Parish if your preferred date and time are available.
In our case, we prefer an early schedule but unfortunately, it is no longer available so we settled for the 11 AM time(which is not a very good decision if it’s summer time lol).
My tip for you is to confirm with the church right away and reserve your preferred time and date if possible.
Prepare for Baptism Requirements
Once you already have your preferred Church and schedule, it’s time to consult the Parish about the baptism requirements.
Here are some important details you need to prepare for baptism requirements:
-Choosing Godparents
This is a part of the Baptism requirements because when you submit the documents, you will be listing down the names of the Godparents.
This is a critical and fun decision that we, parents, need to make.
These are people that will have a significant part in our child’s life.
In Filipino culture, there is a common tradition where some people choose Godparents based on their capacity to give gifts during birthdays and Christmas or monetary gifts.
While that has been a norm in a traditional Filipino family, that is also not the only role of Godparents.
They will be the ones to help us, parents guide our children emotionally, spiritually, and practically as they grow older.
You might also consider choosing based on their sense of responsibility, their willingness to be part of the child’s life, and if they can show up at the baptism ceremony.
I remember the Catechist in our seminar mentioned, “The Godparents will be the second parent of the child.”
-Church requirements
This may vary depending on your place and the Church that you will choose.
These are the documents that need to be secured for the baptism registration;
- Original/Photocopy of child’s Birth Certificate (with registry number)
- Permit to Baptize (this is only applicable if your child will be baptized in another parish. You can secure this from your local parish.
- Payment of Php200 for each Godparent. (This may be vary in every Parish)
Go to your Parish and ask for a copy of the requirements 3 to 4 weeks before your selected date so you can still have time to process it.
-Note and Reminders
- The Godparents should be Catholic.
- There will be a seminar before the Baptism Ceremony. The parents and Godparents are required to attend.
Choose a Venue
In choosing a venue for your birthday and baptism party here in the Philippines, here are some things that you might consider.
- Your Budget
- Is this within your set budget?
- Guest lists
- Can the venue accommodate your expected number of guests?
- Distance from the church
- How far is the venue from the church?
- Schedule
- Is it available on the date and time after baptism?
- Party Theme
- This is optional but if you have a party theme, can you do your desired decorations in the venue?
Entertainment
If you have an outsourced venue, programs may already be included in the package.
But if you are celebrating at home and you want to have a kiddie party, you can consider getting a Clown to make the party more entertaining for guests and kids.
We got a good deal of Clown Party package along with the backdrop design.
I thought my son would like it but he didn’t mind at all.
He was just looking at the balloons and the kids most of the time.
It is still worth it though because our guests, especially the kids, had a lot of fun with the games and magic tricks.
Decide on the Menu
Are you going to have a food catering service?
Are you going to order food online?
If yes, you might want to get a reservation a month or two in advance.
If not and you know someone who is a great cook, you can reach out for help and come up with lists of food you can serve for your guests.
We did the latter.
Fortunately, our guests seem to love the food. Keep in mind the number of guests and your budget.
- Cake – If you wish to have a personalized cake based on the theme, best if you can talk to the baker or shop owner a month or two before the party date. This is to give them enough lead time.
- Dessert Corner – If you are expecting a kids visitor, you might want to prepare sweet treats or candies on a dessert corner at the table.
This is very easy to do. You can just buy different sorts of candies, gummies, or chocolate treats. It doesn’t have to look fancy as the Pinterest images, just make it look organized at the table and it’ll look good.
Book a Photographer
This is a non-negotiable for me. 1st birthday and baptism are a special milestones for our child and us as first-time parents. Don’t forget to capture it.
Book a photographer a month before the event.
This way, you still have time to find photographers with whom you can agree on the rates and packages (in case you also want videos to be taken).
And you will still have time to find another in case your preferred photographer is not available on your event date.
Alternatively, if you know a friend, relative, or someone who may be good at taking photographs, who owns a DSLR camera, you’d be lucky if they agreed to take photos during the event.
If this isn’t within your budget, you have your smartphones that come in handy.
Capture photos all you can and all you want because this is a moment to cherish and worth sharing with our children when they’re older.
Baby’s Outfit for Christening
In traditional Filipino culture, babies wear plain white.
Depending on your preference and family traditions, colorful outfits may also be allowed and you may also check the parish policy.
Our baby’s outfit is a hand-me-down pair of polo and shorts from our relative.
We opted not to buy new ones and just use what we already have since it will only be used once.
We just had to buy white shoes, socks, and an inner sando.
The church also provided a white vest during the seminar to be used in the ceremony itself.
Prepare for Souvenirs and Party Favors
Party souvenirs are not necessary but it’s a nice gesture to make the Godparent and other visitors feel that you are grateful for their time and effort on this special day.
You can check out tons of personalized items online or you can also DIY (aka Do-it-Yourself). This could be a perfect way to show off your creativity.
In our case, we just purchased a Milky Way-designed mini thermos since the party theme is Astronaut.
We wrapped it in kraft paper (since we have it at home). Then we created a thank you card in Canva, printed it, and stick it on the souvenir.
And ta-dah! We have our simple party souvenirs.
We also got a few personalized 10 pcs ref magnets and about 20 pcs crochet keychains (which were just sponsored).
It is best to prepare this also a month before the event so that there will be enough time to get the items and materials you need.
Party Favors are also optional during this age of birthday but if you’re expecting kids, you might want to add this to your list. (only if within your budget)
If you’re in the mood for some creativity, you can also create your personalized loot bags or chip bag.
We designed our loot bags based on the party theme using Canva. Printed it on short bond paper and use double-sided tape to stick it and make it look like a chip bag.
Send out Invitations
You can print a traditional invitation or opt for a paperless one and create a digital copy of it.
Ours was a video invitation made in Canva.
There are a lot of great templates that make it easier for you to customize the details for your little one’s event.
Send your baptism and birthday party invitations one to two months before the event.
This is to consider the guests who might need to file a leave from work, especially the Godparents. Leave requests may take a few weeks for approval.
If it’s a digital copy, you can send it via Facebook Messenger.
Final Thoughts
Keep in mind that your preference may be different from others and that is perfectly fine.
Remember that this is a milestone for your baby and you. The way you want to celebrate it is going to be entirely up to you.
These tips are based on our experience planning for our child’s baptism and 1st birthday party.
I curated a FREE PLANNING GUIDE CHECKLIST just for you to help you in your planning stage and to ensure you won’t overlook anything you wish to include in your event.
May it be a simple one or a grand celebration, what’s important is we take this moment to be grateful as they celebrate a special milestone that we can eventually share the stories with them
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I hope this helps you in some way.
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