Children's wedding favours

[theasidonio]

Having finally booked our wedding venue, we have appox 12 children ranging in age from 5-13 attending our wedding and reception. Most between 5 and 8.

I want to make them indvidual party bags instead of traditional favours and also want to make an activity box to keep them amused that won't be too messy.

Any one got any idea's/experience of what the content should be?

thanks x

[buggie]

Had similar number of children at our wedding, I found some really cute (and reasonable) decorate your own Mask/tiara sets in Sainsburys of all places - the kits had everything ready cut out so no stress. Also had little bottles of bubbles on the tables for everyone which the kids (and adults) loved.

I'd suggest not to worry about giving them too much as there'll be lots the kids can find to do/playmates to find :-)

[esme]

bubbles great, a few sweets, amazon do great party bags really cheap too :)

[Medusa]

At my brother's civil partnership reception last year he provided colouring books and pencils/crayons for the smaller children and sudoku books for my lot, who were ten then. It kept them amused for a good 45 mins.

[theasidonio]

45 minutes? God help me!

[Medusa]

'Fraid so. After that they entertained themselves making faces and switching place name cards around. Fortunately there was an outdoors space where they could then go & race about. Hopefully you have one, too? (Or else children with less energy than mine...)

[theasidonio]

I have no children. Lots of boisterous nieces and nephews. We have access to a garden so maybe some garden games?

[absentminded]

I got married last year and had about the same number of children.

I went to ikea, and bought some smallish metal plant pots and filled them with some cheap soft toys/finger puppets (also from ikea), some colouring pencils and some little colouring books I had printed off myself. Oh and boys had a matchbox car each and girls had some artificial gerbera flower things.

All the kids loved them and it kept them quiet throughout the whole sit down meal!

[Fuschia]

Put a tent up in the garden?

Agree with bubbles

For 5-8 a little kit of baker Ross sticky sand art is a simple craft activity that doesn't involve any paint or glue and is easily hoovered up after

The left over sand is fascinating put into a saucer after and water dropped on/mixed with fingers as the sand repels water

Baker Ross also do black card shapes you can rub the top coat off with a little stick to reveal rainbow colours - again fairly absorbing

A football outside is no bad idea

Possibly a scavenger hunt - give each a yoghurt pot and a list of things to gather

1 blade of grass

A yellow flower petal

A daisy

Something blue

That sort of thing

Or as many different things as possible they can fit in a match box

Bug viewing goes down well with mine too, if you are interested I will explain techniques and equipment

[theasidonio]

Tent in the garden sounds like fun! Better check with the venue though. What does the bug viewing involve? Not sure the venue will take too kindly if it involves any digging?

On a seperate note, 5 is old enough to be seated at the kids table, am I right in thinking so?

[Fuschia]

If there are bushes or shrubs, put a white cloth below and shake to catch bugs - you can buy plastic pots with magnifiers to view

Lift stones to look under

[Serena2012]

At our wedding, we had 8 children aged 7 and younger.

I had my aunt (who is very handy with a sewing machine) make fabric bags with each of the children's names on them. I then filled these with lots of activity and colouring in books, depending on the ages of the children. The Tate Modern's book store which has loads of activity books was a really good source of inspiration in this regard. I ended up buying books like:

Everybody's activity book

The anti-colouring in book; and

The ha ha bonk book (a favourite of mine when I was around 7); and for the younger children (we had quite a few between the ages of 2 months and 3):

Peppa Pig Activity Books

The Hungry caterpillar

Tell Me How Much I Love You; and

Jonathan and Martha

We also gave the babies a small soft toy each.

I agree with the comments above re: bubbles. Disposable cameras are also a very good way of keeping children entertained, and my mother in law also bought a pack of silly moustaches, glasses and noses, which went down a treat with the toddlers...

We also had a retro sweets table and a fancy dress box (including glo sticks) for the evening bit of the reception, which went down a treat with the slightly older children and adults alike, and I'm sure the sugar high meant that our little flowergirls (aged 5 and 7) stayed dancing far later than they would otherwise have done - which was a bonus for their parents... In a similar vein, I've also been to quite a few weddings which have had photobooths (both DIY and professional) and these also seem to go down a treat with children...

Also, if you google "Rockmywedding windswept beauty part 2" you should stumble upon a blog entry for a beautiful scottish island wedding where the couple had a table of toys and games etc. set up for the children - a fab idea and one that in hindsight I wish I'd thought of earlier...

Happy planning!

[Serena2012]

Before I forget origami can be a good distraction as well - particularly if you include a competitive element. You should be able to source a 5 minute origami set relatively cheaply online...

Another option would be to create an "I Spy" game for the children, listing out a list of things they need to take photos of using the disposable cameras provided. There should be plenty of sources of inspiration online if you google "wedding I spy ideas"

[Serena2012]

Two other thoughts (and then I promise to shut up). If you have time, you should definitely consider individually wrapping the toys/ books that you include in the children's party bags. A pi?ata (Tesco online has lots of options) stuffed with sweets, along with giant jenga and connect four (which can be hired) might also be options.

[Convex]

we did colouring pencils, and a disposable camera for the kids. the parents then added a game of 'go take pics of al the ladies in hats' etc etc

also had lawn games, giant jenga was the most popular

then they just ran around exploring, my flower girls had to be changed into shorts and teeshirts as there was a hill for rolling down!

[Fmm]

The kids at our wedding were 5 and under. We did party bags at each childs seat with homemade name badges, bubbles, colouring/ sticker books, crayons, thread your own necklace/ make an airplane/ design a mask activities etc. Also disposable cameras (really crappy bulk bought ones for the kids as never developed them). The idea of a 'find and photograph' quiz/mission is really good. They were all occupied for the whole meal. Personally i would advise against anything that requires adult help/ reading as the adults want to eat/ drink/ chat. what went down a storm was a dressing up box with funny hats, waistcoats, skirts etc. They were amused for ages during the drinks reception and there were some really cute pics afterwards.

[Fmm]

Just seen someone mentioned silly glasses, taches, noses for the toddlers. Think that is a great idea for the party bags in the same vein (but much easier to put together!) as our dressing up box. also, I would say don't worry too much about keeping the kids occupied; as long as they have something to look at during the meal, at the many child-full weddings I've been to the kids have made their own fun playing with each other and having a good boogie when the music starts!

[theasidonio]

thanks for all the tips! Going to start putting some bits together.

[Pickle]

The online craft store Baker Ross do some really great little kits which might be worth a look. We bought a few for my daughters 4th birthday and they kept the kids entertained for ages.

A dressing up area is a good idea, maybe with a cheap digital camera that they can play around with taking funny photos of each other?