Things to entertain toddlers at a wedding

[Tommy]

My friend is getting married in a few weeks and there will be about 10 toddlers there (mostly 2y). We're trying to think of things to entertain them during the meal and speeches etc. We can't afford a clown or anything like that. They're all going to have a party bag with crayons, bubbles etc in and the venue has offered a space that can be fenced off for them to play in. Does anyone have some ideas that maybe worked for you?
Thanks

What about videos/dvds ? I'm sure the hotel/venue could provide some basic audio-visual eqpt for you if you asked.

Hi Tommy - Are there any older children going... say 14-16 yrs old?? I find that age group (boys and girls) to be extremely useful at amusing toddlers and they seem to enjoy it too. My Brothers (12 & 15) took care of my ds (2) when we got married last year. Could you give them a fiver to go into the fenced off area and just supervise/play/be silly for an hour whilst the meal goes on? You could organise for a HUGE plate of chips or fish fingers or something like that to feed to masses in there too.

A party bag is a great idea, keeps them going through the long meal (my sister got married last year and had lots of little ones to amuse there). One tip though, rather than give them all of it straight away, best if the "treasure" is handed out one thing at a time to keep them going longer. Mine found waiting for the food really hard as they were starving - the bread rolls served were too hard to be of much use. Worth thinking about a small easy food to put in their bags to help keep them going - a few bread sticks would have been enough to keep mine happy for the ten mins or so that we had to wait if only I had thought of it before. Ended up letting them eat choc. buttons and runied their appetite a bit. It is hard for hungry little ones, esp. if they see the top table all eating away and still not got theirs.

Worth checking about using the bubbles with your venue - we bought all ours bubbles and put them in a bag to be given out at the meal, - problem was that all the children wanted to open the bottles as soon as they saw them and weren?t allowed to use them indoors(slippery floors etc.) so straight after giving them out we had to take them off the children again which seemed a bit unfair to them - best keep them separately and hand out only when you are happy for them to use them.
We had a brilliant time and the children definitely added to the atmosphere and fun of the occasion - hope you and your friend enjoy the day.

We had a bouncy castle at ds2's christening to keep all the little kids occupied. But I can tell you one thing that holds every childs attention and most adults to. Learn how to make balloon animals and you'll be swamped by kids all clamering for their favourite. I had twenty five kids climbing on me at ds1's party when I started to make animals.

Good luck.

If there is a big enough space, could you take things to ride on like trikes etc or everyone bring a big bag of toys and all the kids could share them. Could a friend come in as a clown and play for an hour or so?

stikcer books and raisins!

Alot of 2 yo kids hate things that are dressed up so if you have a clown you may end up with loads of kids screaming. Do any of you have a good babysitter or teenage friend who is not part of the party - ask them to learn how do the balloon thing or what about a ball pit and pop up tent. A kitchen and plastic food is always popular too. Do you have a toy library near you? We have one where the kids go to on a Thursday morning and you can hire the stuff out for parties etc. so you could have some ride ons or a little tikes slide or whatever.

Tommy this company have a mobile creche facility which may be of interest to you. They will come and set up a fully operational crech e in the hotel and entertain your children for as long as you like.

This is what their blurb says

A Creche may be a one-off arrangement in order to allow the parents to attend a wedding, particular exhibition, meeting or conference, or it may be a regular arrangement as in supermarket, sports centre or sports and leisure club.

Safehands prides itself on its ability to undertake the provision of high quality childcare on a permanent or temporary basis, allowing parents to relax and enjoy the occasion, secure in the knowledge that their children are happy, safe and close by.

We can operate to each client?s specific requirements:- numbers and ages of children,

and crèche hours etc. Our experienced team can set up and run a crèche anywhere in the U.K. you provide the location and we will transform the space. We can transform an empty room into a welcoming crèche in 90 minutes! We will provide a full childcare package and take responsibility for the following:-

· All toys, arts and crafts and indoor/outdoor play equipment

· Entertainment and activities (clowns, magicians, face painters, P & J) etc.

· Qualified, Criminal Records Bureau cleared staff, screened and OFSTED approved, usually nursery nurses and primary school teachers.

· Room decoration

· Public and employer?s liability insurance

· Registration with Local Authority and Fire Officer, if appropriate.

· Child security system

· Children?s Marquee if required

At a family party last year the sluglet and her cousins were kept endlessly amused by some ride on plastic cars borrowed from the local kindergarten (it was in NZ) some balloons and streamers a few balls and an enthusastic uncle.

Wow - thanks for all the suggestions. I'll talk some of them over tomorrow and see what we can come up with. Thanks a lot guys - I knew I culd rely on you for some great ideas!

Has anyone got any puppets? My DH once kept lots of little ones amused with a makeshift puppet theatre

Went to a christening earlier this year and they had a HUGE box of duplo which kept the kiddies amused for hours.

Maybe you could borrow some from a local nursery?

I would recommend you take a pillow and favourite blanket and hopefully he'll snuggle up when the dancing starts.

Don't have time to read it all so forgive me if I repeat someone, but I always carry two small jotters and a small pack of crayons. Keeps my ds twins (aged 2) entertained for hours and stopped them running about the ward when we had to visit the Monster In Law in hospital recently.

You can buy jotters or notebooks and crayons quite cheaply in ASDA and Tesco so it doesn't matter if you loose any or leave anything behind.