Entertaining dd2.5 at a wedding

[graysor]

We’re going to a wedding at the weekend. Dd2.5 yo will be coming with us. Children have been specifically invited, and are being catered for (even with a crèche for part of the time!), so it should be a relatively child friendly affair.

However I am worried about how to keep dd entertained. We’ve got to travel up the day before and stay 2 nights in a hotel.

There will be a fair amount of time when we’re just kind of hanging around. Like late afternoon when we arrive, the morning before the wedding and then the bit of the wedding day after the ceremony but before the reception.

We’ll be pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so popping off to find a playground or similar for an hour or so doesn’t look like an option.

So what can I do to entertain dd? (Other than iPad, which will obviously be my backup!)

Hit me with your best suggestions for travel and hotel friendly toys/ games/ entertainment for a toddler with the attention span of a gnat!

Sticker books, colouring, slyvanian families, running around outside with a football, bubbles.

This will be us in a few months, although it won’t be as child friendly.

I’ve got a new sticker book in hand, and bubbles on my list.

Any more for any more?

Bubbles, lots of little pots so when she spills one there's more. Look good on wedding photos too. Ditto confetti. Take it in turns outside the church/venue. No way can most 2 year olds get through an entire ceremony

Blow up (beach) ball? It will pack down to nothing when deflated so it's easier to carry around in your clutch bag than a football.

And, a see-through pencil case with little bits and pieces inside - mini cars, bubble wand, single tub of playdoh, small wax crayons etc.

Tablet with some films/programmes downloaded.

Snacks!

Water pens / paints e.g. Crayola’s Mess Free range are great to avoid marks on dresses, tablecloths, faces etc.

Go for a walk. Whenever we're in this situation, just going outside is always the best solution. Kids can entertain themselves jumping off a log for 20 minutes if given the chance. Especially if you'll be in the middle of nowhere, there should be plenty of footpaths. Pack some snacks and bubbles and just go out and explore.

On the wedding day itself, there will likely be lots of other adults who are fresh enough to entertain her. We've always found weddings really easy in terms of entertainment. There's an interesting venue to walk around usually with flowers/garden/ponds/that sort of decorative stuff and friends or family who have the energy to interact with your child when you're still exhausted from the night before. I'd definitely recommend packing snacks for the wedding itself too. I find that the food isn't always child friendly and can happen at weird times. So a box with snacks and a sandwich, some fruit, etc. is helpful to tide them over when everyone is enjoying drinks and canapes and dinner won't arrive for another two hours.

Love the idea of an inflatable beach ball! Great idea. Fingers crossed they’ll have balloons too.

I’m hoping we can be outside a lot of the time. Although of course after months of hot sunny weather it’s actually forecast to rain on the big day!

I will definitely have loads of snacks, and my phone and tablet loaded with games and videos.

I think I have one of those magic painting things somewhere, so I’ll dig that out too.