Seating plans for christenings, communions and family parties

The main table: the child, parents and godparents

At a First Communion the child is the guest of honour and sits at the main table, between or beside their parents, with brothers and sisters, godparents and grandparents. At a christening the baby stays with a parent, or in a pram beside them, at a table of parents, godparents and grandparents.

The Church of England usually asks for at least three godparents, while Catholic families normally have one or two. With four grandparents, the main table soon reaches 10 or 11 people. A 180 cm (about 6 ft) round seats 8 to 10, so put aunts, uncles and cousins at the tables alongside.

A children’s table within sight of the adults

A First Communion often brings cousins and classmates, and children enjoy eating together while the adults get a calmer meal. Put their table where it can be seen from the main table, away from the kitchen door and the staff’s route.

• An adult close by: a young aunt or uncle, the entertainer or parents at the next table.
• With more than 12 children, split the under-sixes from the communicant’s age group. Under-threes are better off with their parents, in a high chair.
• A rectangular table rather than a round one, because it is quicker to serve and fits more children.
• Children’s meals and allergies noted child by child.
• Close to the garden or play area, well away from any pool or road.

Grandparents and both sides of the family

Seat grandparents near the main table, with easy access to the toilets and away from the speakers if there is music or entertainment. If anyone uses a wheelchair, keep a table end free for them with room to pull up.

Mixing the mother’s and father’s families works where people already get on, such as aunts and uncles from both sides with children of similar ages. Where they don’t know each other, give each side its own table and add a mixed table of the parents’ friends, who often bridge the two.

Restaurant, home or hired hall

For 30 or 40 guests, tables of 6 to 8 make conversation easier and give you room to separate relatives who don’t get on.

Anniversaries, big birthdays and reunions

At a ruby or golden wedding anniversary or an 80th birthday, the guests of honour sit at the main table with their children and partners, the grandchildren get a table of their own nearby, and lifelong friends sit together.

Some families, particularly in Ireland, follow the Communion meal with an open house in the afternoon. Keep the seated meal for close family and godparents, and plan the open house as a buffet with loose seating.

Plan it in Seating Crowd

1. 1

   Pick a template

   “Dinner & gathering” is a shared table, good for a meal at home or a private dining room. “Wedding reception” has round tables and a featured spot that works as the main table. You can also start blank.

2. 2

   Import or create the list

   Upload your guest list as an Excel file (.xlsx or .xls) and say what each column is, or type the list into the app.

3. 3

   Add family and meal

   Columns such as “Family” (mother’s side, father’s side, friends) or “Meal” (adult, child, gluten-free), with a colour for each value.

4. 4

   Seat and check

   Drag each guest to a chair, colour the map by family to see whether the tables are balanced, and check the statistics for the number of children’s meals.

5. 5

   Send it to the venue

   Export the list to Excel with every guest’s seat.

For a lunch of 20 or 30 people

For a small group where you don’t need to draw the room, the free tools are enough. The seating chart generator splits a guest list into tables while keeping groups together, and you can print the result. The table calculator tells you how many tables you need, and the templates page has printable seating charts and an Excel guest list.