Can you call me a godmother if there’s no christening?

Last year, one of my closest friends asked me to be the godmother to her newborn daughter. Of course, I said yes and was so excited! She even referred to me as the baby’s godmother when talking to her little one. At the time, she mentioned the christening would happen in the spring or early summer.

I gave her daughter a Christmas gift that year, feeling proud to take on the role. But as time went on, no christening ever happened. Recently, she told me they decided against having one altogether. I’ve also noticed I haven’t been invited to the child’s first birthday or anything similar—something I usually am with my other godchildren.

Here’s where I’m stuck: I only give gifts like birthday or Christmas presents to my official godchildren. So now I’m unsure how to handle things moving forward. Am I expected to keep giving gifts, even though I’m technically not her godmother because there was no christening?

On top of that, she has two kids, and it feels strange to give to the youngest and not the oldest if I’m not officially a godparent to either. I feel like I need to talk to her about it, but honestly, it’s a bit of a sensitive topic for me. It stung to be asked to take on such a meaningful role, only for it to never really happen.

Would you call someone a godparent if there’s no actual christening? Has anyone else been in a similar situation? I just wanted to vent and hear what others think about this kind of thing. 🙈