Kid-friendly reception activities?

redheadbride15

I've been reading a few posts on the etiquette page about kids at weddings, which is why I've been thinking about this recently.

Kids will definitely be welcome at my wedding, as this is a personal choice of ours. Our current guest list includes almost 20 kids under age 10, ranging anywhere from infants through my 9 year-old niece, who will be the oldest. Lots of them are in the 3-6 year-old range. There are no teenagers. I'm not sure how many of these kids will end up coming due to travel restrictions or the choices of their parents. However, I want to make it clear that kids will be welcome. I'd rather make the whole reception a family-friendly event for all ages than hire a babysitter.

So, I'm looking for any brainstorming ideas you all may have for kid-friendly reception activities. Anyone do something that was particularly successful? Or on the flip side anyone put a lot of effort into something that was underutilized? Some things I'm thinking of include an arts-and-crafts table for the slightly older kids, and a play space with some toys and books spread out on a blanket for the littler ones.

Jen4948

An arts-and-crafts table could get messy.

You might talk to the parents of the kids in question to find out what their kids would enjoy, and have any of it that's suitable to your wedding.

lacqueredlover

I will only have a few kids at my wedding (my future step kids and nieces) but we are having a little room with movies and blanket in case they get tired/bored.  We are also going to have coloring books and crayons at the tables for them!  Plus they all love dancing so my guess is that will be what they are doing the most!

climbingsingle

My cousin set up a special kids table that had crayons and coloring books. All the kids at the wedding really seemed to enjoy it. I think she might have had some other arts and crafts stuff there too, like something to make bracelets or jewerly. 

redheadbride15

I'm not too worried about mess - it's not that type of venue. Plus, I'd choose clean arts and crafts (coloring books with washable colored pencils and crayons, pipe cleaners, felt, yarn, etc). Glue, glitter, and finger paints will not make an appearance

What about one or two songs and dances targeted towards kids? Any ideas for these? (Don't worry - I'm not planning on killing the reception for the adults by playing Raffi and the Frozen soundtrack over and over...)

@lacqueredlover I like the movie/nap room idea. I'll have to check with my venue to see if there is a spare room we can use for something like this.

lacqueredlover

We are doing the bridal suite for a kids room.

And I don't think you need to do specific songs for the kids.  they are kids.  Kids dance.  And usually listen to pop music.  they will be fine.

wrigleyville

I've seen kids dancing to all kinds of music at weddings, everything from "The Twist" to Pitbull. I wouldn't play any kid-specific music.

mrscomposer

We had a little room set up for kids - there were couches and a DVD playing, as well as tables with colouring books and crayons.  While there was always someone in the room, it was usually a nursing mom or a smaller kid who needed to take a break from the noise and watch Despicable Me for a while.

The older kids (7-12ish) were always on the dance floor.  We didn't play any specific songs.  They danced to everything.

00kim00

We also wanted a kid-friendly wedding, and about 20% of our guests were kids ages 3-12. In addition to wedding fun, i made each kid a goodie bag with age appropriate activities (cards, books, coloring/activity books, bubbles, balloons, glow sticks, etc). The coloring books were completely untouched. The cards and books and games went home with the kids but weren't used much, if at all, at the wedding. The bubbles and glow sticks were entertaining for about 5 minutes. But the kids LOVED: lawn games, hammock, lots of space to run around and explore, campfire and s'mores

BlueBirdMB

The kids danced a ton.  They were pretty well occupied doing that.  We didn't play any "kid music"

poodledoodleooo

I'm inviting 30+ kids under 10 to my wedding. There will also be a few teens, around 5 or so that are invited.

Do you know what I always LOVED doing at weddings as a kid? DANCING my booty off with my cousins and aunts and uncles. Oohing and awing the pretty bride in the most gorgeous dress, eating lots of cake, and possibly passing out in my mom's arms.

You don't need kids activities - weddings are (typically) naturally family friendly. That said, the others have given you lots of great ideas - clean crafts, separate suites with movies, etc. Though I wouldn't be surprised if those sorts of things don't really get used much. Kids like to party as much as their parents.

retterin

What type of reception venue is it? Will there be outdoor space for the kids?

We're doing ours at a public park for partially this reason. A few frisbees, a football, and an accessible lake will keep the kids at our reception plenty entertained. I've been to weddings before where a "kid's table" was set up. No crafts, but there were legos and coloring books available, as well as more "kid-friendly" finger foods.

Honestly though I think kids are able to entertain themselves for the most part at weddings. There is music, food, and adults doing (seemingly) goofy things.  

CMGragain

Go to the dollar store and get coloring books and crayons for the kids.

Have the bride do the Hokey Pokey with all the kids.  (Great photo op!)

Make sure there are a few kid friendly menu items.  I requested plain scrambled eggs at my daughter's brunch reception so the kids wouldn't have to deal with eggs benedict!  Those kids drank a lot of sodas, too!

redheadbride15

Great ideas, everyone! I'm happy to hear everyone tell me I don't need to do special kids songs, but I would definitely do the hokey pokey with the kids!

My venue is a historic site/museum (though the actual exhibit space will be closed off during the reception). We're having our ceremony and a cocktail hour in an old renovated stone mill in the middle of a big field, so I like the idea of having some outdoor games available for the kids during this time.

The reception is in a large dining hall inside the museum. I like the idea of putting little packets with crayons and bubbles at the tables that will have kids, and I'll offer one of the guest rooms (the bridal suite if nothing else is available) for quiet/nap space as needed. Food won't be a problem - we're having a buffet and my caterer is already providing chicken fingers, pizza bites, mini hot dogs, carrot sticks, etc (maybe for my fiancee and my brothers more than the kids, to be honest :P )

hellohkb

I agree with others, coloring books are a good idea. I once saw a wedding that had a kids tunnel and thought it was a good idea.

lnixon8

I'm having ~40 kids under 12 at mine. You can print out wedding themed coloring books from pinterest (PITA but I just used regular printing paper, punched 3 holes and tied them together with ribbon on a rainy Saturday).

I would also talk to your DJ about making sure songs played in the beginning are clean- not just curse words... I was at a wedding where the couple was into country but having "Let's get drunk and screw" blaring before 7 pm was a little uncomfortable for the parents.

 

redheadbride15

@lnixon8 I couldn't agree more with the recommendation about nasty songs! I have a hard time deciding which is the most inappropriate wedding song I've ever heard - "Baby Got Back", or "It's Getting Hot in Here" (both played at receptions with young kids and grandparents present). We're making our own iPod playlist, so this won't be a problem.