31 Days of Hospitality: Day 23-No Children...


Some events you will host and some you be invited to will be ones that are 'adult only'.  Living in a time when (in my opinion) children are taken just about anywhere without regard to appropriateness,  you are bound to offend someone when your event is deemed 'adults only'.

Our wedding was adults only.  My husband & I both liked the idea and since we weren't having a flower girl or ring bearer it seemed appropriate.  I thought we would get some grief from some of this (12) siblings but they loved the idea of a 'date night'; an excuse to get a sitter.

There was a little to do when my husband's cousin tried to bring his (toddler) children to the reception. They didn't bring them to the wedding ceremony but tried to sneak them into the reception. Because we wouldn't notice the only two little people at all...  One of these children was the same one that almost knocked over the tall lit candle sconces my sister-in-law had at the end of the pews at her wedding a few months earlier.  As I caught the candle holder, keeping it from falling on myself and other guests, I made the decision that an adult wedding was just what I wanted (especially if this little guy was going to be attending).  My husband nicely told his cousin and his cousin's wife that the reception was adult only (it was printed on the invitations) and they would not be able to come in with the children.  I guess they were okay with it since they came back later without the kids. 

Since LM was born most of our parties have been kid friendly with the exception of my husband's 40th birthday party.  Again most people were happy to have a date night and enjoy the company of other adults without having to worry about the kids.  There was an issue with 1 friend not getting a baby sitter (there's always one, right?) but we held firm and everyone had a good time.

There have been times when we have been invited to adult only events and have had to get a sitter.  There have been times when we couldn't get a sitter and either we didn't attend an event or one of us went and the other stayed with LM. 

I will say that infants are the exception to the rule when I am hosting a 'no children' event.  Especially nursing infants.  They usually just sleep and I always have a quiet room available for the mom to nurse and the baby to sleep.  I know I always appreciated that when LM was small.

How do you handle 'no children' situations as a hostess?  Do you even host these type of events if you are a parent?

Find my other 31 Days posts here.

Comments

Laurie Anne said…
When we got married two of my three bridesmaids were nursing moms. The babies came to the rehersal dinner, but I put my foot down when it came to the wedding. I thought that was fair and they ended up having a great night not having to worry about a fussing baby.
Our Christmas party is "grown ups only" and I think that is okay. We put a lot of work into it and I don't want to worry about kids getting into something they shouldn't. As a host I think it is okay to "set the rules" and even more important as a guest to follow them. I like kids, but they don't have to be everywhere we are 24/7 :0)
October 23, 2011 at 11:34 PM
Arm Chair Philosopher said…
If the stage is set well in advance (ex. it's published on the invitation), then there's plenty of time for people to make arrangements or determine that they may not be able to attend. A hostess certainly has the option to define things about the event - just like they set the time, date, and the rest of the guest list. But once it's decided, the important thing is to stick to it the best you can - there's nothing worse than being a 'rule follower' and then showing up to the event to find there were a bunch of 'exceptions' for those who couldn't find a sitter, etc.
October 24, 2011 at 3:28 AM
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