Fun Child-Friendly Engagement Garden Party Ideas

Marriage is good for children. Children raised by married parents “do better at school, develop stronger cognitive and non-cognitive skills, are more likely to go to college, earn more, and are more likely to go on to form stable marriages themselves”, research from the Brookings Institution reveals. If you’re getting married soon and planning an engagement garden party, it’s possible to make it child-friendly, so the whole family can celebrate together.  

Serve yummy food and drink

By serving crowd-pleasing food, you can cater to guests of all ages. Hot dogs, corn on the cob, and pasta salad are simple yet delicious ideas. A lemonade dispenser is also a must for a garden party; they’re fairly inexpensive and you can easily whip up a batch of homemade lemonade with sugar, lemons, and water — get the kids to help! You can also ask your kids to help with food preparation like baking a cake or other sweet treats. 

Decorate the garden together

Have your kids help out with decorating your garden and making it look special for the party. For example, go looking around your garden together for pretty flowers and greenery to pick and put into jars, creating a natural, rustic theme on your tables (you can also trail garlands over the sides of the tables, too). Kids can also help with fun tasks like blowing up balloons and hanging bunting. The best thing about garden party decor is it looks beautiful without being expensive. In fact, if you already have party decorations, reusing them is a great way to save money. 

Play games

An engagement party simply isn’t complete with games and there are many the whole family can enjoy together. A classic ring hunt, for example, involves you hiding lots of plastic rings throughout your garden in advance. Players then hunt for the rings and whoever finds the most wins. Lawn games like ring toss are also great fun for people of all ages, young and old alike. Players take turns tossing rings onto the stake in the ground. If the ring hits the stake once and “tings”, you get one point. If it hits and makes two “tings”, you get five points. And, when the ring lands on the stake, you get five points.  

Planning a child-friendly engagement party gives your whole family the chance to celebrate together. By serving yummy food, decorating the garden together, and playing games, you can throw a special party fun for adults and kids alike.