Weddings are a family affair – but children bore easily. If you’re organising a wedding and inviting kids along, it’s important to have plenty of tricks up your sleeve to keep them engaged (and distract them from the breakables!) If you’re looking for ideas on how to entertain children at a wedding, try these easy crowd pleasers.

Piñata

A piñata filled with sweets and loose confetti is a fantastically fun way to entertain younger guests. Let the little ones line up and give it a good bash, before devouring the bounty within.

Activity table

Set up an activity table for older kids of a similar age with arts, crafts and other activities, so they’ve always got something to keep them entertained. You could even set up a confetti bar (choosing from tissue, metallic and glitter confetti) perfect for custom arts and craft creations.

No adults allowed

Let your smaller guests feel that they ‘own’ a part of the celebration. Set up a tent or tipi that’s just for them – a totally kid-friendly space that’s out of bounds to adults.

Childcare on tap

Mums and dads want to let their hair down, too. Why not hire a nanny or babysitter to entertain the children at your wedding, taking care of all their needs so that the adults can have a well-earned break?

Outdoor games

Wondering how to combat the effect of all those sweet treats? Let them loose outside to use up some energy. Organise outdoor activities for all ages, such as giant Jenga, a coconut shy or perhaps some sports day style races. If you have the space, a bouncy castle will always go down a treat.

Feed them well

If there’s a long period of time between your ceremony and the main meal, make sure there are no rumbling tummies on your hands. You could provide a snack table for kids or hand out bags of provisions to 

every young guest. When it comes to catering for children at a sit-down meal, this is no time for anything too fancy or formal. Make sure you include a kids’ option that will actually get eaten.

Colouring fun

Help parents keep their kids happy while they’re waiting for food: provide crayons and something to colour for every child. If you want to go for something more original, you could design quiz sheets or challenge activities to keep the older ones entertained; a wedding bingo game is a great way to get them looking around the room to spot things like fancy hats and flowers.

Dancefloor action

Try to ensure that you include some kid-friendly music on the dance floor, perhaps by having a children-only dance floor session before the adults set foot on the floor. (This is also a great time to entertain the children at your wedding with musical games and activities.)