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daeradis · Joined: 09 May 2007 Posts: 1

Newbie here, so hello all! Smile

My wonderful, patient, kind fiance and I are getting married on July 29, 2007. There will be about 50 children, most under the age of 12, at our reception (yikes!). Any suggestions on how to keep them occupied or how to keep them from wrecking havoc? (no kids myself, can you tell?)

Thanks!

monkey · Joined: 11 May 2007 Posts: 2

monkey · Joined: 11 May 2007 Posts: 2

j_armstrng · Joined: 10 Jun 2008 Posts: 1

I used to work at a wedding reception hall, and whenever we had a big group of rowdy kids, we'd set up a kid's movie like Home Alone or whatever in a back room, and they also sat glued to the screen - worked great!

Sarah46 · Joined: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 16

Yes, have a separate playroom designated, and hire babysitters if necessary! Make sure there's something always on the TV.

aspasia475 · Joined: 26 Jun 2008 Posts: 1

I have some experience of large family weddings: with nine nieces and nephews, twenty-six grand-nieces and grand-nephews, and ten grand-nieces and grand-nephews with a couple more on the way -- plus whatever children are on the "other" side of the family -- we have babies in arms, toddlers, schoolchildren, pre-teens, and teenagers: usually dozens. But, we have never had crowds of *rowdy* kids.

Mostly, what our children do at a wedding is a) watch the ceremony, and b) eat dinner and dance. The only consideration they need is that they don't drink wine so something else needs to be available from the bar for them: white grape juice or lemonade. And they finish dinner before adults do so it's nice to have colouring pages at the table, or else a corner of the rehearsal hall where they can play quiet games together. We have a couple teenage girls with a talent for organizing clapping games like "stella-ella-olay", and for the most part the parents in the family quell anything like tag before it breaks out. And if the parents don't LOL there's always the great-aunts to do the quelling!

I like to see five-year-olds waltzing with their dad or mom, and ten-year-olds joining in the line dances. If they were all shipped off to a spare room to have their brains dulled with videos, the whole celebration would lose a lot and they'd be losing that edge of calm social confidence that comes from practicing good social behaviour.

mMiddleton · Joined: 09 Sep 2008 Posts: 1

I was once involved with planning a convention where we had co-ordinated child minding for the whole weekend and planned events in a separate area from where the main events were. We also had AV equipment rented and plenty of DVD's on hand

Marilyn

phillipe · Joined: 09 Apr 2009 Posts: 2

I would say to not invite kids if you do not want them there.

phillipe · Joined: 09 Apr 2009 Posts: 2

I would say to not invite kids if you do not want them there.

brettsmom · Joined: 25 Jun 2009 Posts: 1

"monkey" had some really great ideas! I would choose a couple of those and run with it! Very creative, and knows what kids like!

carlatate · Joined: 28 Sep 2009 Posts: 1

we are planning on having the coloring books, disposable cameras, and bubbles to occupy the kiddos. And in our family, if there's dancing, the kids are occupied with that!

jreub · Joined: 01 Nov 2009 Posts: 1

We have a facility with a theatre. Will serve popcorn and cotton candy and have the children think they are going to the movie theatre.. Smile