How to Plan a Ceremony for New Mothers

A Mother Blessing Ceremony is an intimate gathering of a mother-to-be's nearest and dearest. It is intended to show support for the mother and remind her that she is not alone when she births her child. A Mother Blessing Ceremony is not a religious party, though it is spiritual. It is appropriate for any woman who is near birth.

One important thing to remember with a Mother Blessing Ceremony is to not OVER PLAN it. While it might be tempting to have everything perfectly organized and ready to go with charts and timelines, it will be most powerful if the Mother Blessing Ceremony flows on its own.

Here are some tips and resources to help you plan a Mother Blessing Ceremony:

1) Read up on Mother Blessing Ceremonies and Blessingways. Start by reading my explanation here. Know what Mother Blessing Ceremonies and Blessingways are all about. Decide which parts you are interested in partaking in.

Remember, you can adapt the activities and rituals to better fit your party. Examples of activities include making a birthing necklace, creating a Mother Blessing Ceremony/Blessingway scrapbook for the mom, and doing hair brushing (take turns brushing the mom's hair).

Resources:

• Good information on activities can be found at Preggie Peggy.
• An example of a successful Blessingway can be found at Mothering.
• Great tips can be found here.

2) Plan the guest list. Invite a small group of the mother-to-be's nearest and dearest to the Mother Blessing Ceremony. If you aren't sure who to invite, ask her for the list. Choose meaningful invitations that convey the message that this is about the woman becoming mother. For one I threw, I used blank cards and pasted a description on one side of the inside and the invite on the other. Send the invites 3-4 weeks before the party.

3) Get down to the nitty gritty. Ultimately, planning a Mother Blessing Ceremony or Blessingway is no different than planning any other party. You have the same basic parts: choose a location, get the guest list ready, send invites, plan the party. The most significant difference is that you are planning things to empower the mother-to-bed, rather than planning fun but silly games like who can identify the most objects in a bag.

In any case, decide on what activities you will be having at the Mother Blessing Ceremony. Plan the food (remember, this is centered around the mom so choose things she loves to eat). Buy the supplies. Also, consider how you want to decorate. Using just a few candles around is a nice way to go. This is not the time to over decorate.

4) Don't sweat the little things. On the day of the party, if things don't go according to your plan, that's okay! Just let things flow naturally. Accept that things may not be how you imagined - they may be better. And ultimately, make sure the mother to be enjoys herself at the Mother Blessing Ceremony.