Celebrating Catholic Sacraments, Like a Boss

Y’all know me and parties. Like a bee to honey. For many of us, it’s sacrament season – baptism, First Communion or confirmation. The trifecta! This year, we’re celebrating confirmation (hooray!) and next year will be our fifth First Communion. I do so love inhaling holy oils. Sometimes, the joy of the day gets overshadowed by all the things we worry about. Here, I share my five best tips for loving the day, loving the people there to celebrate and loving your faith.

Keep the focus on the Sacrament. Whether you’re celebrating your child’s baptism, First Communion or confirmation, keep the focus there. On Jesus. It’s easy to get lost in the details, find yourself obsessing over the meal or worrying about who is wearing what. Don’t let the Devil of the details weigh you down. Instead, focus on the joy of the day. It helps you weather the unexpected stuff that happens, like say, when you catch a towel on fire in the microwave minutes before you walk out the door for a baptism. {cough cough} Just an example. When the crazy happens you’re a bit more prepared to handle it with grace. Most importantly, at the end of the day you’ll remember the memories shared, the beauty of the sacrament and the grace of Jesus more than you’ll remember what just got burned in the kitchen.

Find love in the details. For me, they really matter. The details are how I show people I love them. If they stress you out, find your love language and lean into it with no regrets! When I throw a shindig to celebrate a sacrament, my love can typically be found in desserts, well-thought out invitations and pretty flowers. It’s just how I roll. With my daughter’s First Communion, we took the ribbon design detail from our Minted invitations and echoed it throughout the day. This design is close to what we had!

For the baby’s baptism, I couldn’t have found a more perfect banner or party accessories than these.

And, for my son’s upcoming Confirmation, we knew these Minted invitations were a winner the second we saw them. #texasaggieproblems

If you’re a planner, like me, Minted is having a MASSIVE anniversary sale event site-wide (15% off including fine art!) 3/28/17-4/3/17, promo code NINE. I am always in awe of their quality, their selection and their customer service. You won’t be disappointed. If you’re on the hunt for beautiful sacrament invitations, start here.

Make photos a priority. We’re fortunate that our parish contracts with a great photographer so parents are focused on the sacrament, not their cell phone. Refreshing. The parish provides all the digital images to parents, free of charge, and uses money collected for sacrament preparation to compensate the photographer. I, for one, think that’s brilliant. Just look at these gems!

For baptisms, I’ve hired a friend to take photos and they have never disappointed. Best money I ever spent.

Thank the people that got you there. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, I believe it takes a village to properly prepare them for a sacrament. We don’t receive these graces alone. You can totally buy those people gifts (suggestions coming), but nothing beats a heartfelt, handwritten thank you note from either you or your child. Clare left love notes at the table for her First Communion guests and it was so perfectly her.

We typically give a gift to the Godparents for either baptism or First Communion. And, my gift of choice has always been a bowl from Clarey Clayworks. The kids received the one pictured below, but Anne also makes one that simply says “Godparent,” “Godmother,” or “Godfather.” It’s perfect for rosaries, loose change, saint medals or jewelry.

Make it a day worth celebrating. Y’all know I am a party lover. Maybe you’re not. Maybe they stress you out. I urge you to hire out (or get a friend or family member to volunteer) the things you don’t love and focus on the things you do. Remember, it’s less about how it all looks and more about how much love you put into the day. A sacrament is a BIG DEAL. Celebrate like it! Bust out the fine china, crank the music, open the doors and let the kids run around outside, stock up on sweets, buy some flowers, pop the cork and heat up the queso. Life is meant to be lived and I can’t imagine a more perfect day than a sacramental one.

Why are you still here? Get to planning that big day!

This post contains affiliate links.