Hello my Lovelies 😊
I thought I would let you know about the Naming Ceremony I offer.
What is a Naming Ceremony?
A Naming Ceremony is essentially what it says, a ceremony that announces the name of your child to friends and family.
You can make the ceremony suit your family by adding in micro ceremonies such as guardian/godparent vows or planting a tree to mark the occasion.
I like to research the meaning of the names you have chosen and link them back to you as a family.
Personalise with Micro Ceremonies
In past ceremonies, families have chosen to include a number of elements that helped to enhance their Naming Ceremony.
Guardians/Godparents/Watchers
Ask friends or family members to take on this important role. They will make promises to you and your child that they will help your tiddler understand the world. You can make the vows as serious as you want from babysitting duties, weekend sleepovers, or provider of chocolate. I can even arrange a certificate for you all to sign.
Tree Planting
The Naming Ceremony is a lovely time to plant a tree or long-life plant so it can grow alongside your child. If you have a big enough garden and a sturdy enough tree, maybe this is where you can build a treehouse in years to come. Otherwise, the tree becomes a symbol of your child’s life as their experiences help them branch out into the world. (Pun intended.)
Fingerprint Family Tree
These are colourful representations of your family. You can draw a tree yourself or purchase a stencil or sticker. Instead of leaves, you have colourful fingerprints of relatives and friends who attended the Naming Ceremony. Not only is it a lovely memento of the day, but a link back to the family that surrounds this youngster with love.
Hopes, Dreams, and Advice Tree
This works best in outdoor venues with a small tree or well-placed bush. Obviously, it can be done indoors too. You can find some twigs and bind them together or get a small indoor tree. Each attendee writes a small note to your child and ties it to the branches of the tree. These messages can be advice or a hope or a dream for the child. You can read them out on the day as part of the ceremony and/or collect them together to give to your child on a significant birthday.
Sand Ceremony
A Sand Ceremony is a way of creating a physical symbol of togetherness. Each member of the family has a specific colour sand and one by one you take turns to add the sand to a larger container which you seal when full. The end result is quite striking, depending on your colours, and shows how family members can be individual people yet connected seamlessly as family.
Your Naming Ceremony will be written especially for you and your family. It may contain some of the above Micro Ceremonies or we may come up with some new ones together. However, you decide to do it, it is bound to be a joyous and unique ceremony just like your child.
Sarah x