Wednesday, January 26, 2011

How can we entertain the kids?


Dear ESB,

We're getting married in June in Brooklyn - about 50 peeps, lovely restaurant with a small garden to ourselves. We're wondering about the kids: there'll be 6 (our nieces and nephews, 2 girls/4 boys) aged 5-12 and we're worried about how to keep them entertained for the 9-odd hours. Mine haven't met his before (I'm from the other side of the world). We don't want them getting bored, bugging their parents, who won't be able to enjoy themselves or decide to go home. We're concerned because we've seen this happen over and over again at other gatherings. The kids are very savvy and have every sort of Wii/iPod/insert gadget which I don't want them playing with at the wedding. They're not brats, we adore them, but would you have any ideas on how we can keep them busy and having fun? There'll be dancing and a photobooth which should help.

Appreciate your wise words and those of your readers!

Cheers from Sydney

PS Not a fan of bridal parties so none of them are flowergirls or that sort of thing.


*****

Mkay. You want the kids to have a good time, but you're planning to take away their toys??*

I say set up a Wii ROOM, and hire a really fun babysitter who will keep them out of their parents' hair.

(Image via YIMMY'S YAYO)
______________________________

*No boy in the history of weddings has ever gone out on the dance floor.

25 comments:

  1. Listen to ESB on this one, dude. The red flags here, kid-wise: 1) Enclosed space 2) 9 hours. If you have to put them in an enclosed space for 9 hours, give them a damn Wii.

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  2. I have to agree. Even if there isn't any place for a big TV set up, get portable DVD players. (If their parents are sane, they probably have one.) Set up Despicable Me and don't think twice. They will know how to work the wii and DVD players.

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  3. While I agree that letting them do their thing is the best advice, the footnote is totally not true. I've seen plenty of future class-clown type boys bust it out on the dance floor--hamming it up WAY more than the girls. I think there's been one at almost every wedding I've been to.

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  4. Seriously! Let them keep their toys. Wii, coloring books, board games, jigsaw puzzles, etc. You can find some of those pretty cheap at dollar stores. Who knows, with coloring books, you'll have some new art to hang up made just for you two. :)

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  5. Childrens entertainer/storyteller, facepainter. Also maybe give them a scavenger hunt or set them challenges (photograph as many shoes as possible, or try to photograph people's nasal hair). Personally technology is boring, and even children like to have a special day and be involved. Also - piles of pillows to jump around in.

    Babysitter is a good idea.

    Hang on. BOUNCY CASTLE. Maybe only in a bigger venue... OMG being little can be FUN!!!

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  6. I went to a wedding that hired a DJ who played about 1 hour worth of kid-friendly dance music and lead the kids in some fun games & dances while the adults enjoyed a cocktail hour. Then the adult dance started after dinner when most of the kids were getting sleepy. There was a nice little room set up with games and movies and comfy bean bags, with a babysitter to watch over the kids while the adult guests partied. It was a great way to include the kids in the night early on before they got tired and crabby (kids don't appreciate being "kept out of the way"- they usually want to be a part of the action! But it was nice that they had a safe place to relax when they got tired.)

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  7. For what it's worth, the boys at my wedding were out there shaking it with the rest of us. Also, we used confetti for the recessional. The resulting mess entertained the boys for at least half of the cocktail hour.

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  8. We set out colouring and craft things for the younger ones (3-6) and the older ones we gave cheap digital cameras and told them to go nuts as our wedding photographers. Got some great original shots and they were happy to be given adult responsibilities.

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  9. 6 is a tough number. Not enough for them to really form a pack and just entertain themselves. (We're prob going to have 20 kids at ours and I'm just assuming that they'll wreck havoc on their own and won't require anything from us) For sure set up a game room if possible. If not, just give in to the handheld devices. I think the 12 year old will be the most likely to get bored, and he's old enough to be polite about it.

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  10. is this girl for real ? does she really think that these YOUNG children will be enraptured by her quaint garden wedding ?

    i am a school teacher, and a goddamned enthusiastic one. i have a hard time keeping my students engaged and behaved for 20 minutes !! hours without amusement is unreasonable and CRUEL.

    i always say that working with children takes 1 part lion tamer, 1 part fast-talking used car salesman, 1 part dominatrix, and one part magician. so unless the bride has a bitchy circus freak uncle who happens to be a cross between Billy Mays and fucking Dumbledore, LET THEM HAVE THEIR TOYS !!!

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  11. in my family the boys ARE the ones hamming it up on the dance floor. At my wedding my 11 year old cousin stole the show with his dance moves.

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  12. 1. Best photo ever.

    2. Either include them, as mini photographers/ scavengers(i love that idea) and not mind that the may get bored or let them have the wii room. (Often the best room of a wedding!)

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  13. I ended up spending 6 hours watching 14 children from 3-12 years at a wedding, where I was brought along as a babysitter for 2 of the kids. Their parents told me there would be lots of babysitters there for me to hang out with while watching the kids, but there were none, so they just left me alone with all 14 kids. If there hadn't been a tv and a big folder of kids dvd's, I would never have been able to control them.

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  14. Ooh this is me (thanks so much ESB - and everyone for responding!) Seriously, thanks!

    I didn't make myself clear - I don't want NO toys - I love toys! but was hoping to avoid the electronic stuff. They are ALWAYS on their Wiis/DS/iPods, it's just so antisocial y' know? I love board games so maybe a games room with actual games. I looked into hiring a skee ball (except I'd be the one on it all night) but it came to about $800.

    Love the babysitter idea, and was thinking of a scavenger hunt around the place! Also love the mini photographer idea, that is super cute! Maybe a tattoo parlour with temp tattoos? Cross fingers they'll get into the dancing!

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  15. Jules, if you want to keep them entertained and out of the way you can't judge them for how they go about it.

    How were going to broach the whole 'no electronic or single player toys allowed' thing anyways? On the invite?
    It's thoughtful you care but you can't stipulate how.

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  16. This is so funny to me. As an only child, my reaction is, yeah, they might get bored. Oh well. We didn't worry about this at our wedding. The kids and parents were left to fend for themselves. Granted, we only had about 3 official kids, two teenagers, and two babies (so cute). Honestly, I think they'll find ways to entertain themselves and/or the parents will bring them their toys. If there's room for some movies/games, that's fun too of course. I might be a jerk, but I guess I'm saying, if it's stressing you out, I don't think you actually have to worry about it.

    (But if you DO have a game room, I highly recommend Twister. I am suddenly remembering a Hannukkah party I went to with my parents when I was a kid, and it just now crosses my mind that maybe that room with Twister was meant to entertain me and the other kids while the parents drank in the next room without my realizing it. It wasn't explicity a Kids' Room, but I definitely spent most of the night there because it was the most fun room of the party. Hmmm....)

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  17. wii tournaments will be awesome for kids at weddings...if every wedding since the wii came out that i've been to had this...WAYYY less of them would have ended at 8pm.

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  18. the last wedding i visited they hired a great babysitter who made a stroll with the kids, painted with them, played and entertained them so geniusly that we grown-ups didn't see them at all - except for dinner where the babysitter sat at the kids table with them... so DO IT! Hire a babysitter, best idea

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  19. I second the Bouncy Castle idea. I went to a wedding with about thirty kids and they LOVED that thing. Not to mention, it's SUPER AWESOME for adults too. I should know--I and three of my friends kicked all the kids out and had the thing all to ourselves for about thirty minutes.

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  20. Who says boys don't dance? Our nephews and cousin (aged 3-7) cut a rug on the dance floor and managed to behave themselves just fine for the entire reception. If you're going to have a photobooth maybe look into getting some silly props? My niece and female cousin treated the photobooth like their own dress-up photo shoot and had a blast.

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  21. OKAY, so I was wrong about the boys don't dance thing.

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  22. I agree with the ESB here, set up a game room or let them have their toys. I also love the idea of hiring an onsite baby sitter.

    Last wedding I was at the kids had never met and LOVED eachother and just got carried away with making some new friends.

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  23. Thanks ESB and everyone you've been a massive help!

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  24. Cutest boy dancing at a wedding ever: http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs965.snc4/75849_1742285683339_1424631387_31945404_6395231_n.jpg
    He was convinced he was Michael Jackson and he made all the little ladies swoon.

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  25. My flatmate's 11 year old son was the first on the dance-floor and the last off it, last wedding I went to!

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