Play area for kids at the reception?

[Anonymous]

I'd like to do this, but I don't know if it's practical or just unnecessary. We'll have 3 boys (1.5 yrs, 3 & 5) and 2 girls (6 & 8 ). They're my girls and my STBSIL's (that's a lot of letters!) boys, so I'd like them to have some place to play together - color, a few toys, etc.

The reception will be a couple of hours, and I just want the kids and parents to be able to enjoy themselves and reduce stress. I'm sure they'll cause plenty of it as there is.

 

[yssie]

We did an adjacent room with a TV and some kiddie DVDs. Worked out great - parents were happy to have the kids out of their hair, I'm pretty sure kids were more distracted by the movies than they would've been with books/colouring pencils, etc.
Plus, movies have less destructive potential

 

[vc10um]

We're going to have about 10 kids under the age of 10 at the wedding. We're having a rumpus table with all the coloring stuff, some kiddy books, etc, in the corner of the venue. There's also an outdoor patio that the kids can use to run around and make noise (thank goodness). DVDs are out of the question because we'll have no access to A/V equipment of that nature. But I'm hoping everything else will keep them occupied during the short reception.

 

[StonieGrl]

For my wedding reception I hired a nanny (a college student who was a student of mine) to take the kids (attendants and children of my attendants) to Mickey D's to eat (they loved it) and then to a movie (they loved that too). When they returned to the reception site, they were tired and ready for a nap and I had a room for them, they had brought their sleeping bags and sacked out while the nanny read some magazines.

Everyone was happy.

 

[yssie]

For my wedding reception I hired a nanny (a college student who was a student of mine) to take the kids (attendants and children of my attendants) to Mickey D's to eat (they loved it) and then to a movie (they loved that too). When they returned to the reception site, they were tired and ready for a nap and I had a room for them, they had brought their sleeping bags and sacked out while the nanny read some magazines.

Everyone was happy.

Now *that's* planning!

 

[vc10um]

For my wedding reception I hired a nanny (a college student who was a student of mine) to take the kids (attendants and children of my attendants) to Mickey D's to eat (they loved it) and then to a movie (they loved that too). When they returned to the reception site, they were tired and ready for a nap and I had a room for them, they had brought their sleeping bags and sacked out while the nanny read some magazines.

Everyone was happy.

Now *that's* planning!

I was planning on doing something like that...but my reception venue is only one open space and somewhat in the middle of nowhere. Plus it would take several nannies with the number of kids we'll have. So their own rumpus table it is!

 

[zoebartlett]

I would definitely have a play area for kids. We gave welcome bags to guests staying at our hotel, and we had filled kids' bags (I think we used pails for the kids, as our wedding was near the beach) with lots of things for them to play with (yoyos, crayons and coloring books, a beach ball, and other stuff).

I'm sure parents will appreciate having somewhere where their kids can go if the reception gets to be too much.

 

[pancake]

We have chosen a venue where there is a large stretch of lawn for kids to play in, and the indoor-outdoor space can be made continuous (by the opening of huge concertina doors) so that adults can keep an eye on their kids whilst they play without necessarily having to leave their own social conversations etc. We are also going to bring some stuff - blocks, balls, that sort of thing - for the littlies to play with. Considering the video/DVD option; also considering having a drawing table with paper and crayons.

If there are enough littlies we'll probably also hire someone to help out on the day so that the parents know they have an extra set of eyes helping to keep things safe and controlled.

 

[AustenNut]

About 28% of the people at our reception are going to be 13 and under, so we are definitely planning on providing some entertainment for them. We'll have some DVDs, coloring books, and a game or two (like Twister or a board game). There are too many of them to put in a room across the hall (plus some of the parents would still to have the kids within sight) so they'll be in the same room as us. And the music will be so wonderful that many may join us on the dance floor!