Christening Guest List
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We are planning our sons christening and spoke to the caterers yesterday about the cost. Now we are figuring out the guest list. My husband and I know who we are inviting and have already asked most of them. As his Christening will be in his grannys church and because of how supportive her friends have been we said she could invite some of them. My mother in law phoned yesterday and said she would need 150 people!
I love my mother in law dearly, she is like a 2nd mum to me, but I was not impressed! Firstly, she doesn't need 150 people, she wants 150, there is a big difference! Plus she isn't paying for it and if she was I guarantee there wouldn't be 150 people!
We have told her that 100 people is the max, that gives her 70 people to invite, more than enough in my opinion.
I know it is an event we are only doing once and we want it to be special, but I'm not paying for loads of people I don't know just so she can show off!
That probably sounds horrible, but it is costing us a lot of money to go over and to stay in a hotel, so I'm trying to budget it really carefully.
Do you think I'm being too harsh on her? My husband agrees that 100 is enough. We didn't even have that many people at our wedding!
I wouldn't know a hundred people who would genuinely want to come along to my grandson's christening. If I managed to think of 100 I could guarantee the majority would not be there out of any love for the baby and to share his special day, but rather for a nice day out with food and drink for free!
I cannot understand family members who push their agenda on to loved ones who are arranging this sort of thing. I think I would be inclined to stick to the 30 she can invite and politely suggest she pay for any extra guests she wants to invite. I think allowing her any say in the first place is generous of you, I would not dream of inviting my own guests to something like this. I would save my guest list for my own celebrations like milestone birthdays etc.
I feel the same, that I will be paying for people to have a nice day out and not to actually celebrate with our sons special day. I don't know 100 people either.
She is helping us to organise it as she is over in Northern Ireland and it is in her church. I know a number of the people she wants to invite are from the church and have been very supportive. I don't mind them being at the ceremony, that's fine, but not for the reception after.
We have told her 100 is the max and she needs to really want the people she is inviting there and that it should be people who actually helped and supported her when we were going through the difficult phase last year and are actually interested in our son.
She loves our son and I think part of it is that she wants to show him off and show people how well he is doing. That's fine, but do it to the people that actually matter to us.
I want her to enjoy the day too, but I don't fancy being in a room full of people that I don't know on what is meant to be a celebration of my son.
You're not being harsh at all. Could you, to appease her, have the christening party with the 100 guest maximum and then she have a separate party, organised by and paid for by her for the rest of the people? It isn't only her you have to think of, would your son be OK with that many people around? There's a justified reason/excuse straight away
She couldn't afford to have a separate party afterwards. My son is used to being around people but don't think he would cope with that many at one time.
I can understand where your mother in law is coming from the christening is a big occasion for the whole family but that's really the only people you need at a christening. You don't need extended friends and family too. Just the close family and friends will be fine.
It is not the actual christening ceremony but the reception afterwards that she wants 150 people at. I don't mind them coming to the ceremony, but the reception afterwards is for family and close friends and I don't want 150 people there.
Wow 150 guest I only had 50 at my wedding and God parents and there children at christening yes it's a celebration but no need for all that amount he won't even remember it I would have kept it small and money saved coukd have went on nice family weekend away
We live in Scotland and the christening is in Northern Ireland so we are making a family holiday of it. I want it to be a brilliant celebration and for people to enjoy it but I'm not wanting to spend a fortune either just for my mother in law to have all her friends there, especially when we will only have 10 of our friends!
Why would they even want to go, honestly? They aren't your friends or going to be involved with the baby. Seems very odd to me.
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