When you see a smiling face, their happiness all over the place…

How To Enhance A Naming Ceremony

So how can you enhance your Naming Ceremony, give your party that extra bit of sparkle?

Apart from the usual unity candle and sand blending ceremony, which can be included in a Naming Ceremony, what else can you have that’s a little bit different?

None of the options below cost a lot of money, but they give back to nature, or they don’t disturb nature, and at the same time bring a lot of fun.

Some articles will be for the children to appreciate when they are a bit older—keepsakes to bring back memories when looked at years later.

Blowing Bubbles

This one is a popular way to put some fun into a Naming Ceremony for all the obvious reasons.

Bubbles have taken over from releasing balloons that used to be done at naming ceremonies. It’s much kinder to our wildlife this way, and it’s safe (apart from getting a soapy bubble in your eye, maybe)

Bubbles are environmentally friendly and cheap on the pocket.

They can make quite a show, and if the sun’s shining, you have rainbows floating around; they look beautiful, both at the time and when you look back over the photos.

There are bubble machines that you can buy now.  They provide a constant stream of bubbles, brilliant for photo time.

The bubbles from a bubble machine tend to be a bit heavier and don’t blow away as quickly as homemade bubbles either, so you can keep the kids entertained a little bit longer.

I had one for my dogs when they were puppies, and they are brilliant at keeping them amused.

You might snap some cracking photos of animals, children, and even adults jumping up to catch them.

What is it about bubbles that bring out the kid in us all?

A Special Book

Being a book lover myself, I would probably use this ritual to add a bit of fun to a naming ceremony.

Ask your guests to bring along a book to the Naming Ceremony rather than a card or a present for your child.  With an inscription inside.

This can foster your child’s love of reading, and start a library.

As an avid reader, I love this option.  Imagine how many new bedtime stories you’d have.

Books last for a long time and can be enjoyed over and over again.

A present that the whole family can enjoy.

A Memory Box

Some families include the creation of a ‘time capsule’ or ‘memory box’ for the Naming ceremony.

Ask your guests to bring something to add to it, such as a newspaper article from the day your child was born.

The container could be sealed during the ceremony to be opened again on a significant birthday, such as their 18th.

A memory box is a perfect place to store sentimental items that you want to treasure, allowing your little one to remember or learn about some of their earliest moments.

Some options you could consider including in the Memory Box:

• The first scan you had of the bump
• Their hospital bracelet and weight tag.
• A newspaper from the day they were born
• The cards you received from friends and family on their birth
• A hand-cast, most hospitals offer these when the baby is born, what an ideal place to store it for them.
• Photos of you all together. Kids grow so quickly it’s nice to look back on photographs of things you have done together, and managed to capture the image with a photo.
• Family photos, or recorded messages, or even a letter to the child to read when they open the box in later years

Planting Seeds And Bulbs

Want your friends and family to remember the day with something a little bit unusual?

What about wildflower seeds for them to take away from the day and plant in their own gardens, or in the wild in their favourite spot. They are so easy to grow, and no planting is required, just throw them where you want them to grow.

If you have chosen an outdoor spot to hold your Naming Ceremony then you could all scatter the seeds or plant the bulbs there, if that’s allowed by the venue/landowner of course.

Many beautiful little online companies around the UK sell wildflower seeds, help keep our local business in business by buying from them.

Tree Planting

Or, if you fancy something that will last a bit longer than flowers, how about planting a tree?

There are various ways to plant the tree during your naming ceremony, depending on how dirty you want to get and if your tree planting is done outside your garden or a venue.

You could:

Choose a sapling (with its root ball intact) and plant it inside an empty pot or directly into the ground.

Plant a pre-potted tree by simply topping up the soil inside its container.

Symbolically plant the tree by watering it as a family while fitting words are spoken by your celebrant (it’s lovely to bless the tree as you plant it)

If you were at a venue, you could keep the tree in a pot and take it home with you to plant in your own garden so that you see it settle in, grow strong roots and flourish in nature. (just like you want for your child)

YOu can learn more about planting a tree during your Naming Ceremony by using the button below.

There are many ways to add some fun to a Naming ceremony.

These are just 5 fun options that might help you decide what to include in your Naming Ceremony.

Every Naming Ceremony is different and many of them turn out to be such fun, for adults as well as children.

You may have traditions of your own that you would like to include in your Naming Ceremony.