Planning a christening can be a stressful time, even more so when you have a new baby to take care of. Here are 10 things that you need to ensure are on your checklist:

1. Make sure to make the arrangements with your church 6-8 weeks in advance so that you have plenty of time to notify any out of town guests. Book a set date and time so that you can begin your preparations. Make sure you ask the church representative if photos and video are allowed. Ask the church as well how many people you can have for the lunch afterwards and decide if you want to hold it in the church or at another venue. If you decide to hold it in the church make sure there is plenty of room for the number of guests that you choose to invite.

2. Choose the godparents for your little one and speak to them about this. Their role is to be a spiritual guide for your child so it is best to choose people that you trust completely and have faith in their ability to give your child good advice. Decide if you want any musicians to play or people to read any key speeches from the bible and make the appropriate arrangements at this time.

3. Decide whether you will be catering the party yourself, having a potluck style lunch or hiring caters. If you are hiring caterers it is best to book 4-6 weeks in advance.

4. Decide whether or not you wish the guests to bring gifts. If you do not want gifts you can put this on the invitations when you send them out.

5. Send out the invitations to people 4-6 weeks in advance so that they have plenty of time to change any other plans that they may have made. Ensure that they RSVP so that you can get accurate number of how many people will be attending. If you decide to do a potluck style meal make sure that you ask people to let you know what they will be bringing so that you end up with a variety of different foods.

6. Decide on and outfit for your baby for the christening ceremony, will you go for a traditional christening gown? Be careful when buying in advance because babies grow very quickly and it may not fit on the big day. Also decide on outfits for the rest of the family to wear. Complimentary colours of clothing always look nice in photos.

7. Hire a professional photographer for the day so that you know the day will be perfectly recorded for posterity. Make a list of photos that you want taken on the day beforehand and give the photographer a list so he knows what pictures he or she must take.

8. By two weeks before the Christening you should have a pretty good idea of how many people should be attending and you can make any changes to the menu you have planned, or contact the caterers about how many people will be attending.

9. One week before the christening finalize all of your details. Tally your final guest list and speak with the photographer and the church representative, the musicians, and the caterer if you have hired one. If you are planning the meal yourself make sure you have everything you need for the meal. You also need to make sure the outfit you chose for the baby is comfortable for him or her.

10. On the day, Show up at the church on time, take a deep breath and relax. This is a special day and you have done everything you need to do to ensure it runs smoothly!