Christenings · Ottawa
A christening lunch for 30 comes to $1,305 at the starting price with delivery and the build at home or in the hall, plus applicable taxes; hot dishes are quoted beside it. How it is priced
A christening, a baptism or a first communion usually ends at a table: the family comes back from the church with grandparents, godparents and a baby who has had a long morning, and somebody has to have lunch ready. OH! composes that lunch at home or in the church hall before you arrive, for roughly 12 to 50 guests, with hot dishes on request and the prices published on this page.
AI-generated illustration.
The OH! approach
A christening lunch by guest count
| Guests | Food for the lunch (300–400 g per guest) | From, with delivery, plus applicable taxes | As the full meal, plus delivery |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | 6–8 kg | $885 | $1,300 |
| 30 | 9–12 kg | $1,305 | $1,950 |
| 40 | 12–16 kg | $1,725 | $2,600 |
The service sets the clock. Tell us when it starts and roughly when the family will be back, and the on-site build, which takes 45 to 90 minutes, is timed to finish before the first car pulls in. A late-morning service usually means lunch soon after noon, an afternoon one means a later, lighter table, and the menu is weighted for whichever you have.
Great-grandparents, godparents, cousins, small children and the baby at the centre of it: a christening lunch feeds every age at once. Recognisable food stays generous at the near end of the table, soft and easy items sit within reach of the older guests who will be seated, small portions suit a child’s hand, and the more assertive flavours go further along. Every item carries a card with its plain name first.
A late-morning lunch suits the morning table: bakery, fruit, something savoury with substance and a sweet finish, and our brunch catering page carries that format in full. An afternoon gathering suits a grazing table with substantial savoury pieces. Where the family expects a hot plate, hot dishes are quoted beside the table: our hot buffet page lists the ones OH! has cooked and sold so far, and any other dish you name gets a plain answer about whether we can cook it for your date.
A christening cake usually comes from a bakery or a family kitchen, and the sweet side of the table is planned to sit beside it, with clear space kept where it will stand. The table will be photographed with the baby in front of it, so the build keeps the colour light and quiet, the height at the back, the edges clean and the cards legible in a photograph.
A church hall often comes with an urn, a kitchen with its own rules and a booking block that fixes the setup and the pack-down, and some halls ask everyone working in them for paperwork. OH! has no liability policy in its own name today, so a hall that insists on a certificate of insurance is one to name in your first message; we confirm the hall’s rules before quoting. At home, the build goes on the dining table or the island, and the kitchen stays yours.
A baptism at any age and a first communion lunch run on the same format and the same figures. Spring weekends are when first communion dates gather, so hold yours as soon as the parish sets the date; a 30% deposit and a signed quote do that.
A christening lunch is priced like every table: from $42 per guest for the food and the styled build, $45 for delivery and on-site styling within 25 km, and a $600 event minimum, plus applicable taxes. As the family’s lunch it plans as the meal, which puts it towards the top of the $42–$65 per guest range. A small family lunch under 15 guests is quoted at the minimum, and hot dishes are quoted per event on their own line.
The parish usually fixes the date weeks ahead, which suits a booking: two to four weeks is comfortable, and the final guest count is due 7 days before, once the replies are in. Enquiries are usually answered within an hour, and always within one business day.
The terms, in brief
Questions, answered
From $1,260 for thirty christening guests — $42 per guest for the food and the styled build — and $1,305 once the $45 delivery and on-site styling within 25 km is added, plus applicable taxes. As the full lunch, the same thirty sit at the top of the $42–$65 per guest range, $1,950 plus delivery, and hot dishes are quoted on their own line.
300 to 400 g and ten to fourteen pieces per guest where the table is the lunch, so 9–12 kg and 300–420 pieces for thirty over two hours. Older guests eat seated and children eat early, so the soft, familiar items go within easy reach and a second wave is held back for the cake.
45 to 90 minutes is what the on-site build takes, so the hall’s booking has to open that long before the family arrives. Many church halls rent in fixed blocks with their own rules about outside food, and we confirm both with the hall before quoting; where a hall asks for a certificate of insurance, OH! cannot provide one today, so name the hall in your first message.
Yes, at the same $42 per guest starting price and the same $600 event minimum: a baptism at any age and a first communion lunch run on the format this page describes. Tell us the time of the service and the room, and the quote comes back with the timing written in.
Share dietary preferences and allergy information when you enquire. We plan suitable choices and label the table clearly. For severe or life-threatening allergies we talk through cross-contact before you book, and we cannot guarantee allergen-free preparation on a shared table.
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