Planning Your Child’s First Holy Communion Day

If you’re not a parent of a child making, or who has made, their First Holy Communion, you may think we’re bonkers writing a blog about Communions in January. After all, Communions are an early summer event, usually taking place in May. However, it is with good reason that we planned this blog post for January, although it now seems we could have written it even earlier!
The schools announce the dates for First Holy Communions towards the end of the winter term and, as soon as they do, many parents act immediately to secure the bookings they want for their child’s day the following summer. For this very reason, at Emma Slowe Children’s Entertainer, we’re fully booked for Communion’s for 2019! Unless, something drastic happens between now and May it is unlikely that we will be able to accommodate any more bookings for this year, which is something that we hate to have to say.
Emma Slowe Children’s Entertainer pride ourselves on our outstanding service and incredible fun delivered on the day whether it be for a birthday party, family get-together, or First Holy Communion. For that reason, we refuse to over-extend ourselves and put the quality of our events or our client’s satisfaction in jeopardy.
All that said, there’s a lot to think of when planning a First Holy Communion Day. Here are some of the things you should consider when planning a Communion for the first time. 

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1. What is your budget?

Whether you have a limited budget or a blank cheque, we always recommend you start with the child’s personality first and go from there. You can have a wonderful party on a small budget and a rubbish one on a large budget – it’s how you put your budget to work that counts. The little touches make a party what it is. So, put plenty of thought into your child’s First Holy Communion Day and it will be a day for the whole family to cherish forever.

1. Who’s invited?

The celebrations that go into a First Holy Communion Day have certainly changed since my day! Now, the whole family is usually invited, sometimes with family friends too. When you start adding up the numbers you can quite quickly arrive at the numbers you would expect at a small wedding, which is absolutely fine – if that’s what you want.
Just because a relation had a ginormous party to celebrate their child’s First Holy Communion does not mean that you have to follow suit. Think about your child first of all. Do they like the spotlight? Some children love being centre of attention while for other’s it’s just not their scene. It’s also one thing being centre of attention among close friends and family, but it can be different when half the village pours into your home.
Remember who the day is about and plan your celebration in accordance. The number of people you invite will affect your budget, so be conscious of this when doing up your invitations. At Emma Slowe Children’s Entertainer, our prices cater for up to 30 children, when there will be more in attendance the costs increase to ensure that we have enough adults to entertain and supervise everyone.

1. What’s to eat?

While eating out used to be a popular choice for a First Holy Communion Day, it is now more common for families to arrange for a caterer to deliver food to the house on the morning of the event. Or, when there is a venue involved, they may provide the food as part of the package.
If you plan on preparing the food yourself, make it easy on yourself – opt for dishes that require minimal preparation and that can be made ahead of time and stored away until everyone is ready to eat. If you are having a large number of guests, don’t try to seat everyone, a buffet style arrangement will work better. Guests can help themselves as and when they’re hungry, they can mingle and chat rather than feeling that they must stay in the one spot.
When it comes to the kids, have child-friendly options to allow for the picky eaters among them. Try not to over-stuff them with sweets and fizzy drinks, as they will already be quite hyper with all the excitement of the day. Remember, too, the boy or girl of the hour will most probably be wearing white, so avoid anything that could result in dreadful stains of one colour or another.

1. What type of entertainment should you have?

Your options are endless when it comes to entertaining the whole family. Hopefully, we will have another wonderful summer this year, on a fine day it makes a world of sense to get out into the garden and utilise every square inch of your home.
We bring along a DJ and PA system so that everyone can dance and have fun. We also provide face painting, large outdoor games such as Jenga and Connect Four and balloon modelling. You could also opt for a bouncy castle, pinatas, a clown or puppeteer.
Different companies provide different options. At Emma Slowe Children’s Entertainer will be happy to create a day with the various elements you’d like included built around your budget.

1. Do you want a professional photographer present?

A child’s First Holy Communion is a great opportunity to get lovely photos of the whole family dressed up and looking good. Many families like to book a photographer to come along and take some photos of everyone enjoying themselves. In a world where photos end up on devices and never get printed, I think this is a good idea as it creates some lovely memories to look back on in years to come.
If you are one of the lucky ones who have secured us for your upcoming Communion Day, high-five! We can’t wait! If you hoped to book us to entertain at your child’s Communion Day this May but haven’t made contact just yet, although cancellations are rare for this type of event, we will be taking names for a cancellation list – just in case. So, drop us an email here.