Minnesota-Minneapolis and St. Paul

Re: Kids Activity Table?

  • graysquirrelgraysquirrel member
    5 Love Its Combo Breaker First Comment
    edited December 2011
    If you have a lot of time and extra money in your budget, it might be a fun idea. I'd thought about making a photo scavenger hunt for kids and giving them disposable cameras to play with, but I decided not to and am glad I left it out. The kids at our wedding seemed to entertain themselves. They had fun running around, dancing, and playing with the toys they'd brought or pretending. Even my cousin who is a renowned brat seemed just fine all night. If it sounds like extra stress, don't sweat leaving it out.
    Photobucket
  • edited December 2011
    This was a project I almost dropped as well, but in the end I'm really glad I went ahead with it.  A good friend of mine offered to do the set up and also let me borrow a bunch of her daughter's markers and a big roll of coloring paper which was a huge help.  We only had about 10 kids at the wedding, but they all loved it.  The kids were served their dinners with the salad course so I noticed they really used the activites during dinner, which was a welcome distraction so their parents could eat dinner.  If you have the time, energy, and a little extra cash I say go for it, but don't beat yourself up if you skip it.  The kids will be fine either way!

    Here is what we provided:
    -Wooden Halloween masks purchased from Michael's ($1 each, huge hit)
    -Markers for coloring the masks and coloring paper (borrowed)
    -Roll of coloring paper like this <-click  (borrowed)
    -3 chalkboard "cakes" and chalk (about $40 in supplies), found this idea on Pinterest here <-click and since we didn't do a wedding cake I thought it would be fun to have the kids decorate them - which they did with reckless abandon ;)
    -A few assorted lollipops and hershey kisses were also placed in jars.
    -Also bought some glowsticks in the dollar section of Target, but totally forgot to bring them.

    Here are some pics of how it turned out:

  • bwanhalabwanhala member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I think you honestly could go either way on this one. I personally have never seen one before, BUT after seeing the pics posted by quincygirl77 I think that I just may do one. It's something that you have to decide if you want to put the time into.

    1. If you don't have the time, don't feel obligated to put anything together. The parents of the children at the wedding have been to enough weddings to know that it's not the bride/groom's responsibility to keep their children entertained.

    2. If you do have the time, I think you should go for it. What a relief for the parents who have children there to know that they are able to do something if they get bored with dancing, or too antsy!

    Whatever you decide I'm sure it will be great!!
    Wedding Countdown Ticker
  • djlsmccanndjlsmccann member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am all for something like this! We are doing an adult only wedding except for the kiddos in the wedding party and my FI nieces/nephews (so immediate family only).  Instead of a table like the post above I was thinking of doing it a little more individualized considering there will only be about 6 kids.  I was thinking a tote bag filled with activites for when they are eating dinner.  Ideas similar to the post above or more to what each kid is interested in (a puzzle, coloring, toy cars, a doll, etc).  Also, Since I am having it adults only, some of my cousins live out of state and will probably still need to bring their kids.  I don't want to put them out so I was thinking of providing a sitter for them if they need one, with pizza, movies, and activites...again much similiar to the post above! 
  • nordkenordke member
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    We didn't so much have a table for the kids, but did put together little gift bags for them at their places. It had a activity book that I put together that included things like crossword puzzles, a scavenger hunt, mazes, word scramble, pictures to color, etc. I ended up ordering a wedding coloring book and then just making copies from that and doing a few of my own pages to personalize it a bit. I also put some crayons and some animal crackers in case the kids were done eating before the adults. Our wonderful event planner had somehow found a HUGE cardboard castle that she put up in one of our sitting rooms that we had and it kept the kids going all night long coloring and decorating it with markers. Not sure where she got it or how much it cost, but if you can find something of the like, I'm sure it will keep the kids occupied for a long time.
  • edited December 2011
    We just put together kids coloring books (in bio under DIY) and had that and a box of crayons at each of the kids' place settings. They were a big hit during the cocktail hour I heard to keep the kids occupied until dinner, but once the dance started all the kids were out on the floor!
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  • edited December 2011

    Depending on the length of your ceremony and the ages of the kids, you may want to have those tote bags for them during the ceremony as well. Maybe have your attendant or a BM be responsible for bringing them to the reception. I've been to a few churches that have little grab bags to help keep the kids' bored hands busy. The last wedding I went to was Catholic and there were so many restless kids that I could barely hear the ceremony.

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