To have your wedding with your entire friends and family members surrounding you is most certainly a priority on many couple’s minds. However, it can often be an anxious decision as to whether you would like children present throughout the duration of the day. The enthusiasm, excitement and smiling faces of children at a wedding can help provide a truly wonderful atmosphere on your special day. However, those happy, bouncing, smiling children can soon become hungry, emotional, overtired and destructive when bored. This is why we have put together this short article on how to keep the children attending your wedding, happy, smiling, and entertained.
How to keep children entertained at weddings?
Entertaining small children throughout a wedding can become a bit of a dilemma, especially when you have already hit your wedding budget and perhaps have forgotten about the kiddies. Nevertheless, entertaining children at your wedding doesn’t need to be expensive or a hassle, it’s incredibly simple. The secret to a stress-free wedding reception is to be prepared. This means making sure that you have enough child-friendly activities for them. This is why we have come up with six simple and inexpensive ideas to make sure your little guests keep smiling without a single tantrum, thus making things far easier on your special day.
1. Get the children involved.
To keep children entertained and out of trouble during your wedding day, you may wish to provide them with a small task or job to do. This will make them feel important and special. The task could involve handing out wedding favours, for example. This provides them with a sense of purpose and far less likely to cause mischief.
2. Hire a source of children’s entertainment.
If you have some slack in your wedding budget you may wish to consider hiring some form of children’s entertainment. This could be in the form of a clown, magician, or even a balloon modeller. You may be surprised they may even keep the adults entertained too.
3. Provide the children with their own time on the dance floor.
It’s no secret that many children enjoy the aspect of dancing in front of all big audience and enjoy the attention from the grown-ups. Allow your younger guests to have their own time on the dance floor without the grown-ups getting in the way. You may even wish to play popular music that is aimed to a younger audience such as the classic ‘Let It Go’, from the Disney movie, Frozen.
4. Put together a goodie bag.
Goodie bags can be exceptionally cheap and easy to do. They can be made up quickly with a variety of entertaining trinkets and sweets which will ensure your little guests will remain occupied and entertained.
5. Create entertainment that allows all ages to join in.
You may choose to have some playful fun and games during your wedding reception for the adults, but it’s nice to let the younger guests get involved too. Ideas such as a wedding themed piñata, or even bean bag tossing is great fun. The adults may want to play too.
6. Seat your younger guests together.
By creating a table especially for your younger guests, not only can you keep an eye on them (as they’re all in one place), but it means you can customise their table especially for the purpose of their own enjoyment. Why not try placing a pot of crayons on the table, along with butcher paper. This will allow them to colour and draw throughout the reception. You may even be lucky enough to receive a handcrafted gift!
If you truly do not have the time, financial budget or may need a last minute solution, you may wish to ask your Maid of Honour to help seeking out a reliable babysitter for the day. This could be a family member who may be happy enough to do you the favour on your big day. Hiring or nominating a reliable adult to watch over the children is a great way to keep your little guests entertained and happy.
