Christening party favors are small keepsakes you give each guest at the meal after the baptism, as a thank you for coming. Plan one for every adult at the reception, add a few extras, and choose something people will keep, like sugared almonds, a mini rosary, a holy card or a small candle. Christening and baptism are two names for the same sacrament. In Spanish speaking families, these favors are called recuerdos.
What are christening party favors
A christening party favor is a small gift for each guest at the meal after the church service. It says thank you and helps people remember the day. It goes home in a pocket or a handbag, and it usually shows something from the baptism: water, light, the cross or a guardian angel.
It is easy to mix favors up with gifts for the baby. Favors go from your family to the people who came. Gifts for the child go the other way, from godparents and grandparents to the baby. A silver medal from the godmother is a gift for the baby. A little bag of sugared almonds at each place setting is a favor.
Favors are a lovely custom, but they are not required. If you decide to skip them, nothing is missing from your child's baptism. Families give them because a christening brings together relatives who rarely see each other, and a small keepsake gives everyone something to take home from the day.
Christening favours or christening favors, which spelling to use
The only difference is the letter u. Favours is the British and Irish spelling, also used in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and most of Canada. Favors is the American spelling. The keepsake is the same.
The spelling changes what people search for. A family in Cork types “christening favours for guests.” A family in Houston types “christening party favors” or “baptism favors.” If a shop seems to have nothing, try the other spelling before you give up.
The difference goes beyond the u. In Britain and Ireland, christening is the everyday word for Catholics and Anglicans alike, and many people there find “baptism party” a bit stiff. In the United States, Catholic parishes usually say baptism. Christening is used mostly by older people and by families with British, Irish or Episcopal roots. If your guest list mixes both, use the word the grandparents use.
What British and Irish families expect from christening favours for guests
A British christening has its own style. The service is often on a Sunday morning, sometimes during Mass and sometimes on its own. Afterward there is usually a christening tea or a lunch, at home, in a village hall or in a function room above a pub. It is smaller and cozier than a typical American party, and the favours are small to match.
Sugared almonds are the classic. Five almonds in a twist of tulle or an organza bag, tied with white, blue or pink ribbon, is the usual British christening favour. The idea comes from the Italian confetti custom, which also shows up at British weddings. Tradition says the five almonds are five wishes for the child: health, wealth, happiness, fertility and long life. It is a sweet folk tradition, not Church teaching.
A few more British and Irish habits are good to know before you order:
- The cake. Some families save the top tier of the parents' wedding cake for the christening. It is a charming custom, nothing more.
- Silver goes to the child. Spoons, bracelets, mugs and keepsake boxes are gifts for the baby, never favours for the table.
- Place settings, not a pile. Favours go at each seat instead of piled on a side table. Guests take what is in front of them and walk past what is not.
- Sponsors and godparents. Parish paperwork often says sponsor, while everyone at the party says godparent. Same people, same role.
What American families expect from baptism favors
In an American Catholic parish, the word in the bulletin is baptism. It usually happens after Sunday Mass, or at an afternoon baptism scheduled for several families at once. The party afterward tends to be bigger and to run later than a British christening tea. Most take place in backyards, parish halls or the back room of a restaurant.
The favors lean religious. Mini rosaries, holy cards, small candles, guardian angel keepsakes and medals are the most common, usually in an organza bag. Where a British table gets almonds, an American table gets a rosary.
Spanish speaking families in the United States bring their own words to the same day. They say bautizo, the godparents are padrinos, and the favors are recuerdos, which means keepsakes (literally, memories). Recuerdos are usually more elaborate than British or American favors. They very often include a candle, because the baptismal candle is at the center of the ceremony.
If you think of the day as a baptism, our guide to baptism favor ideas and how many to order covers the same celebration in the words most parishes in the United States use.
Traditional christening favor ideas for guests
Almost every traditional favor does one of three things. It feeds the guest, it helps the guest pray, or it sits on a shelf as a reminder. The best ones do two.
- Sugared almonds. Five in tulle or an organza bag. The British and Italian classic. You can eat them, they are easy to put together at home, and they are hard to get wrong.
- Mini rosaries. The American Catholic classic. A guest who prays will use it, and a guest who does not will still keep it. Very few people throw a rosary away.
- Holy cards. Flat, light and easy to mail to relatives who could not travel. They slip into a wallet and stay there for years.
- Small candles. The favor closest to the ceremony itself, since at every baptism a candle is lit from the big Easter candle. Our guide to what the baptismal candle means tells you more, and the devotional candles collection has sizes that fit nicely on a table.
- Guardian angel keepsakes. Pins, small figures and medals. They feel gentle rather than very religious, which works well when your guests are a mix.
- Seed packets, soaps and small treats. A good choice when half the room is not Catholic.
The baby's own things are a separate list. The gown, the white garment and the baptismal candle are for the child, not the guests. Our baptism kit collection brings that side of the day together.
How many christening favors are needed
Count the people at the party, not at the church. Many people come to the service and then go home, especially at a parish that baptizes several children at once. Favors set out for guests who never arrive are money you didn't need to spend.
- Start with the adults on the reception list. One favor per adult is the usual starting point in both countries.
- Decide about children before you order. Some families give a favor to every child, some give none, and some give one per household. All three are normal. Rosaries, medals and small figures are not suitable for very young children, so choose something without small parts.
- Add the people who are not on the list. The priest or deacon, the person who helps set up at church, a musician, whoever took the photos. Four or five extras covers most of them.
- Add about 10 percent more. Someone always brings a partner nobody counted, and a few favors get crushed or dropped.
- Round up to the pack size. Favors usually come in packs of 12, 24 or 50, so pick the pack just above your number.
Here is an example. For 40 adults at the meal, add 5 extras and a cushion of 4. That gives you 49, so you order a pack of 50. If you are planning a bigger celebration, or you run a shop that puts together favors for other families, you can buy at wholesale quantities.
If you want to add a small tag, a simple one reads: “Thank you for celebrating my baptism. [Baby's name], [date].” For Spanish speaking guests: “Recuerdo de mi Bautizo, [nombre], [fecha].”
How to choose souvenirs for christening tables
Three questions make the choice easy.
Will it make it home in one piece? A favor spends hours in a coat pocket or a car door. Glass, wax in a hot car and fragile clasps do not always make it back.
Does it fit your guests? A mixed crowd is normal at a christening. Grandparents who go to Mass every week sit next to cousins who go only now and then. Candles, almonds and angels work for everyone in that room. Rosaries and medals are perfect when most of your guests pray the rosary or like to wear a medal.
Does it match the baptism, not just the party? Baptism has a small set of symbols: water, light, the white garment, oil and the cross. A favor based on those still looks right in a photo 20 years from now. A favor based on this year's party theme will not.
Baptism kits, candles and rosaries
Kits for the ceremony, the baptismal candle and rosaries to give as recuerdos.
Arrives in 2 to 4 days. Free shipping on orders over $35.
Christening party favors questions and answers
Is a christening the same as a baptism?
Yes. Christening and baptism are two names for the same Catholic sacrament, celebrated the same way and just as valid whichever word your family uses. Christening is simply the everyday English word that caught on in Britain and Ireland. Your parish register will call it a baptism.
What are traditional christening party favors?
The classics are sugared almonds in tulle, mini rosaries, holy cards, small candles, guardian angel keepsakes, and small crosses or medals. British tables lean toward almonds, American tables toward rosaries, and Spanish speaking families toward recuerdos built around a candle. All of them are customs, not part of the baptism itself, so if you skip favors, nothing important is missing.
What is the difference between christening favours and favors in spelling and audience?
Favours with a u is the British, Irish, Australian, New Zealand, South African and Canadian spelling, and favors is the American spelling for the same item. British and Irish families who search for christening favours for guests usually plan a small afternoon gathering and expect almonds. American families who search for christening party favors or baptism favors usually plan a bigger party and expect a religious keepsake. Use the spelling your family uses.
How many christening favors are needed?
Plan one favor for each adult at the reception, not at the church. Add about 5 extras for the priest, musicians, the photographer and helpers, then about 10 percent more for surprise guests and breakage, and round up to the pack size. For 40 adults at the meal that comes to 49, so you would order 50. Decide separately whether children get one, and if they do, avoid anything with small parts.
What do godparents traditionally give at a christening?
Godparents usually give the child a lasting gift, not something for the guests: a rosary, a Bible or a children's missal, a medal or small cross, a piece of silver, or the baptismal candle and gown. These gifts are traditions that vary by family and region. What the Church does ask of godparents is to be firm believers, ready to help the child along the road of Christian life. The gift is the custom, and walking with the child in faith is the real job.
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