What should you serve after the christening?
Serve proper lunch. Not tiny bites only. A christening usually has church first, photos, then everyone arrives half polite and half starving. By the time the baby has been kissed by every ouma, people want real food.
I would build the menu around one hot main, two salads, bread, and a small dessert table. Not twelve dishes. Twelve dishes is how hosts start sweating near the urn.
My blunt opinion: sushi at a christening lunch is usually a waste unless your crowd is that crowd. Put the money into a good roast, curry, or baked pasta and nobody will complain.
In a school hall or estate clubhouse, I always notice the same thing: one parent stands near the baby gifts holding a half cup of tea for forty minutes because there is nowhere safe to put it down. Add a small drinks station away from the gift table. Ag, small thing, but it helps.
- One hot main that suits most guests
- One vegetarian dish that is not an afterthought
- Two salads, one creamy and one fresh
- Rolls or roosterkoek, because people use bread to rescue dry food
- Tea, coffee, juice, water, and one decent dessert
The menu that works in South Africa
For the main table, book Caterers if you are feeding more than about 25 adults. Proper vendors for a christening lunch can land around R220 - R420 per adult, more if you want plated service, staff, and dessert included. This is where the budget goes. Better that than your cousin trying to keep chicken warm in three foil trays.
| Course | What I would serve |
|---|---|
| Main | Roast chicken with gravy, lamb bredie, or mild butter chicken |
| Vegetarian | Spinach and feta pasta bake or chickpea curry |
| Salads | Potato salad plus Greek salad with proper feta |
| Sweet table | Mini cupcakes, koeksisters, fruit, and a christening cake |
Good extras: koeksisters from a padstal on the N4 if someone is driving in, samoosas from a Durban Indian deli if your family likes a savoury bite, boerie bites from a proper butchery, and mini cupcakes from an Instagram baker who has photos of real orders, not only mockups. Checkers cake counter is fine for backup cake slices, not for the main cake if photos matter.
A sweet table, but not a circus
I like a soft sweet table for a christening. White cake, pale biscuits, fruit, and one small fun thing for the children. If you hire a little sweet cart, keep it neat. Candy Cart hire can be lovely at R3,500 - R8,000 depending on styling, sweets, delivery, and setup. It makes the dessert corner feel special without dragging in loud entertainment.
Most People Forget
Guests care more about
- Food served before everyone gets irritable
- Enough chairs for older family
- Tea that is hot and easy to reach
Than
- Five matching dessert labels
- Imported sweets nobody knows
- A menu card for every place setting
Small embarrassment, since I am trying to help properly: I once called a christening cake a wedding cake in front of the grandmother. She corrected me quickly. Fair enough. These things matter to families, even if the icing looks the same from far.
Feed the family first, then worry about the pretty table.
Uncle Gert
Simple timing for the feast
| After church | Serve juice, tea, and one small savoury snack |
|---|---|
| 30 minutes later | Open the main buffet before speeches drag |
| After cake photos | Dessert table and coffee |
Do you need a plated meal?
No. A good buffet is easier for family, children, and late arrivals.
Should there be alcohol?
Keep it light if you serve it. Wine and beer are enough for most christening lunches.
How much dessert is enough?
Cake plus two small sweet options is enough. People nibble, they do not need a bakery tour.
Choose the main meal, book the caterer, confirm numbers, and stop adding things because WhatsApp aunties suggested them. Warm food, enough chairs, cake, tea. That is the christening feast.
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