Choosing Meaningful and Beautiful Christening Gifts

The giving of christening gifts has been popular for centuries, and the custom of giving a present to a baby being christened today is no less common. Although there are less christenings in the country today, those who are invited to attend one of these special events, or even more importantly those who are chosen to be godparents, should look for inspiration for truly meaningful christening gift ideas.

The History of Christenings

In very early pagan societies, the birth of a new baby was celebrated by the presenting of gifts and tokens to the child. As the Christian church began to spread and gain in popularity, this custom of gifting the baby was adopted by the church leaders and was said to be attributed to the three wise men who gave gold, frankincense and myrrh to the infant Jesus on the day of his birth.

In some religions and cultures, christening or baptism takes place either on the day of the birth itself or a few weeks later. Traditionally, the baby would be christened at the age of six weeks as part of the mother’s “churching” ceremony during which time she would offer prayers of thanks for the safe delivery of her child. This practice was related to the Virgin Mary’s visit to the temple six weeks after the birth of Jesus.

In other religions, the christening or baptism would not take place until several months after the birth. Today, more children are being christened when they are over a year old, and sometimes are being christened in sibling groups in one ceremony.

Christening Gift Ideas

What Kinds of Items Were Given as Traditional Christening Gifts?

Traditionally, in the early days of Christianity, a baby would be presented with a few coins or an item of monetary value that would serve as a nest egg to set them up for the future or a time of need. This brought in the custom of the lucky sixpence (which would often then be worn in the shoe when a girl became a bride) or sovereign, which were common christening gifts in the last century.

An apostle spoon was also a traditional gift that dates back to Tudor England, which is believed to have coined the phrase “born with a silver spoon in his mouth”.

Most christening gifts, even today, are made from silver to represent the nest egg that the baby is being given. Even though many christening gifts today are not worth a lot, they are still beautiful sentimental tokens to mark the importance of this rite of passage in a child’s life and can be treasured as they grow up and enter adulthood.

Beautiful Silver Christening Gift Ideas

One of the most popular christening gift ideas is a silver money box, often presented with a silver coin inside as the beginning of a lifetime’s worth of savings. These come in all shapes and sizes, from the simple box shape to a baby themed trinket in the shape of a bootee, a bottle or a teddy bear.

A traditional christening bangle is another beautiful and sentimental gift idea. This can be kept safe and treasured throughout the child’s life and can then be passed on to their own child in the future.

Both of these items can be personalized with the child’s name and the date of their christening engraved on them as a personal touch to make the present even more special.

Unique and Unusual Christening Gifts

If you would like to go with the silver theme but would like to invest in a beautiful decorative item that can last a lifetime and be appreciated and displayed as the child grows into adulthood, why not consider a beautiful silver-dipped real rose? Symbolizing the natural beauty of childhood, this gorgeous gift is a unique piece of art that will be treasured for a lifetime.

Perhaps you would like to opt for a present that does not follow the traditions of silver. If you would like to choose something a little different, why not order a personalized storybook with the child’s name in it, or a set of personalized wooden building blocks that can be played with or displayed proudly?

A personalized wooden wishing star can be hung in the child’s room as a decorative ornament, or can be placed on the Christmas tree every year as a sentimental token of this memorable occasion, while a lovely hand and foot imprint kit will preserve the image of those tiny hands and feet forever in clay as an unusual and heartfelt reminder of this beautiful and important time in this child’s life.

Whichever christening gifts you choose, be sure to select something that will last not just for the day, but be kept as a memorable token to last for the rest of the child’s life.