Baptism - Fort Sheridan,IL

my only suggestion is that you do something easy. If your not in the cooking mode them maybe order italian beef from somewhere (we have portillo's in illinois best ever) throw it in the crock pot before you leave and serve it with chips and dips and maybe veggie trays. that always go so smooth for us. the lasagna another poster suggested is good if you have someone who can put it in the oven for you so its hot when you get home. sliced ham and turkey and cheeses and different breads are a big hit too. people can make the kind of sandwich they want that with stuff like potato salad is easy to pull out no muss no fuss. good luck

I have had all my kids baptisms and 2 Communions so far at a restaurant so I can't help too much in the way of food ideas. For my daughters Communion I made cross shaped chocolate lolli-pops for all the guests. I bought the molds at Hobby Lobby and the melting wafers in different colors. It was really easy once you got a system down. Fot my son's Communion, I made cross shaped sugar cookies (got a cookie cutter on-line) on a stick and made colored icing to decorate them. I attached a small tag with their name, the event and the date. I used the lolli-pops and the cookies as part of the table centerpieces and as each guest left, I told them to take a chocolate/cookie. Both the cookies and the chocolates were a hit.

I got a cake in the shape of a cross for our kids' Baptism. Big arrangements of white lilies looked awesome on the table, white tablecloth. We served slices of roasted meat, laid out good bread and some spreads, a big salad, cheeses, and a huge fruit salad, since that was all the kids wanted to eat. We let everyone just serve themselves buffet style.

I just went more for the white clean look instead of a lot of religious decor, that's just me. One thing I did do afterward that people loved - I put a couple of wallet-size photos of the Baptism in my thank-you cards. :)

For my daughter I made 4 lasagnas from scratch with Garlic Bread and Caesar salad with purple, pink, and white decorations I got at Party City. For my son we did Dunkin' Donuts donut munchkins and coffee beforehand and then after we did Pizza Hut pizzas, breadsticks, and pastas. Make sure you get the BIG pasta serving as it looks larger than it really is. We did white and baby blue decorations from Party City.

Ice cream cake or make your own sundee bar is always a hit......much prefered to the traditional cake.

I have a 3 year old and a 1 year old and so far I have had all birthday parties and baptism parties at my house. You didn't say if you have a girl or a boy.

For a girl, I decorated for my girl's first birthday with tons of Gerbera daisies (I bought them in bulk online and used the tons of vases that I own) in a bunch of different bright colors. The theme was really the flowers and colors. I baked the cake myself and decorated it with polka dots and used food dye to color the dots colors from the flowers. I also baked a batch of cupcakes and used the different color frostings on the cupcakes for more dots. I also went to Party City after the flowers arrived and took one of each color and found balloon colors that matched as well. It was really very simple and it turned out super cute. I had a photographer come in to take family shots and the flowers worked great as props. This would work for a baptism too, I would think. I usually have birthday parties early in the afternoon, so I have lunch type foods. I live close to Caputo's and they do great party trays. For my daughter's 3rd birthday we let her pick the food and she chose to have it catered by Pollo Campero (fried chicken, black beans and rice and plantains) and they did a very nice job. For my son's first birthday I cooked a spiral ham and put out sandwich fixings. I usually make Chex Mix and put out extra pretzels as well. I almost always have a veggie and a fruit tray.

For both of my kids baptisms I didn't do much as far as decorating. I got white table clothes. I had purchased the flowers for the church service, so I brought them home with me for centerpieces on the tables. I got a small number of white balloons to hang outside. Our church service is early in the morning, so we had brunch foods and I didn't have a lot of time to prepare the house or food. I premade an egg and a french toast casserole the night before so I just had to put them in the oven when we got home. I purchased bagels and cream cheese from Great American Bagel (I love their cream cheeses) and I purchased a fruit and dip tray from the grocery store.

Good Luck,
D.

We did Italian beef for one, a large sub sandwich for another. Keep it simple. Not much in the way of decorations. The cake was from Jewel and said "God Bless (Baby's name)" with a cross and flowers on it.