Christen This…..Part Two.

Ok so Henry was Christened on the 7th August, i haven’t blogged about the day before this because i was knackered after organising such a big event and because to be honest i was so annoyed about some things i needed to calm down first so that i didn’t just rant about the bad bits of the day.

I spent the 48 hours before the event baking hundreds of cakes…..and i really do mean hundreds, i’m not exaggerating! I have a BIG family and they eat a lot of food, cake especially so this was a must have:

Some of the cakes

My sister Natasha came over on the Saturday before so i had some help, but i was really proud of myself getting most of it done. It was a big task with a 6 month old baby. The cakes however were worth it! 🙂

The actually day of the Christening didn’t get off to a great start with Henry sleeping a total of 3 hours on Saturday night! He would only sleep latched on to my boob snuggled up next to me in bed, which meant that i got hardly any sleep at all. Eye bags were going to be a real issues in the pictures, but hey what’s new? We were staying at my Step-Grandmother’s house so we had a 3 course breakfast before heading off to set up the after-party which helped perk us up somewhat! God bless Grandmothers! 🙂

The hall was looking amazing after my Mum, sister, Step-dad, us & my best friend worked our arses off getting it all sorted in time……this was hard seeing as my phone didn’t stop ringing with people calling with their excuses as to why they couldn’t attend. These excuses ranged from the genuine to the absurd & frankly unbelievable! It was very upsetting to be honest after working so hard to make the day special to have so many people not make the effort to attend. The number of guests that came was still respectable at about 70 people, but 30 people canceled on the day or just didn’t show up! I think this is pretty poor, if you don’t want to come just say in advance, don’t say yes & then not bother to come……i do have better things to do than bake cakes for people who aren’t going to eat them!

The service was lovely & Henry was a star smiling and charming his captive audience the whole time. He wooed our female (Vegetarian!) Vicar Norma by smiling and stroking her face while she was putting the water on his head. A bit nicer than the crying we were all used to at Christenings! 🙂 I think Henry likes being on stage as he appears to have star quality! hahaha!

Probably the only time you'll see all of us in a church! 🙂

The godparents & us! 🙂

The after party which had an ‘afternoon tea’ theme was a real success thanks to the bunting & the food being a real hit. Ken’s mum made loads of scones, my mum made hundreds of cream cheese & cucumber sandwiches & some lovely quiches which were delicious. Their help was so appreciated as there is no way i could have done everything myself. My mum & her husband’s family were such a help on the day, as were Ken’s family which made the party a real success.

Christening cake(s)

speech.....

However not all family were helpful. I asked my dad to bring some Brie & Cranberry sandwiches as his contribution (seeing as he was the one making such a fuss about having a christening.) However he show up with some horrible grated cheese & pickle sandwiches on plastic bread which looked horrible (i don’t know what they tasted of because i HATE pickle)! This in itself wasn’t that bad, but it gets worse as things usually do when my dad is involved! He and his wife Carol didn’t help at all at the party at all, they barely spoke to me or Ken, didn’t even bring a card for Henry let alone a present and to top it all off they left a massive mess for the rest of us to clean up! My dad for want of a better term is a COMPLETE WASTE OF SPACE who never fails to find new ways to let me down and shun me! I got used to him doing it to me, but it hurts all over again when he does it to Henry.

Although i’m still fuming with my dad, he really was in the minority. Everybody else really seemed to have an amazing time and there was a really good atmosphere there. Everyone loved seeing Henry who was in good spirits all day long. George our dog was at the party as well, and he thought it was amazing having that many people there to pay him attention! Henry was very spoilt by our Friends and Family who gave him some lovely gifts and cards. As the host we didn’t get to spend as much time to talk to people as we would have liked because we kept being called away to see the next person! We spoke briefly to everyone and managed to send people off with plates of cake so i think that can be considered being a good host?

Me & the wifey who was a star on the day! 🙂

So all in all it was a good day, with only a few people letting it down slightly by not coming or just being an arse (yes i’m talking to you daddy dearest!). However i need to thank my best friend Sarah (Wifey) & family friend Gina and my little Sister Tash for being such great helps at the party. Plus my Mum & Her Husband Nigel, my step-grandmother Eileen and Ken’s parents……You are all AMAZING and without you i would have struggled to get everything together! 🙂 Everyone except my dad made the day really special and one that although Henry won’t remember it was a really nice way to introduce him to such a large family! 🙂

…………having said that i’m not sure i’ll be doing it again! All that sewing & baking nearly finished me off! hahahaha!

Christen This!!

I’m having Henry Christened next weekend. I’m not religious (agnostic at best) but the idea of a naming ceremony was not well received among my parental folk who both wanted the little man christened like all children in our families, which is surprising as they haven’t agreed on anything since the decision to get divorced over 20 years ago!

So for the easy life a conventional christening it is….but we’re adding our own twists. For example I’ve chosen some unconventional God parents for Henry not all of whom seem like the obvious choice, but who wants obvious & boring for their child? Not me!

My little sister Tashy is godmother. She dislikes children A LOT, but she does loves to smoke! However has allowed Henry to be the exception to her child hating & they adore each other! She is his favourite person aside from his mama & daddy. I hope they stay good buddies as She has incredibly good taste in music like her older sister so I know Henry will go to good gigs even when he’s too cool to hang out with me! She isn’t however allowed to introduce him to any of her chosen vices….even when he’s 18! 🙂

My Cousin Chris is the first godfather. He really seems like an odd choice to outsiders as he is a reformed youth offender & heavy drug user. But the key part of that description is reformed. He is a lovely hardworking bloke, who plays in a couple of bands in his spare time, and does charity concerts to raise money and awareness for his downs syndrome niece’s special needs school. However despite the fact that he isn’t the troubled teenager that got in trouble with the police anymore (he’s 32!) many family members still judge him for it. I don’t & think somebody like him who has made mistakes and moved on is a great role model!

The 3rd godfather is Andy the longterm boyfriend of Ken’s sister. I’ve not always got on with him as he can be quite money obsessed & not always on the same wavelength as us as a result. However he adores Henry & has shown much more interest in him than Ken’s sister. He asked after him constantly when I was pregnant, and has been excited to see him whenever he can. My little man brings out a much nicer side to Andy and at the very least we know if we end up poor homeless dreamers Henry will have a Godfather with a few pennies saved! Hahaha!

I was pretty laid back about what the ceremony itself should be, because to me it was simply a way of introducing my son to my HUGE family and throwing a nice big party for him. Well the party is nearly planned, it’s going to be a afternoon tea extravaganza full of homemade cakes, cucumber sandwiches, scones, tea & champagne! My kind of party! I’ve also spent the last few weeks lovingly sewing miles of homemade bunting to decorate the hall that the after party is being held in. (pictures will follow soon!) Also I have devised the perfect afternoon tea playlist suitable for a rockin’ little dudes party! All sounds pretty awesome right? Only problem is the party has gotten bigger than we planned….

The guest list is long, as I alone have 13 living aunties & Uncles…..and well too many cousins to count. Both of my parents are remarried, thus there are step-families to be included. Add to this Ken’s family and our oldest friends and the guest list is nearing 90 (plus George the dog who is the guest of honor)! Wow that’s a lot of people not all of whom, if I’m honest, I want there. However family politics mean that if you invite one, you invite them all! If only they would all bloody RSVP so I know how many cakes to bake…..I mean a good hostess should never be found lacking in the cake department! 😀

So we’re nearly there, thank god (no pun intended) but the final task, and possibly the most important one for our unconventional christening is to find the little guy a spiderman costume to be christened in! 🙂 My mum is dead against it, wanting to dress him in a linen suit like a Westlife reject. However there are something’s you just have to stand for in life, and dressing up like spiderman at your first party is one of them! ;D

Watch this space for the party updates!