7 January 2010Kidzone: How to Keep The Small Ones Entertained on Your Big Day
There’s a reason why actors say you should never work with children or animals; they are the most unpredictable creatures on the planet! A key decision when deciding on your guest list is if you are going to have children at the wedding. Bear in mind that some of your guests may naturally assume that they can bring their children, and you should state very early on (and on the invitations) that kids are not allowed if indeed that is what you decide.
If you are having kids at your wedding, then you definitely need to allow for the fact that sitting through a long ceremony and meal may not be a six year olds’ idea of a good time. You have to provide some entertainment for the kids, especially if you want their parents to be able to enjoy themselves too and not spend the day chasing after the rug-rats trying to get them to sit still.
Keeping kids quiet during the ceremony can be tricky, but providing unwrapped sweets and some small handheld toys or electronic games (with the sound turned off!) is a good way to distract them for a while. At the meal, seat the kids at a kiddies table at the back of the reception hall, so they can run around without disrupting the other guests.
Kids generally don’t mind being seated at a table with other kids - even ones they don’t know - as after the first few minutes they’ll have made friends and will be playing together. For very small children, perhaps provide a box of toys under the table. For the others; a jar of colouring pencils in the centre of the table, or maybe at each place setting (to avoid fights!) with a paper table cloth can provide hours of fun. You can also put colouring books, streamers, jigsaws, books, party hats, masks etc on the table – anything that will keep them happy!
Hiring a bouncy castle for summer weddings is a great way to keep kids entertained … and tire them out! If you are confined indoors, then having a room with a TV and some kids DVD favourites is a great idea to keep them occupied, perhaps during the speeches. Consider hiring a clown or children’s entertainer if you want to ensure that they are out of the way for a certain time. Creating fun bags, with mini gifts that they can use on the day and then take away with them is another nice idea.
For the flowergirls, you can buy Sticker Paper Dolls book on Amazon which is a nice way to keep little hands busy during the ceremony.
