Advice for taking children to a wedding

[CandyCanes23]

Hi, just after any hints and tips really. Family wedding and we’re staying at the venue. 1pm ceremony. Two DC, DS1 is nearly 7, and DS2 is 8 months. I will be taking snacks! Any other suggestions? Thank you

Don't 😂

Snacks and some exciting little new toys they can play with quietly at the table, colouring/stickers/.fidget toy type stuff. Don’t be afraid to use a tablet with headphones during the speeches!

most 7 year olds can understand the need and can manage to sit quietly during certain bits eg ceremony and speeches so set expectations in advance perhaps with a reward as incentive! Tag team to get them outside running around in between if at all possible.

😂😂

Just bring snacks and somewhere comfortable for baby to sleep. We took ours to loads of weddings when young and it was no big deal. It’s just a family party with a sit down meal, which one (or both!) of you can get up and leave if kids get bored and go walk around outside.

Bring flat shoes [peak learning to toddle stage so you'll be bent in half most of the day]
Several changes of clothing for the toddler [if not toddling then will be crawling]
Change of clothes for you, first aid pack, Calpol [teething age] and various water bottles, spoons etc if needed.
Snacks might not cut it, might be worth having a naice kids microwave meal in case they get hungry way before the meal / or refuse it point blank. Yes it's beige food but a microwave lasagne or similar might be a lifesaver and you might have a minibar you can keep it in just in case.

For the 7 yo. Download lots of CBeebies for when they run out of steam but its potentially not a good time for you to exit and put them to bed. We hit this point when waiting ages to be served dinner with the kids.
Headphones !! For both. If you have a tablet for the 8mo bring that too. Yes you'll be judged but 30 mins of Timmytime never killed anyone and better that than a whinging toddler during the speeches.
Better yet, see if you can arrange and pay for a kids tea [unless your 7yo has lots of cousins there] and hand over the kids to a sitter before you sit down to eat

Book a sitter at the hotel so the kids can go to bed at a vaguely sensible hour.
Have a good time and don't drink too much [they'll still be up at the crack of dawn] !!

My advice is don't. I took mine to a wedding last year and it was just crap. I didn't enjoy it, they were bored and kept asking to go home.