Call Parents in a Pinch and see if they could place one or two people to do this - their babysitters will have gone through the necessary background checks, and they've been trained - they may even have completed CPR and First Aid - you'll have to ask, I don't remember.

I hope they are still in business - they were in Brookline or Brighton at one point - google and see!

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Hi Nibsfeld. There is a site called Care.com that screens and you meet and hire childcare, elderly/special needs and housekeeping for one day or long term positions. I've had experience with them, and it's a convenient service. Many venues have a separate room they can set aside and set up for the children. A good Wedding Nanny would entertain the kids. It's a great idea for out of town guests.bg.

thanks, folks, for your suggestions.  we have the entire building so it's no problem to set aside a "kids' room."  all of the kids are from out of town and we know some guests won't be able to come cross-country without setting up childcare--a hassle for them, not so tough for me.

Tell the guests to leave the kids at home. Just because they decided to ruin their lives with kids doesn't mean that the rest of the guests have to put up with them.

Hi! Be careful of a few of those site (care.com is great!) but I had contracted with a wedding nanny and she "went under" I had already paid a fee, ect. So her lawyer had to contact me.

We ended up using my sister in laws Neice and afew of her friends - it worked amazingly! We purchased cheap DVD players some games, coloring books, and toys, and the evening was perfect for the kids!

I loved doing this as did my family/friends with kids - they thought it was great!

I would say use care.com if you don't have a connection :)

Cheaper just to buy a big bottle of NyQuil. Works every time ;)

I also used parents in a pinch.