birthday party and baptism together?

[Anonymous]

Please help me make some sense of what seems like a good idea, because I am overwhelmed by too many choices.

We have chosen to baptize DD on her first birthday. We had already planned a birthday party for that day, so family and friends already plan to be with us. Now I can't figure out how to separate or combine the two events.

If I had enough space, I would just have everyone over to my home after the baptism for lunch/birthday cake. But I live in an apartment and can't accomodate enough people. We had planned to having the birthday party in a park nearby our home, so I could still do that after the baptism: come to the baptism, then the park for lunch/birthday cake.
And for those that I don't want to invite to the baptism, I could still ask them to join us at the park at X time for a birthday party.
I also know that some out-of-town family members will say they will want to hit the road as soon after the baptism as possible, so they may not be happy to have another obligation after the baptism... not that I mind. They party will be there for those that want to attend.

Have you ever combined these events? What can you advise me? Am I wrong to want to combine these (important) events for logistical ease?

Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous]

I combined a baptism with an important family event celebration last year. I invited those that I wanted to the baptism and then had an additional guest list for the family event. It worked out well for us. Looking back on it, I really like that we did them both together. There are some people that would not have come to the family event had we not had the baptism the same day and I was really glad for them to be there.