In addition to that fun birthday tradition, we have always tried to instill in our children a deep love and appreciation for their Faith, given to them at Baptism. For this reason, we love to celebrate their Baptism Day! This is the day they were truly born into a life of Faith in the Church and saved from sin and death - how could we NOT celebrate such an amazing beginning?!

With both our kids we were so privileged to have their baptisms about a week after they were born so we get to celebrate both days in close succession. It makes for a lot of fun, but it can be a bit of an overwhelming rush to plan if you’re not thinking ahead. I hope the things I share here can help bring greater thoughtfulness and intentionality to planning and honoring such a special day. Plus if you’re looking for an extra way to make it fun, check out our free Baptism Day Celebration Kit at the end of this post 😊

1. 📅 Does your child know their Baptism Date? Do you?

This is not meant to be a criticism of ANY kind - I didn’t learn my baptism date until I was almost 30! I was teaching middle school and I wanted to celebrate all my student’s baptism days, like we had been doing for our kids at home, and I thought, “Do I even know my own?” The answer was no! I had to ask my mom, who had to look it up 😆 Despite knowing the magnitude of what Baptism does for us, I had never thought to celebrate it until having my own children. So that’s step 1 - keep their baptism date (and your own) in your memory (or phone calendar haha) and talk about it as the most important day of their life. We have taken to calling it their BEST DAY EVER. Obviously their birth is a momentous occasion to be celebrated, but where would we be without the saving grace we get when we are baptized? Definitely a day worth remembering!

Just as a side note here, my grandma was a gifted cross-stitcher in her life and, despite not being Catholic, she understood the importance of this Sacrament, and made each of her grandkids something called a “Baptism Bell Pole”. It’s just a small piece of cross-stitch fabric (Aida cloth, for you crafters out there) with a golden hanger on the ends that says the child’s full name and their baptism date with a nice Bible verse, or something of the sort. She made one of these for all of her great grand kids as well, and it has a special place in each of their bedrooms. That bell pole is a daily reminder to my own children of just how special that day is.

2. 🎁 Consider a small, special gift

Birthday gifts can already be overwhelming to plan, purchase, wrap, etc. This shouldn’t be something grand or crazy, just a small faith-centered gift…Maybe a children’s Bible, prayer book, cross, rosary, patron saint medal, or another keepsake they can treasure. I think less is more in this case. Birthdays become the days where gifts are expected, which is totally fine, but this day isn’t meant to be another grand gift-giving day, but the intentionality is what counts!

I also love the idea of choosing something that can become connected to their faith journey or to the saint they are named after. It doesn’t have to be something they will use every day or even something they necessarily need. It can simply be a little reminder of their Baptism and of the people who love them and are praying for them as they grow in their relationship with Christ. Sometimes the simplest gifts end up becoming the things they treasure the most.

On our kids’ first Baptism days we bought them a Chews Life Rosary! As the years progressed we got them peg dolls of their patron saints, saint plushies, a rosary, a religious medal, a framed Scripture verse for their room, etc. I love that these gifts have varied from year to year. Some have been things they could immediately enjoy and use, while others have become little keepsakes that they can keep for years. It’s less about finding the “perfect” Baptism gift and more about taking a moment to intentionally mark the day and remind our children that their Baptism is something worth celebrating! Here are some links to special gifts we’ve purchased:

If you’re able to, return to the church where your child was baptized! There is something really special about bringing them back to the place where they were first welcomed into the Church. You can show them the baptismal font, tell them about the day they were baptized, and remind them that this is where they became a child of God. As they get older, they may not remember the details of their Baptism, but returning to that place each year can help make their Baptism feel like something real and personal to them—not just something that happened when they were a baby.

And if you’re able to go to Mass together on or around their Baptism anniversary, I think that is such a beautiful way to celebrate! Their Baptism was the beginning of their life in the Church, and coming together as a family to worship at Mass is such a natural way to continue celebrating that gift. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate or even happen at the exact same church every year. Just making the effort to attend Mass together and intentionally remind your child, “This is the day you became part of God’s family,” can make the day feel really special.

We have also found that these little traditions become more meaningful as the kids get older. When they’re little, you may be doing most of the remembering and explaining for them. But eventually, they start to recognize the church, remember their Baptism pictures, know their godparents, and understand why you make a big deal about this particular day. The goal isn’t to create another holiday that requires a lot of work—it’s simply to give our children a tangible way to remember and celebrate the incredible gift of their Baptism 🕊️

On birthdays we tend to take the kids to Chick-fil-A because it’s so delicious (am I right?) so on Baptism days we make them their favorite meal! This also doesn’t need to be elaborate...if their favorite meal is mac n’ cheese and hot dogs like my son’s, then go for it 🌭

I think there’s something really special about making the day feel different from an ordinary day, even if it’s in a very simple way. You don’t need to plan a fancy dinner or spend a lot of money. Just making their favorite meal or even setting the table a little differently can make the day feel like a celebration. The goal isn’t to create another event that takes hours of planning, but to create little traditions that help them recognize, “Hey, today is a special day!” And what better reason to celebrate than the day they became a child of God?

5. 🍰 CAKE! There has to be cake (or some kind of treat)!

Who doesn’t love a good birthday cake?? So if you’re of the same mindset, this should be a welcome suggestion! Now I will say, for as much as my family loves cake, I do try to mix it up a bit with the dessert we use for Baptism Days. Since my children’s baptisms were so close to their birthdays, a change of dessert is often welcome. We try brownies or ice cream instead, one year it was cheesecake! But the element that remains constant is the candle...We put one candle in their dessert to represent their baptismal candle and, as they’ve gotten older, we have a brief discussion about the light of Christ that they have within them.

I love this because it’s such a simple way to take something the kids already associate with celebrating and give it a deeper meaning. The candle becomes more than just something to blow out—it gives us an opportunity to talk about what actually happened on their Baptism day. We remind them that at Baptism, they were given new life in Christ and called to carry His light with them 🕯

When they were little, this conversation was obviously very simple. But as they get older, we can build on it and talk more about what it means to live as a Christian and to let Christ’s light shine through the way we treat others, pray, and make good choices. It’s a tiny tradition, but I love that the same little candle can become a reminder each year of the incredible gift they received at Baptism!

At the end of the day, celebrating your child’s Baptism doesn’t have to be complicated. A special meal, a candle, a return trip to church, a small gift — these simple traditions add up to something powerful: a child who grows up knowing, without a doubt, that their Baptism was a day worth celebrating.

🎉 Ready to celebrate their BEST DAY EVER?

If you’d love a little extra help pulling it all together, our free Baptism Day Mini Celebration Kit has you covered. Inside you’ll find a printable banner and party hats, a Baptismal Promises card and mini book so your family can renew those promises together, a coloring page and activity sheet full of Baptism-themed puzzles, and a “Happy Baptism Day to You!” card to make the day feel extra festive. It’s a simple, low-effort way to add more joy and meaning to the celebration — because this really is their BEST DAY EVER, and it deserves to be marked well!

Join and download your FREE Baptism Day Mini Celebration Kit »

It’s waiting for you in our free Catholic Creativity Corner library. Happy celebrating! 😄