For any child going to a Roman Catholic school making your first holy communion is a big deal. I made mine in what is now year 2, whereas these days it tends to be Year 3, I think because of the Year 2 SATs. H has spent a big chuck of this year preparing for the big day. In fact, at times I’ve felt it has been overdone and H has complained that he hasn’t done enough of the subjects he’s interested in this year.
Through the year they’ve been working in class on some special silver books. H brought in some special pens from home to help make it as good as possible. His handwriting seemed to be better in this book than in his normal exercise books. It’s been seen as very special. The books were brought to the church and taken up as part of the offertery and I think we’ll get them to take home soon.
Earlier in the year he made his first confession at the church associated with his school. A lot of time and effort went into preparing for that and everything went off well. As you’d expect the same amount of care (if not more) went into the first communion preparation. Nothing was left to chance. The children practised with unconsecrated hosts to eat and even tried a little communion wine in advance. H came out of school one day saying that he’d had ‘children’s wine’ – I’m not clear what this was, but I’m guessing either grape juice or a non-alcoholic wine.
Everything went off without a hitch for the big day itself. There were a few stressful minutes when H wasn’t cooperating about getting dressed – I’d left it to the last minute to avoid spills and creases, but I’d expected him to be excited and want to help. It turns out he wasn’t that keen on wearing the tie and the sash or a shirt done up to the top.
H had a great day and read very clearly during the mass. Very proud of my boy.
So any tips for parents getting their boys ready for first communions in the future?
- We dressed H in some brand new school uniform. I’d recommend getting this well in advance, even the previous September. Finding the right size of school uniform mid year can be tricky. I bought a set of 4 trousers earlier in the year and put one pair aside for this occasion, so they were brand new on. I wasn’t so organised with the shirt though and had problems as I tried a couple of stores with no luck in his size. A good place to look for school uniform items mid year is a specialist school shop – I’d only used these for buying school branded items before, but they usually stock a comprehensive range of sizes of plain shirts and trousers through the year.
- If you want a sash pin, I’d order online in advance. We didn’t bother, but a friend tried to get one a week before and even the cathedral shop didn’t stock them.
- The sash can be fastened with a safety pin easily enough and you can hide the workings behind the sash. It’s a good idea to fasten the sash to the boy’s clothes too. Being made of silky material, they have a tendancy to slip off, so pinning the sash to the shoulder is a help. Pinning to the trousers too will make sure of the sash not moving, but remember to unpin later as it might cause problems when they want to go to the loo.
- Our school provided the sash and tie. The sash was on a free loan and the tie was £5 I think. It has the year embroidered onto it, which is a bit of a pain if you want to wear it again or hand it down the family.
Some really good tips – finding school uniform out of season can be really hard!
When it comes to their First Holy Communion, I have to say I’m glad I had a boy making his and not a girl – it was almost a contest for the girls in their white dresses! Some mums got together and arranged the ties/sashes for our boys, and I still have my son’s in a box with his Baptism outfit. God bless to you and your son on his big day!
I am totally with you on that one Michelle. A lot of the mums of boys in the playground have said the same.
Aww congratulations H!
As a non-Catholic I found this really interesting, I never really understood what happens at a first communion, so thanks for explaining it. It’s not something I ever felt I could ask for some reason!
Your son looks beautiful on his special day, you must have been so proud.
This was really interesting, I have learnt something. I’m not of any religion but I visit many churches and like to learn about both CofE and Catholic customs.
The husbeasts family are all RC and so is my best friend. Her year 3 boy is having his in three weeks time and he is really excited. He looks so proud
aw congratulations on the communion, i asked my children if they wanted to be christened and they said they dont want to just yet, i am waiting on them to decide if they want it x
Ahh a big well done to H as it must have been a bit nerve wracking building up to it. I can imagine Z not wanting to get dressed too but I would have done exactly the same and delayed that bit to the last minute. Must feel like a big milestone!
What a fantastic sounding day and so important for young Catholics.
I can remember making my own, and although we have chosen not to do this with our children, I do remember it as a very special day and I’m glad that H’s day went well. Great tips on preparing as well x
I’m intrigued about the children’s wine! He looks very smart in his clothes – well done you for being so organised.
I attended many of these as a child as I went to a Catholic school, H looks so proud
Lovely photos, it sounds like a lot of hard work in the preparation #SSAA
Aww congratulations to H, what a lovely post and what a great boy he is xx
I’m glad everything went well. He looks lovely 🙂
Your son looks gorgeous in his outift, I’m pleased it all went so well.
bless him he’s look great xx
Well done H
You must be very proud of H – and rightly so. He looks so grown up. Congratulations to him and thank you for linking to #PoCoLo x
This is going to be us in a few years! My son is studying in a catholic school and this post made me excited! So helpful =) #pocolo
that’s so interesting to read as a non RC. I remember getting confirmed to this day. It sounds like it really was a #magicmoments
Congratulations – he looks very smart. I remember my first Holy Communion well- I wore all white including a veil.
Awww lovely! He looks very smart. We’ve had lots of first communions recently.
He looks so grown up there, I have watched him grow from such a young boy it brings a tear to my eye to see him here so grown up and clear in his beliefs.
H looks very smart for his big day. I’m glad it went well. I never did the communion but my step-sister did and I remember there was a lot of fuss about the right dress. It feels like a sash and tie is much more simple. Great tips too.
Thanks for linking up with Small Steps Amazing Achievements :0)
x
Lovely post – he looks so smart. Kaz x