Christening order of service template: how to make your baptism program in Canva, page by page, and get it printed in time
A christening order of service (a baptism program, in the US) runs to 8 pages for a stand-alone service and 12 if the baptism happens during Mass or the main Sunday service, and its page count is always a multiple of four, because one sheet folded in half gives four pages. The easiest route is a Canva or Word template, checked by your vicar, priest or celebrant, then printed at home, at a local print shop or by an online printer. Allow three weeks from first draft to the day, about ten days of it for printing if someone else does it.
Full disclosure up front: Looma Stories sells personalized books, but not orders of service. This guide is mostly about Canva, Word and printers; our book only turns up at the end, as one possible keepsake among others, once the booklet is done.
What goes in a christening order of service, page by page
The booklet has one main job: letting the congregation follow along, read the responses and sing without hunting for the words. Most churches will give you the order of the service, and the structure is broadly the same across traditions: welcome, readings, the baptism itself with the promises, prayers, the Lord's Prayer, and the sending out. The rest is yours to write.
- The cover: the child's name, the date, the church, perhaps a photo or a drawing. This is the page people keep.
- The welcome: a few lines from the parents thanking everyone for coming and saying why the day matters to you.
- The order of service: each step with its heading, who reads, and the words the congregation says or sings. No need to print what only the minister says.
- The readings: the reference and the full text if a family member reads, the reference alone otherwise.
- The prayers: the prayers of the people, often written by the parents, and the Lord's Prayer in full so everyone can join in.
- The hymns: chorus in bold, verses numbered.
- The godparents: a line introducing each one, and their part in the service, which in many churches includes the promises and the lighted candle.
- The last word: the invitation to the lunch or party, with the address.
For a non-religious ceremony, there is no set rite. In the UK, many councils offer a naming ceremony, which Nottingham City Council describes as a non-religious alternative to baptism; elsewhere, families simply hold their own welcome. The booklet then swaps readings and prayers for texts you choose (a poem, a letter to the child, a favourite passage) and the promises the supporting adults make. Keep the same shape: welcome, readings, promises, signing, last word.
The booklet at a glance
| Section | What to write | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Cover | Name, date, church or venue, photo or illustration | 1 page |
| Welcome | Thanks and a few words from the parents | 5 to 8 lines |
| Order and rites | Step headings, who reads, congregation responses | 2 to 3 pages |
| Readings or texts | Bible references, or a chosen poem or text for a naming ceremony | 1 to 2 pages |
| Prayers or promises | Prayers of the people, Lord's Prayer, or the supporting adults' promises | 1 page |
| Hymns or songs | Chorus in bold, verses numbered | 1 to 2 pages |
| Godparents | Their names, how they know the child, their part in the service | 3 to 5 lines |
| Back page | Thanks, invitation to the meal, address | 1 page or back cover |
How many pages, and why a multiple of four
A folded booklet is made from sheets folded in half: A4 folded to A5 in the UK, letter folded to half-letter in the US. Each sheet gives four pages, two on the front and two on the back. So a booklet has 4, 8, 12 or 16 pages, never 10. If your text lands on 10 pages, you have two options: tighten it to 8, or add two useful pages (a photo, the list of hymns) to reach 12. Avoid blank pages at the end, people notice them. A stand-alone christening nearly always fits in 8 pages; one during Mass or a Sunday service needs 12, sometimes 16 if you print every hymn in full.
Making it in Canva, step by step
Canva has ready-made booklet and order of service templates, most of them free to customise; some graphic elements are reserved for the paid plan, and a small icon marks them. The same templates work for the booklet guests hold during the service and for a souvenir version you send afterwards.
- The format: start from an A5 portrait document (5.5 x 8.5 in in the US), one Canva page per booklet page. It is easier to proofread than the landscape templates with two pages per side, and the printer or your print dialog will sort out the page order.
- The template: pick it for legibility, not ornament. A beautiful cover, then plain inside pages.
- The fonts: two at most, one for headings, one for text. 11 to 12 point minimum for text, 13 to 14 for hymns: grandparents read standing up, often in a dim church.
- The photo: just one, on the cover or the back page, in good resolution. A phone photo taken in daylight is fine, a screenshot from a messaging app is not.
- The margins: keep text at least 1 cm (half an inch) from the edge and from the centre fold.
- The export: download as "PDF Print", and tick crop marks and bleed if a background or photo runs to the edge of the page.
Rather stay offline? Word does the job too: in the page setup, the "Book fold" option puts the pages in the right order when you print. Google Docs has no such option: export to PDF, then choose "Booklet" printing in your PDF reader.
Where to print it, what it costs and how long it takes
- At home: the cheapest, a few tens of cents per booklet in paper and ink. Use 100 to 120 gsm paper, print double-sided flipping on the short edge, fold, and staple the spine with a long-reach stapler. Allow an evening for 40 booklets, and test one copy before you print the lot.
- At a local print shop: the sweet spot. Bring the PDF, they print, fold and staple in one to three days, typically a few tens of euros (or pounds, or dollars) for 40 to 60 colour copies, depending on paper.
- With an online printer: the nicest paper and the longest wait. Canva prints saddle-stitched booklets in a number of countries, 8 to 24 pages in multiples of four, in A5 or A4 in Europe and half-letter or letter in the US; allow one to two weeks for delivery depending on the option you pick. Other online printers offer similar formats and timings.
For quantities, count one booklet per couple or household, one per child who can read, plus about ten spares for the minister, the musicians and latecomers.
The timeline: three weeks before the christening
- Three weeks out: get the order of service from the church or celebrant, choose readings and hymns, and ask each reader if they are happy to read.
- 18 days out: lay out the booklet in Canva or Word, with the real text, not placeholders.
- Two weeks out: send the PDF to the vicar, priest or celebrant to check, and to someone who has never seen the text, for spelling.
- Ten days out: order the online print. With a local print shop, you can wait until five days out.
- Three days out: check one printed copy page by page, and count the booklets.
- On the day: hand them to someone who gives them out at the door.
The mistakes that come up most
- Misspelled names: the child's, but also the godparents', with every accent and hyphen. Ask them to confirm.
- Text too small: the 9 point that looks elegant on screen is unreadable standing in a church.
- The wrong page count: 10 or 14 pages force the printer to add blanks, or to reject the file.
- A booklet nobody checked: a reading or hymn the church did not plan, and everything has to be reprinted.
- A dark photo on a dark background: in print, it turns into a smudge. Go for a light background.
- Forgetting the date, the place or the name on the cover: that is exactly what you will reread in twenty years.
After the christening: the booklet, and the keepsake you read again
Let us be honest: the booklet does its job on the day. A few copies end up in the memory box, with the invitation and the cards, and that is as it should be. But a baby of a few months will not reread their order of service; what they will ask for at three or six is a story, ideally one where they are the hero and their godparents are right there beside them.
That is the keepsake many parents, and many godparents, look for afterwards. You can write it yourself, in Canva as it happens, with photos or drawings. You can also make it online: that is what we do.
FAQ: what parents ask
How many pages should a christening order of service have?
8 pages for a stand-alone christening, 12 for one during Mass or the main Sunday service, 16 if you print every hymn in full. Always a multiple of four, since one folded sheet gives four pages.
Do we have to have an order of service?
No. Many churches recommend one so guests can follow and sing, but a single sheet with the hymns and the Lord's Prayer does the job. For a naming ceremony, nothing is required.
Is Canva free for a baptism program?
Canva's booklet and order of service templates are free to customise. Some graphic elements are reserved for the paid plan; you can simply avoid or swap them. Printing, through Canva or elsewhere, is paid.
When should we print it?
Order online printing ten days before the christening, once the church or celebrant has checked it. A local print shop needs about five days, and at home you can print the night before, as long as you tested a copy earlier.
Where Looma fits
We do not make orders of service: Canva, Word and your local print shop are the right tools for that. What we make is the personalized christening book: a 36-page illustrated story where the child is the hero, drawn from a few real photos so the likeness holds page after page. Godparents, grandparents or the dog can join in, up to four other characters alongside the hero, each drawn from a photo. You pick a theme or write your own story idea, the story of the christening day, for instance.
The ebook costs 3.99 € and is paid up front; it is ready in about two hours. You then read the whole book, and you can edit every sentence and have any picture redrawn before the final version. The hardcover is an optional 24.99 € on top, with delivery priced at checkout, printed and delivered in 10 to 14 working days in Europe: to give it on the day, start it a month out, a week before the booklet. You can create the book here.