things to do with kids during weddings
There are many to keep kids contained, I mean entertained (hahaha) during the ceremony and reception. First thing you should do is assign a person to look after the kids. You have ushers, right? You should have separate usher or ushers, specifically for the kids because kids can be quite a handful for one person.
Look for a separate room in the church or wherever you’re having the ceremony. The ushers can gather the kids there, right after the procession. If the ring bearer is needed, the usher should know when to get that kid. For the wedding reception, after dinner, before all of the speeches and toast are done, you can gather the kids for some fun things to do.
Print a handful of coloring pages and bring crayons. You don’t have to buy crayons, find a recycling store in your area, or any thrift store, they should have plenty of used crayons that you can get in bulk. I think they’re free, if not, they’re very cheap compared to buying boxes of crayons.
Buy an art kit for each kid. There’s so many different art kits in dollar stores for cheap. OR You can just buy a bunch of kid-friendly paint, and give each kid a thing to paint or draw. Provide all the supplies. You can also bring some wooden blocks that you can buy at dollar stores and have the kids paint them or they can write cute messages on them.
Reminder: Avoid glittery stuff, beads that can be swallowed, play dough (kids might eat it), and sharp objects.
Buy a Pinata and let them have fun with it. Who does not like a Pinata? Even adults still think it’s fun. Just make sure that everyone is safe playing it. You don’t want kids getting hit by an object.
If you have an extra budget, hire an entertainer, like a magician or a clown, depending on the ages of the kids. In my area, there’s a popular magician that I always see at kids ' parties, his rate is $150 per hour. I think an hour is enough if you schedule it right after dinner, and before the speeches and toasts.
Prepare some kid friendly parlor games or bring some toys like building blocks for kids, but bring blocks that are big enough, so nobody will be able to swallow anything.
If they’re mostly toddlers, you can simply do a story time or just bring some children’s books to keep them busy. You can also do that in the ceremony, since you don’t really have space for games at churches or ceremony venues.
