Trying to entertain children at a wedding can be somewhat a daunting task. Here are our 11 top tricks to keep the little ones at amused while you enjoy your day.
Finger puppet fun!
Keep the little ones entertained with some fabulous fun finger puppets from Little Fingy! Little Fingy offer a huge range of finger puppets including their totally unique bride and groom puppets to match the real-life couple. Hand knitted at affordable prices, you can pick from a wide range of hair colours and the groom puppets can even have beards and moustaches! The puppets even come with a cardboard stand, which can double as a place name. There are quantity discounts and puppets and stands start from just £1.99 – and postage and packaging is free. Little Fingy supports a selection of charities and good causes, too, including Cancer Research UK, Unicef and projects to help the communities who hand knit the puppets. To learn more about this fab company, visit their website.
Crafty ideas
Sometimes it’s difficult to entertain children, especially when you have boisterous young ones running around while you’re getting ready. So save on stress by creating a craft table. They can decorate some pink and white paper hearts to display in your reception venue. Opt for mess-free stickers rather than paint and pens! If you’re planning a Christmas wedding, why not ask the little ones to decorate baubles as a take-home treat?
Game on!
Children of any age will get restless during the ceremony, so entertain them with a few books and perhaps a handheld computer game, this will act as quiet forms of entertainment to keep the children occupied. You could even set up a games room with an Xbox, Wii or Playstation for the older ones.
That’s entertainment
Before booking a children’s entertainer, check their credentials. Make sure they have enough activities for the time required and think about the space they will work in. They need to be organised and have bags of energy, too!
Treasure hunts
If your reception venue allows it, entertain the children by putting together a pirate-themed treasure hunt during your drinks reception. It will be great for burning off energy before the wedding breakfast – and with a bit of savvy shopping at your local pound shops, it can cost next to nothing to create.
Top trivia
Great favours will entertain children at a wedding while grown ups tuck into their starters. Stock up on brain-teasing trivia boxes and activity packs available from the Wedding Ideas Shop.
DJ supreme
Rely on kids to get the dancing started, let them loose on the decks! Let your guests take it in turns to become superstar DJs – you can’t beat the looks on little their faces when they’re donning the DJ headphones!
Lunch on the go
How about being unconventional? Like getting married on a farm, they will have huge fields with long grass for children to play in. Check if the venue provide packed lunches of sandwiches, cakes and treats.
Beside the seaside
What about getting married at a beautiful beach-side venue, where you can have hampers full of colourful buckets, spades and nets? The younger children will love making sandcastles while the older ones can go rock pooling. Just remember to ask adults to supervise before they have one drink too many!
Gourmet guests
Self-confessed foodie? Keep your noisiest guests quiet by inviting them to make their own puddings! We’re loving the Splat workshops where budding gourmets get to work with glitter and sprinkles to decorate their own wedding-themed cupcakes and biscuits. Much more enticing than yet another speech!
Lawn games
Giant lawn games are wonderful for entertaining children during spring and summer nuptials – plump for retro fairground attractions like hoopla and coconut shy, or family favourites like Jenga and Connect 4. Little tikes won’t be able to resist!