Whhat to do with small DCs for evening part of a wedding

[Zil131]

Been invited to a wedding a 5 hour drive away, with old Uni mates. The DCs (1 and 3) are also invited.
Personally I'd quite like to leave them with the grandparents, and have a lovely time with DH. DH wants to take them and show them off...

I can kind of cope with the prospect of spending the day running round after 2 DCs, but what to do in an evening??
I can't see them settling with a strange Nanny / Childminder back at the hotel (can't stay where the reception is)
I don't really want to have to spend the evening sat in the hotel room with them.
And I don't want to interrupt dinner to spend the rest of the night pushing DC2 round the grounds in a buggy.
I just know DH will just get drunk and not care, but I wil find the whole thing stressfull.

Any advice / suggestions / opinions?

Take it in turns be be in the room with them while the other of you is at the reception.

That's what we used to do.

It's not like you won't know anyone there if they are old Uni mates.

Leave them with the GPs. Take pictures to show off. Get drunk & have fun!

If your DH wants them there I would suggest he is responsible for them in the evening. Otherwise they stay with GPs.

YOu don't particularly want to take them, so why should you be lumbered with the responsibility of them in the evening?

We took it in turns at weddings when our dcs were smaller. If it was dh's friends, more so than mine, then he got drunk and I played with the dcs and then sat in the hotel room with them. If it was my friends then I got to party and dh did the entertaining bit.
One blissful wedding we went to the bride and groom had hired a "nanny" who looked after all the dcs. They were still all there with us, but she kept an eye which allowed us to relax a bit more. One of us still had to go up to the hotel room in the end though once they couldn't last any longer.
Can you afford to take the GPs with you? I have sat in hotel rooms for friends before at weddings. It is not great fun but you can make it up to them with a lovely dinner or helping them with something important to them.
I think the best solution would be to let them have a wonderful time with their GPs at home though and to let you and dh have a wonderful time at the wedding - otherwise it is very likely that resentment will brew.

If it's your friends wedding Dh babysits for the evening, and vice versa. That's what we've done in the past.

But agree with Eglu, if it's him that wnats to take them he's the one who gets to childmind.

Great, I'll just say I'm absolving responsibility after 5pm, then I think the prospect of not getting drunk on a Uni reunion will sway him to leave them...

Also agree with Ruby, people aren't actually that interested!

(ooh a night away, and a hangover that doesn't have to involve making porridge and playing cars at 7am )

I hope you have a great time - I am a little .

Take photos with. Leave kids at home. Enjoy yourself. People won't be that interested, truly

Leave them at home unless you know it's a particularly child-friendly wedding and there'll be other kids they know etc. But even then, if I had the choice I would still leave them!

We've taken the DDs (now 2.10 and 8 months) to several weddings, had no option as there was noone to look after them. Each one has been ok-ish, but frustrating - can't get drunk, can't even finish a conversation, always on duty watching them, too many people, too many drinks on low tables asking to be knocked over, naptime goes out of the window, crying or asking v loud questions during the speeches, always a complete meltdown from DD1 if we try to keep her up past her bedtime, plus the fun of all of us trying to sleep in one hotel room, which usually ends up with both kids in with me and DH on the floor.

Have I put you off yet?

Leave them at home with GP's or if your DH insists on tsking them then he gets to look after them in the evening while you party, or you pay to take someone with you to stay at the hotel.