For many Catholics it is natural to celebrate Communion, but for non-Catholics, or Catholics who ultimately want their children to choose their faith, there is something different nowadays. The Spring Festival. I am happy to explain to you what the Spring Festival is like and you will also find plenty of inspiration here.
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The Spring Festival is a celebration that you celebrate when your child transitions from kindergarten to primary school. When 6-year-olds go from group 2 to group 3, they normally also have their first communion. But because increasingly larger groups of children do not take communion and parents still want to celebrate the growing up, the Spring Festival is a great alternative.
Some schools are already participating in a joint celebration of the Spring Festival, but it has not yet made its way everywhere as a possible replacement for Communion.
Anyone who, as a result of the above information, thinks that the Spring Festival is just a party to provide a child with the necessary gifts, is completely wrong. The Spring Festival also has a number of important values.
You don't just celebrate that your child is making a step in his or her world of thinking. No, you also consider the connection between people and teach your child the value of human rights and mutual respect. Without involving faith.
I like it.
My children are a while past the age of First Communion, but I would have loved to celebrate a Spring Festival with them at the time. Not only because of the party, but also the associated norms and values.
Anyway, are you considering a Spring Party for your child? Then you will find the necessary inspiration below. A Spring Festival can be celebrated from small to large.
Invitations are part of a party, right? You can make these yourself, but for these kinds of parties you often see that professional invitations are made. Usually with your child in the foreground. For example with a nice portrait photo. Of course you can make them digitally yourself and have them printed. You still have the shape in your hand, but it all looks a bit slicker.
If you choose a specific theme (see below), keep the invitations in style.
Let's start with the clothes. Celebrating the Spring Festival varies from person to person. Where there are some kind of guidelines for the clothing at a communion, this is not the case at a Spring Festival. Yet it is true that there are many parents who would like to unpack during this party. A lot of money is spent in particular on clothing for daughters. And what daughter wouldn't want that? But you can also score very nicely for a little less money, just look at these dresses.
A princess dress type like the one above is a much-chosen dress at the festival that is celebrated around Spring or Communion.
Often a spring party is cast in a certain theme. Just like with a fun children's party or a smash cake, you can choose a theme such as princesses or pirates, but you can also choose certain color combinations. Or you can combine both.
Personally, I am more into celebrating parties at home, but there are plenty of people who prefer to rent a room where a lot of the arranging work is already taken off your hands. Likewise during a Spring Festival or Communion. Easy in itself of course, but I also like the charm of celebrating at home. For example, we also celebrated our wedding at home. With a large party tent 3×6 and nice decoration, we have created a cozy shelter for the whole day. Admittedly, you have the necessary mess afterwards, but it is very intimate and atmospheric.
This choice is also very personal. But if you opt for a beautiful dress, it might also be nice to pay some extra attention to the hairstyle for the Spring Festival. Not only with your child, but perhaps also with yourself. In any case, it is a good reason to plan a pampering day with your daughter, right?
What you often see during a communion is that a full photo shoot is also organized. You can of course also do this during the Spring Festival if you wish. If you don't want to worry too much about the shoot on that day, it might be better to do the photo shoot in advance (in a beautiful dress and with matching haircut), so that you can already use these photos for the invitations, for example. Also handy, right?
One gives a smartphone to his or her child, the other is going to start a restyling of the nursery as a gift. Which gift you think is suitable for the Spring Festival is again a personal choice. In any case, choose something that you know will make your child happy. A beautiful piece of jewelry can also be very special.
Are you going 'all the way' during the organization of your Spring Festival, with exclusive invitations, a cake, lots of gifts, food and even bubbles? Or are you looking for a nice BBQ with friends and family. It's all up to you. If you celebrate this fantastic party at home, don't forget to buy a party tent. Unfortunately, we have no guarantee for good weather in the Netherlands 😉 .
What are you doing? Would you replace communion with a Spring Feast? Or as a non-Communion-goer want to celebrate this party instead?