What to Do With the Kids at Your Wedding

Photo from: blogs.babble.com

Here are a few tips to include the little ones in your wedding day with some kid-friendly fun. These ideas will keep the kids happy, and you calm, cool and collected.

1. Hire a professional. Think about hiring a clown, comedian, caricature artist, magician, mime, story teller, ventriloquist, etc. It's a simple way to keep the children happy and entertained and the adults "off the hook." Research local entertainment vendors and party-planning companies to find the perfect entertainer for your young audience.
2. Create a sports center. Have active children attending? Consider transforming the play space into a sports palace. You can rent or borrow Ping-Pong tables, air hockey, a basketball, hula hoops, Twister and a putt-putt machine. And if you're having your reception at a hotel or country-club, you might be able to find the necessary equipment you need on the grounds.
3. Make a craft room. For kids who are younger, turn one room into an arts-and-crafts center. Some ideas: Have a coloring contest with prizes for the most colorful drawings; provide beads for necklaces they can take home; or set up a table for sand art. To do sand art, you'll need different color sand (or kids can create their own with white salt and colored chalk), plastic spoons and clear plastic containers or jars for the kids to fill.
4. Make them superstars. Use a room as "production headquarters" for a video the kids create and star in. (Ask your videographer to bring an extra staff person to assist the kids, or get a tech-savvy friend to help). Bring some old clothes and jewelry, a portable tape or CD player and some background music along with movie prop paraphernalia. The adult helping can assist the kids in coming up with a simple story (a mystery wedding or a music video, for example) and choose actors. The kids will dress up, practice their roles, then act for the camera. You can even show the video at the end of the reception. 

For 11 more tips, check out Wedding Guests: What to Do With Kids.