how to 'entertain' younger kids @ reception

missiemog

my two boys (4 and 2) will be at our reception up til around 9pm and wondered if anyone else had younger kids around, and what they had or did or gave them to keep them 'entertained'.

i'm not having a clown or entertainer or anything similar, and i'm wary of giving them crayons and books, as they like them a little too much and tend to get carried away and colour in anything they see...!!

thanks in advance for advice.

xx

Al1x

what about birthday style party bags?

with bubbles and small toys in?

csh_2

My 18mth old son will be there all day. I've got him some mini aquadraws to play with during the meal but other than that I expect he will entertain himself spinning round in his kilt and flirting with the ladies. Plenty of people for him to talk to and new things to look it. Plus hes an ace dancer so will be doing some moves on the dancefloor lol
Do you have a designated person in charge of them? My MIL will be incharge of keeping him in one piece rather than 'entertained'.

Kinski

My daughter has bought bags and we are busy filling them with stuff from poundland, we're tailoring each one to a specific child as we have a few children of different ages going. The bags were also bought from poundland and they are the size of a decent sized book so we're getting quite a bit in them,they're really just to keep them occupied during the speeches, we're hoping after that there will be enough going on to keep them amused.

White_Sapphire

We're probably getting bags of toys, bubbles (the non-staining sort!) etc to keep ours entertained (4 of them age 5 and under). We're also going to hire a babysitter for the evening, as there is a separate area within the venue where the kids can go, and we'll ask the parents to bring their favourite toy and/or book.

Not sure exactly what to put in the bags yet, but I'll ask the parents for ideas nearer the time.

fran-o

There were 6 or 7 toddlers and under sixes at our wedding, one of the parents brought a trainset which they set up in a corner and kept them busy most of the day. Story books also came out in the evening and most of the kids had run around so much in the day that they were ready for a sleep later on!

missiemog

thanks for all the ideas - train set sounds ideal!!