child welcoming

Welcome to the Family

 in Baby Welcoming / Celebration / Personalized Ceremony / Rituals / Welcoming Ceremony  tagged baby naming ceremony / baby welcoming / child welcoming / humanist ceremony / naming ceremony by

“Welcome to the Family” is a phrase that takes on new meaning when you gather family and close friends to celebrate a new child. I recently had the opportunity to offer two very special Child or Baby Welcoming Ceremonies. I’ve worked with both families to welcome their firstborn children previously, and was invited to celebrate new additions to each family.

These Welcoming ceremonies are a great way for non-religious families to celebrate new additions to their families. For some families a Christian baptism or christening, Jewish bris or Islamic aqiqah isn’t appropriate. A humanist Welcoming Ceremony may be the perfect fit.

Celebrating and welcoming a new baby to the family.
Welcoming a new baby

A Welcoming Ceremony gathers family and close friends together as a casual but significant way to say, “Welcome to the family.” The ceremony itself is co-created by the parents and the celebrant. It includes anything the family wants, but the following elements are common:

  • Sharing the significance of the name chosen for the child.
  • Parent promises identifying the priorities they have as they raise the child.
  • Naming of Guideparents or Mentors to be a positive, continuing presence in the child’s life.
  • Recognition of the role for grandparents, older siblings, and/or extended families.
  • A ritual that may result in a memento of the ceremony that can be shared with the child in the coming years.
Props for a Child Welcoming Ceremony
Items used for a Child Welcoming Ceremony

The rituals are often the most memorable as they can allow all the guests to offer their own welcome to the family. A water and wishing stones ritual invites guests to imbue a small stone with their wishes for the baby’s future. The stones are dropped into a bowl of water. The resulting ripples represent the impact the guest can have on the child’s life. An alternative ritual involves guests bringing letters they have written to the child sharing their hopes and dreams for them as they grow. The letters are collected in a binder to be shared with the child when they are older. An interesting addition to this ritual is the creation of a family puzzle with pictures of each guest. The child can play with the puzzle in just a few years and be told the story of the Welcoming Ceremony.

Water ritual at a Baby Welcoming Ceremony
Water and Wishing Stones Ritual

Welcome to the family ceremonies can be personalized to address each family’s situation. They can be held indoors or out. They can include a meal and socializing following the ceremony. Since the little one is the guest of honor, it is best to keep the ceremonies brief and casual, and schedule them at the time of day when they are most likely to be in good spirits.

Becoming a Family Celebrant

 in Celebrant / Ceremony / Memorial services / Officiant / Personalized Ceremony / Wedding Ceremony / Welcoming Ceremony  tagged child welcoming / family celebrant / memorial service / multiple ceremonies / wedding ceremony by

Becoming a family celebrant has been an unexpected benefit of the work I’ve done as a lifecyle celebrant over the last 14 years. I’ve always offered “cradle to grave” ceremonies, meaning everything from child welcomings to weddings to memorial services. But I didn’t foresee having the opportunity to create and offer multiple ceremonies for a given family.

Becoming a family celebrant has taken different forms for different families. For some families it means offering multiple wedding ceremonies over the years for siblings. I feel especially honored when the second or subsequent sibling contacts me. I know that they’ve seen my work and trust me to create their unique marriage ceremony, too.

Custom memorial services

In other cases, I’ve become the family’s memorial celebrant. I’m called upon to create and offer ceremonies that celebrate and honor the life of a recently deceased family member. I’ve had the privilege to officiate at three memorials for one special family. I’ve helped them recognize the life of the patriarch, matriarch and daughter.

In a twist on the idea of becoming a family celebrant, I’ve repeatedly been called upon to welcome a child into the family of a couple I married earlier. These special requests provide an opportunity for me to catch up with the couple. And I get to see how their lives have grown since I married them. I’ve just recently been contacted to create a welcoming ceremony for the second child of one couple I married a number of years ago. We celebrated their marriage first. Then in 2020 we celebrated the birth of their first child. Now I look forward to celebrating the arrival of their second son later this year.

Baby Welcoming - Wishes Tree
Baby Welcoming – Wishes Tree

While most of the ceremonies I offer are weddings, it is a pleasure to also celebrate and commemorate other life events. I appreciate the trust and confidence previous clients demonstrate when they ask for my assistance a second or even third time.

Create Meaningful Ceremony – Welcoming Ceremonies

 in Ceremony / Welcoming Ceremony  tagged child naming / child welcoming / meaningful ceremony / naming ceremony by

Create meaningful ceremony to celebrate the important moments in life. Share your love with a personal wedding as discussed in my last blog post. Welcome a new child to your family with a sweet naming or welcoming ceremony. Honor a loved one with a poignant memorial service. Mark a new phase of life with an inspirational celebration. This week’s focus is on how to create a sweet welcoming or naming ceremony to celebrate a new addition to the family.

Naming or welcoming ceremonies are appreciated by families who are not religious, but want to celebrate the amazing experience of adding to their family. If the child is truly a newborn when the ceremony is held, a Naming Ceremony makes sense. If the child is 6 months or older, a more general Welcoming Ceremony may be more appropriate.

Family puzzle for Child Welcoming ceremony.

In either case, here are a few guidelines to remember:

  • If an infant or small child is the honoree, keep it short and sweet as attention spans are short. You might even want to keep it very informal – gather in a circle and let the little one wander inside while the ceremony happens.
  • Plan the ceremony around the child’s schedule. You don’t want a cranky child in need of a nap when everyone is gathering.
  • Include a ritual or activity that results in some kind of keepsake that can be shared with the child as they grow up and you can tell them about the ceremony.
  • It’s fun and appropriate to recognize parents, grandparents and others you expect to have an ongoing and influential role in the child’s life.
  • Keep the attendance list to family or very close friends. A child welcoming ceremony is often held at home, so keeping the guest list small helps.

With a Welcoming Ceremony you create meaningful ceremony for the parents and family now, and for the child later on when it can be shared with them. It is cause to gather, to celebrate, and to share food as you welcome the newest addition to the family.

Next time I’ll tackle the important memorial service. How to create meaningful ceremony to honor, celebrate and grieve the loss of a loved one.

Child Welcoming Ceremonies: A Beautiful Way to Begin

 in Welcoming Ceremony  tagged baby welcoming / child welcoming / family ceremony / welcoming ceremony by

Child Welcoming ceremonies are a beautiful way to welcome a new child to your family. Whether through birth, adoption, or fostering, a new child in the family is always cause for celebration.

Often thought of as an alternative to religious Baptisms or Christenings, a Child Welcoming ceremony can be both so much more and much less than those ceremonies. Child Welcoming ceremonies are secular or non-religious in nature. For couples and families who are not religious, they are a great way to celebrate the new addition to your family.

Child Welcomings most often include some or all of these elements:

  • Naming the child
  • Promises from the parents to the child
  • Naming of guideparents/mentors
  • Promises from the guideparents to the child
  • A ritual to symbolize welcoming to child to the family and community
  • A reading or story
  • A gift or remembrance of the day
A tree planting to celebrate a new child.

Rituals may include a tree planting in the child’s honor or notes and letters from attendees for the child to have as a keepsake. At a recent welcoming the parents had a puzzle made with pictures of each attendee with the child. During the ceremony the guests placed their pictures in the puzzle. As the child plays with the puzzle the story of the ceremony and the love of these important people in their life can be shared.

Practically, with a little one involved, the ceremony needs to be relatively brief. Fifteen to 20 minutes is about as long as you want it to last. You’ll want it to be casual, and if the child is mobile, expect they will be on the move during the ceremony. Child Welcoming ceremonies are usually held at home, with close family and maybe a few friends in attendance.

Working with a celebrant you can craft a fun, meaningful ceremony to celebrate the new child and the new roles for parents and siblings. Marking milestone moments in life in an authentic way is possible and limited only by your creativity and interest.