Perfect baptism gift for 6 m/o?

[ihathi]

Hi there,

In a couple of weeks, my husband and I will be a part of our goddaughter's baptism ceremony.  We are really honored that the parents asked us to be godparents, but the truth is that we don't regularly go to church and we haven't baptized our own children. As such, we have no idea what would make a good gift or how to most appropriately contribute to the service. 

What makes this especially tricky is that it might be a little insincere for us to get something very "church-y" as we don't regularly attend church.

Any suggestions would be very, very much appreciated!

Kathy

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

My husband and I are in exactly the same boat - the baptism is tomorrow. My husband is a godparent (I'm a humanist - I was not asked LOL). DH is simply agnostic. I'm surprised they asked, but they are sure it's the right choice, and feel that while DH doesn't attend church, he is a great choice as a guiding figure in his nephew's life.

We have elected to go with a Savings Bond for the wee man. It's more useful than a trinket, and has no religious significance, but may be useful to him in the future. The other idea in the running was buying a goat or sheep etc. through World Vision or something similar.

[dejagerw]

We do savings bond, and then maybe something little like a religious board book or something along those lines.

[ihathi]

Okay, so then the savings bond idea isn't too... practical for something so... spiritual?  My mom actually made the same suggestion, but, well, she is a super-practical person, so I thought that others might find it tacky.  If it's appropriate, that would make this whole thing pretty easy.  I'd still want to do something personal also...  so I'm still open for suggestions there. 

What would be a good book other than the Bible?  I'm not opposed to the Bible, but our friends' families will undoubtedly already cover that--and they are actually practicing Christians so it seems more appropriate anyhow, right?

Perdita in Ontario, I'm glad to know that we're not the only agnostic godparents out there in the world.  The crazy thing about us is that this will actually be our *5th* godchild (gift-giving in the earlier baptisms was much easier as they were Mexican ceremonies and, therefore, very prescribed... In Mexico, the godparents are responsible for the clothes and these little candle sets... Very easy--you just pull out the credit card when the mom picks out what she likes...)  Anyhow, I hope you and your DH enjoy the baptism--at the end of the day, it really is a lovely way to share an experience and a bond with another family!

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

Thanks - it was a good day. It was very low-key - it's a tiny country Anglican church, and really WAS a "show up and smile" type thing. The parents themselves are "church on the big holidays" type people too ;).

Sadly, we didn't get much chance to see the baby! I was occupied with my 20-month-old during the service, and the wee babe was in his bucket seat throughout the service except for the little bit where he was blessed, and then fell asleep in his bucket seat on the way home from the church and slept in the bucket seat in a quiet corner throughout the two hour reception. So much for the baby fix I was trying to get ;)

Anyway the savings bond was well-received!

[ihathi]

Yeah!!  I guess these things often tend to be "show up and smile" events, don't they?  Hope you get lots of extra time and cuddles with the baby in the months and years to come...  (That's the part I like about the godparent-thing... It's like you have a life-long excuse to stay in touch with the little one... who later becomes a big kid... and later an adult!)

So glad to know that the savings bond idea is totally pass-able (another friend gave the idea the thumbs-up today, so I'm ready to run with that!)

Have a great week!

Kathy

[azzeps]

How nice that you are so thoughtful in your choice of gifts!  I think I would be tickled to get a savings bond for my DC's baptism.  Or a check earmarked for the college fund, or something.  Very nice and generous.  But I totally get your wanting to give something more sentimental, perhaps, for a spiritual occasion.  I have gifted both of my nieces (different parents) this baby blessing: http://www.ministryofthearts.org/servlet/the-969/Baby-Blessing/Detail

I think there is another one that is specific to baptism, but this one appealed more to me, not being a church-goer myself.