Entertaining Children at a Wedding
Lacey |
Thoughtfully composed by Lacey Filed under: Wedding, Wedding Favors |
Many of us have child wedding attendants. But some of you may be worried that an adult function like a wedding might be boring for them and you may be worried about how to entertain them so they will enjoy your wedding.
FREE entertainment ideas:
- Designate a table just for the kids (after the dancing starts even). Ask a friend to coordinate getting the kids together and setting them up with an activity.
- Grab board games from around the house or borrow them from friends or family and place them at the kids table (or provide them as handouts to couples bringing children).
- Ask parents to bring a couple toys with them for their children to play with (not all parents think of this, so if you want the kids to bring toys, tell the parents!)
- Borrow toys from a family with children to let children play with at the wedding (try to pick things that aren’t easily broken, and make sure that all toys will be returned to the family!)
- Ask a friend with a child who has crayons and old coloring books or blank paper that the kids can draw with (you may want to make sure the kids table does not have a cloth tablecloth, a paper tablecloth would be best for this)
CHEAP entertainment ideas:
- Buy a large crayon pack and a large coloring book and split crayons into packs of 3 or 4 (tie with ribbon or place in snack sized ziploc bags) and then staple (or roll up and tie with ribbon) a few pages of a coloring book and give crayons and coloring pages as favors for the children. Also try handing out blank tic-tac-toe sheets printed off your computer. (I bought a pack of 64 crayons for $1 at the dollar store, and there are plenty of huge coloring books at the dollar store as well. Also try finding coloring pages online and printing them on your home printer.)
- Buy a couple small board games to place at the children’s table or as handouts
- Buy decks of cards - regular playing cards or even something like UNO, and find types of games you can play online and print out a sheet of child-friendly instructions on how to play the games (ask parents to explain possible games to their kids)
- Buy Legos or Megablocks that children can play with collectively
- Buy bubbles! (if you don’t mind having bubbles at the reception, it could add an interesting touch)
Remember:
- Pick age appropriate entertainment. If you can’t accomodate all age ranges, ask parents to help, for example, toddlers can’t play with cards and may be unable to color in a coloring book yet parents may place these available items in front of their toddler. To avoid children handling objects that are too small, unsafe, or that can be destroyed if a toddler decides to chew on it, ask parents to provide age appropriate toys.
- Pick things that the kids will be comfortable playing with - don’t force them to socialize or play alone. Some children may be too shy to play with others and some may be unable to be attentive long enough to play alone, try to provide something that has options.
- Ask parents for help by bringing toys or making suggestions. As they say, Mom knows best, so don’t be afraid to ask the Moms or Dads for help.
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May 29th, 2007 at 12:31 pm
Great suggestions! Perhaps the most comprehensive I’ve seen on the topic. I have a companionate page on childrens wedding favors that you might be interested in taking a look at.
July 9th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
I am not sure that children and weddings are a good mix!
January 4th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
try contacting local nanny services who may have temporary sitters to come in and keep the kids entertained.