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Luxury Kids' Seating for Baby Showers & Family Events

At a baby shower, a sip-and-see or a family milestone, the children are always invited and almost never planned for. Here is how to give them a table of their own that looks like it belongs in the room, and why it lets the grown-ups actually enjoy the afternoon.

A baby shower is planned around one guest who hasn't arrived yet. A sip-and-see is planned around one who sleeps through most of it. And yet the afternoon is usually full of children: the older sibling, the cousins, the neighbors' kids, the friends' toddlers who came because there was no sitter. They are on every guest list and in almost none of the seating plans.

What usually happens is familiar. The children get adult chairs at the end of an adult table, or a corner of the sofa with a paper plate on their knees. Within twenty minutes a parent is up, then another, and the conversation the event was meant for keeps breaking off. A dedicated kids' table, set at their height and dressed to match the room, quietly fixes that. This guide covers how to plan one for showers, sip-and-sees, baby namings and family milestones across New Jersey and New York.

Why a kids' table changes a family event

It gives the children somewhere that is theirs. Children settle when the furniture fits: feet on the floor, elbows above the table, able to climb on and off without asking. A table at their height turns a restless half hour into a craft, a snack and a conversation of their own.

It gives the parents a home base. When the kids' table is in sight of the main room, parents can sit down with everyone else instead of hovering. That is the real luxury of the setup, and it is why planners ask for it at showers and namings as much as at birthdays.

And it photographs well. A small table repeating the event's palette in miniature is often the most photographed corner of the day, especially at a sip-and-see, where there are fewer formal moments to capture.

Match the kids' table to the room, not the other way around

The children's table should look like it was designed with the rest of the event, not borrowed from a playroom. Three ways to make that happen:

• Pick the chair to suit the style of the room. Our rattan kids' chairs suit a garden shower or a boho sip-and-see; the white Classic chiavari suits a formal room or a venue with banquet chairs; clear ghost chairs disappear into a modern space and let the table colors lead.
• Repeat one detail from the adult tables. The same runner fabric, the same flower in a bud vase, the same napkin color. Your planner or florist can scale it down; one repeated detail does more than a separate theme.
• Use color carefully. Our kids' tables can be made in a custom color to match the palette (the Lego Table is the one exception). A soft blush or sage table under white chairs reads as part of a shower, not a party within a party.

How many seats, and what size table

Count the children who will actually be there at the busiest moment, not the number on the invitation list. For most showers and family events, that lands somewhere between six and fourteen.

• Up to 5 children: one round table. The Daisy Table is 36 inches wide and seats five, and it is a centerpiece in its own right.
• 6 to 10 children: one long table, such as our Mini Scalloped Oval Table (75 by 30 inches), with chairs on both sides.
• More than 10, or a wide age range: two tables. Toddlers at one, school-age children at the other. It keeps the little ones from being crowded and gives the older kids a little independence.

For the full math by guest count and room, our guide to how many kids' chairs and tables you need walks through it, and table and chair heights by age covers which size fits whom.

Think about the age mix

Showers and family events bring a wider spread of ages than a birthday. A one-year-old and a nine-year-old do not want the same seat. A few rules that hold up:

• Babies and young toddlers belong in a high chair next to a parent, not at the kids' table. If the guest of honor's older sibling is under two, a high chair at the family table keeps them close. Our post on where the birthday baby sits has the layout.
• Ages two to six are the heart of the kids' table. Our toddler tables and chairs are sized for them.
• Ages seven and up may prefer to join the adults for the meal and come to the kids' table for the activity. Leave a couple of spare seats rather than assigning them.

Where to put it

Within sight of the main seating, out of the service path. The best spot is usually a corner of the same room, angled toward the adult tables, or just inside the doorway of the next room with a clear sightline. Avoid the route between the kitchen and the buffet, the gift table and the front door: those paths get busy at exactly the moments the children are most likely to get up.

At a venue, ask your coordinator for a spot near your family's table rather than near the dance floor or the bar. At home, a sunroom or the end of a living room works well, and it photographs beautifully in afternoon light.

Keep it calm: the right activity for the occasion

A shower or a naming is a quieter event than a birthday, so the kids' table should be quieter too. A coloring placemat, a sticker sheet, a small craft that ends with something to give the new baby (a card, a drawing for the nursery wall) keeps hands busy without noise. Leave the confetti and anything with glitter at home. A small dessert spread on our dessert cart near the kids' table gives them their own treat moment without a trip across the room.

Which events this works for

• Baby showers at home, in a backyard tent or at a restaurant private room. See our baby shower and sip-and-see kids' table ideas.
• Sip-and-sees and welcome parties, where guests come and go: plan for the most children at once, not the total.
• Baby namings, kiddush and family milestones, including communions and upsherins. Our milestone events guide covers the timing.
• Weddings and anniversaries with children on the guest list. The wedding kids' table guide has the details for a venue.
• Drop-in family parties and open houses: how to seat kids when guests come and go.

What we bring, and what we don't

We deliver the kids' tables, chairs, high chairs and dessert carts, set them up where you want them, and pick them up afterward, across New Jersey and New York. Delivery, setup and pickup are included. We don't do the balloons, florals, linens or food; that is your planner's world, and we work alongside planners all the time.

Showers and namings are often booked on short notice, but the best weekends go first. If you know the date, hold your date now and confirm the count later, or ask for a quote with the guest count, the style and the location. For the full lineup, start at kids' table and chair rentals.

Frequently asked questions