At The Catered Affair, we’re lucky to be able to incorporate fun and whimsy into many of our events, galas and weddings. But one recent event, a wedding at Gore Place, brought us a challenge that allowed us to get particularly creative: the creation of a colorful, beautiful children’s table in the midst of an elegant wedding. We took on the challenge with great joy, and providing this custom experience for children got us thinking about some of the great ideas that can be incorporated into children’s parties, bar mitvahs and bat mitvahs, or other events with children’s tables.

When planning to entertain children, it’s important to remember that their experience should be as rich and thoughtful as that of the adults attending the event. Whether you’re planning a bar mitvah or bat mitvah in Boston or its suburbs, or you simply have many children at your wedding or party, the kids will thank you for making them feel special!

• Think in Color: While muted colors or monochromatic schemes can look beautiful at an adult affair, when it comes to children, we like to be bold with color. For this children’s table, the entire primary color palette came into play. By choosing primary colors only, the setting still looks elegant and coordinated, while also appealing to kids and not looking too “grown up.”
• Integrate Activities: It can be difficult to keep children engaged throughout the mechanics of an adult event or mitvah–speeches, dinner service and the like. Ensure that the kids will remain calm–and seated–by providing them with something creative to do at the table. In this instance, buckets of chalk made the black paper “tablecloth” an instant art project. Allowing kids to draw directly on the table meant that coloring books and other activities weren’t cluttering up the area for dinner and gave them plenty of options for being creatively engaged, from artwork to games of tic-tac-toe.
• Personalize: There’s a reason why every toy store has a rack of personalized items in it: kids love things with their names on them. Create a placecard for each child that assigns them seating (with the added bonus of making sure that two kids who cause trouble are seated on opposite ends of the table!) and attach it to a favor–in this case, a color-coordinated lollipop worthy of Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.
• Plate Beautifully: Sure, the kids’ meal might be chicken fingers, not filet, but that’s no reason to make the presentation boring. Because we know children love both compartmentalized meals and dipping things, we got extra creative and served up their balanced meals in a pretty, color-coordinated lunchbox that doubled as a way for them to carry their candy home (more on that in a moment). Beautiful plating is in the eye of the beholder; for a child, a fun take on a “plate” like this made the meal feel extra special.
• When All Else Fails, Sugar Usually Doesn’t: Sure, plying children with sugar is frowned upon in everyday life. But today, we’re talking about special occasions, and there’s no better way to make a child feel like you’ve created their own personal wonderland than to incorporate candy. In this instance, we used candy both as decor and favors. Small lollipops made their way into the flower arrangements, providing an edible aspect to the centerpiece. Big lollipops and bags of M&M’s provided the take-home. And best of all, colorful candy only adds to the brightness of the table!

We truly appreciate any opportunity to get creative for our Boston weddings, bar and bat mitvahs, and other events that incorporate children. At The Catered Affair, we focus on ensuring that every guest feels special and that touches are thoughtful for everyone from grandmothers to tots. If you’re interested in unique options for the children at your next event, contact us at The Catered Affair to talk about your options!