If your child is at a faith school they’ll be given all the education they need approaching their First Communion or confirmation, but if their school is non-denominational or non-religious, you need to contact your local church and ask what classes your child has to attend before the mass.
Choosing the date for your First Holy Communion or confirmation party is a little different than choosing a date for a christening or other non-religious party because the church decides when the First Communion and confirmation masses will be held. If this date is inappropriate for a party some families will have the party on a different day and just get the child all dressed up again, however you usually have weeks of advance notice for a First Communion or confirmation, so most families have enough time to plan for the day itself.
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Remember that it’s not just your own child who is making their confirmation or First Communion. There’ll be big competition for the best venues throughout your city, so it could make sense to come together with a few other parents and have a joint confirmation or First Communion party.
Venue choice will depend on the type of First Communion or confirmation party you’ve decided to hold, but more often than not people end up choosing a venue other than your house due to the volume of people who want to visit your child to celebrate their First Communion or confirmation with them.
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Your catering should be appropriate to the time of day – if you’re not serving food until the evening, a sit down meal may be more appropriate, whereas a lunch time First Communion or confirmation party could be catered with sandwiches. Remember that your child is either in a nice dress or their best suit, and the people attending will most likely be in their Sunday best, so messy food isn’t a good idea. If you’re having a sit-down meal this means nothing liable to spill disastrously or splash, and if you’re having a buffet meal, make sure everything is self contained, and try to avoid anything too sauce based.
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A First Communion or confirmation party is different from most other types of event because it’s not focused around adults the way a wedding is, but it can’t be entirely kid-focused in the way a birthday party would be. When planning a First Communion or confirmation party you have to ensure that your party is going to be suitable for a whole mixture of age groups, as well as reflecting the religious nature of the event.
People will definitely be bringing presents and cards to this party, so it makes sense to have somewhere secured you can keep them. A lot of people opt for giving the child money over presents when it comes to their First Communion or confirmation, and as such a lot of First Communion outfits include a purse or wallet, whereas confirmation outfits tend to have a full bag or a suit with pockets. Discreetly take the money out of it a few times over the course of the night and put it in your secure area – we all know how easily children lose things!
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When it comes to your decor, even though the party is about the child, it isn’t really appropriate to theme it to standard “kid’s themes” like cartoon characters. You can get plenty of specifically religious-themed decoration kits with paper plates and napkins online, but it you want you could just decorate with a mixture of white and the child’s favourite colour. The most important part is that you make sure the decorations are in keeping with the respectful nature of the rites themselves.
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It makes sense when you’re organising a party that centres around children to also organise some sort of entertainment for them. A room full of seven to ten year olds who are excited about their big day can get out of hand quickly, so having an entertainment solution at your First Communion or confirmation party can be a real life saver when it comes to keeping the peace.
Consider some party games that can get all the children at the party involved without ruining their fancy clothes. You can get giant versions of a lot of board games from all over the internet, and if you get good weather lawn games can be an excellent choice. Setting up craft activities or even a big game of kid-friendly (i.e. small numbers) bingo can also keep large groups of children happy and occupied, but if you’re going down the craft route, remember to provide aprons to keep those fancy First Communion and confirmation outfits as pristine as possible.
Party games and craft activities also mean that the adults and children can mix together throughout the party, which means everyone gets to have fun together!
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It’s a good idea however to have at least some time during the party where there’s entertainment that’s just for the kids present. It is after all their big day, so it could be a nice option to have something at the party that stands out as being designed purely for them. You can set up a special area just for the children at the First Communion or confirmation party and hire in some outside entertainment. A specialist kids’ magician is a strong choice. Hiring someone who specialises in kids’ magic shows means you’re getting an experienced children’s entertainer who’ll be able to hold the attention of a big group for an extended amount of time. Having entertainment that allows the children to be in their own space also means that adults can have some time to relax and regroup after a busy day of running around after all those children and getting from location to location!
When you’re organising a First Communion or confirmation party the most important thing to remember is that the day should be centred around the child and their relationship with both the church and God. It isn’t hard to put together a First Communion or confirmation party that is both lovely and memorable for everyone involved when you put our planner to good use!
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