7 Ways to Keep Kids Busy at Your Wedding ...

1. Serve Some Kid-Friendly Food

One of the best ways to keep kids busy at your wedding is to have some kid-friendly food. No, really. Every parent knows that mealtimes and snacks are a great distraction. Why do you think they are always pulling snacks out of purses and tote bags? You don’t have to let kid-friendly foods take over your menu, but do consider adding an item or two that kids will enjoy.

2. Hand Them a Camera

Here is a secret for you. Most kids love to get hold of a camera. The truth is that most of them don’t get to use a camera often, which makes it that much better when they do. Consider handing out disposable cameras to the children so that they can photograph your wedding. They will love taking pictures and you will enjoy seeing all the interesting pictures later.

3. Set up a Seek and Find

Another thing you can do is set up a seek and find for kids to play at your wedding. You can give them a list of things to seek and find. When they find it, they can check it off their list. This is a lot of fun for them. It is also a seek and find game that they can play all by themselves.

4. Place Crayons and Coloring Books at Their Place Setting

This one is very simple but very helpful. Why not place a coloring book at each child’s place setting, along with some crayons? It can keep them busy and quiet during all of the speeches and toasts. Parents will greatly appreciate your thoughtfulness, too. Not every wedding considers children, so it is definitely noticeable when a couple decides to do so.

5. Have Some Babysitters Available

Another option is to have some babysitters available. Of course, you only want to have their services available for the parents that wish to take advantage of the services. You do not want to mandate this or you will likely offend many parents. But a lot of parents will welcome the opportunity to just relax and be adults instead of parents for awhile. Kids may have more fun with a sitter than they would during the festivities, too.

6. Set up a Movie Room

This one depends on the space that you have available and what kind of set up you have. If you are having your reception in a location that allows for this, you may want to set up a movie room. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Simply a TV with some children’s movies should be enough. Of course, you can add to the experience by offering popcorn or candy just like the movies do if you wish.

7. Enlist the Parents' Help

It is absolutely okay to enlist the parents' help. However, you do want to do this carefully. The last thing you want to do is cause any hurt feelings. You can simply say that children are welcome at the wedding but if they become bored or fussy, these are the things that are available to help. Then you can list the location of the nursery or even the ideas in this article that you plan to have available for children. Most parents will understand this message without being offended.

Keeping kids busy at your wedding can be a challenge but these ideas can help. Which ones sound good to you? I would love to hear your feedback.