christening/naming ceremony

We had a naming ceremony at my parents Unitarian chapel when little one was about 18 months old. We’re not religious and don’t belong to a church, but wanted to do something to mark the occasion. We’re only had family there and then we went for a meal afterwards, so it wasn’t like a christening and after party (although she did wear my christening dress from 30 years ago that had been made from the same fabric as my mums wedding dress). It was so lovely, we got to guide the ceremony exactly how we wanted. We didn’t have prayers, but we did have a song and readings from both grandmothers (poems, not religious).
We had a blessing with water too - on her head for wisdom and good judgement, her heart to show love and be loved, her hands for her work to make a positive impact in the world and her feet to guide her pathway in life. We could appoint ‘spiritual guardians’ too, rather than ‘god parents’.

We’re planning to have a christening a few months down the line but we’re only planning to invite the immediate family to the church and then likely for a meal. We both have large families so if we wanted to have everyone there would have likely done something like a bbq in the garden over summer instead (space and costs) x

I had my daughter christened then booked a function room for the party afterwards. But if you only have a small number going, you could all just go for a meal afterwards or have a get together back at home