Christening party ideas: games and activities for adult guests

The best christening party ideas are simple: a long lunch that drifts pleasantly into the afternoon, grandparents laughing, cousins catching up. Unlike a wedding, the star of the day is a baby or a young child, and most guests are adults who only see each other at big family occasions. Below are christening party games for adults, ideas for a first communion or a baptism celebration, and a few simple rules about photos.

What makes a christening party different

Three things shape your choices.

• The service comes first. Church, chapel or a naming ceremony: the games start afterwards. During the service, phones stay in pockets unless the parents have asked someone to take photos.
• A very wide crowd. Great-grandparents, godparents, the parents' friends, colleagues, children of every age. You need games that suit 80-year-olds and 25-year-olds alike, and that can be played sitting down.
• Children everywhere, but not as subjects. The children are there and play among themselves. The grown-ups' games should never turn them into photo models.

10 christening party ideas

Games around the godparents

1. The godparent quiz. Ten questions about them: how they met the parents, their favourite dish, their worst holiday memory. Tables play as teams.
2. The godparents' promises. The godparents read out a few light, heartfelt promises to their godchild: teaching them to ride a bike, keeping their secrets, always being there.
3. The advice book. Every guest writes a piece of life advice for the child, to be opened on their 18th birthday.

Christening party games for adults

4. The family quiz. Who married first? Who lives furthest away? Questions that mix both sides of the family and get conversations going.
5. Predictions. Each guest guesses the child's first word, future favourite food, the city they'll live in. Keep the cards and read them again in a few years.
6. Grown-up photo challenges. Prompts that get guests out of their seats and talking across tables. See the selection below.
7. Garden games. Croquet, giant Jenga or pétanque on the lawn while the coffee is served.

Keepsakes from the day

8. The fingerprint tree. A drawing of a tree where each guest adds a fingerprint leaf and signs it. It ends up on the child's bedroom wall.
9. The time capsule. A box where everyone slips in a letter, a small object or a photo from the day, to be opened years later.
10. The day's newspaper. A few headlines from the day the child was born or christened, printed and left on the tables.

First communion party ideas

A first communion celebrates an older child, who often has friends of their own at the party. Two crowds share the day: the children, who play together (garden games, a treasure hunt run by an adult), and the adults, who stay at the table for a long time.

For the grown-ups, the christening ideas work just as well: family quiz, advice book, photo challenges between adults. To make the child feel at the centre without being put on show, let them take part in what they enjoy: choosing the quiz questions, reading out the advice, blowing out the candles on the cake.

Gentle photo challenges for adult guests

A photo challenge keeps adults busy between courses with no preparation. A prompt lands on everyone's phone, guests have a few minutes to take the shot, then see each other's photos. These prompts from our catalogue suit a christening or a communion, all aimed at the adults, the tables and the venue:

• "Your whole table, everybody smiling"
• "A photo with the whole table next to yours"
• "A photo with someone from the same region as you"
• "The godparents raising a glass together"
• "All the grandparents here, together in one photo"
• "Your favourite decoration detail"
• "The most beautiful spot at the venue"
• "The dessert table, just before the rush"
• "A group hug with your whole table"

More prompts, sorted by moment, in our photo challenge ideas.

Photos of children: one simple rule

A christening or a communion means children everywhere. The rule fits in a sentence: don't photograph other people's children without their parents' agreement, and don't post anything about them without it. The French data protection authority, the CNIL, advises favouring private sharing over social networks and asking before posting a child's photo. In France, a law of 19 February 2024 reinforced children's image rights; wherever you celebrate, the courtesy is the same.

In practice:

• tell guests on arrival how photos will be shared (a private album rather than social media);
• let the child's parents decide about photos of their own child;
• choose photo games aimed at adults, tables and decorations, never at children.

Mistakes to avoid

• Games during the service. Everything starts at the reception, not before.
• Games that drag on. A christening lunch is long already. Prefer short games spread between courses.
• Games that put children on show. No cutest baby photo contest, no challenge that makes a child pose.
• Forgetting the oldest guests. Plan games that can be played seated, and someone to help grandparents with their phones.

For more ways to get both sides of the family talking, see our guide to mixing guests who don't know each other, and for classic table games, our 30 games for guests.

Clinkpop for your celebration

You set up your christening or communion in a few minutes. Guests scan a QR code and play in their browser, with nothing to install. Photo challenges land at surprise times during the meal, everyone sees the others' photos once they've sent their own, and you go home with the album of the day. Our challenges never target children, any guest can remove their photo at any time, and photos are never reused.

Frequently asked questions

What do you do at a christening party?

Usually a long lunch or afternoon tea after the service, with the cake, a few words from the godparents and time for the family to catch up. Short activities between courses (a godparent quiz, an advice book, gentle photo challenges) keep the adults entertained without taking over the day.

What games can adults play at a christening?

A family quiz, predictions about the child's future, photo challenges such as your whole table smiling or all the grandparents together, and garden games like croquet. They mix both families without putting anyone on the spot.

How do you entertain guests at a christening without children being the focus?

Aim the games at the grown-ups, the tables and the venue. Keep a separate space with toys or games for the children, supervised by an adult, and let the parents decide about any photos of their child.

Can guests take photos of children at a christening?

Parents decide for their own children. Don't photograph other people's children without their parents' agreement, and don't post anything without it. A private album shared only with guests is safer than social media.