Help kids fit in at mostly adult White Elephant exchange?

[ShinyGreenApple]

I got to have the honor of setting up and planning our departments Christmas party this year, hurray! Everyone is really looking forward to it, and it's typically a family friendly event, so everyone brings their spouses/SOs, and children. However, due to two of our parent coworkers leaving us this year, and the only other Mom of young kids in the group coming solo, that leaves one of our pharmacists as the only one bringing little ones along. He has a 6 year old son and a 4 year old daughter. Everyone is is childless, childfree, or their children are long grown and moved out. Originally I was going to just have them parents bring a kid-friendly gift for each one in attendance and have them do their own swap. But with just two of them coming, would I just be better off getting something for each of them to open up so they don't feel left out? It's a new dilemma as normally we draw names, but hours have been cut and everyone's budget is tight, so we're sticking to cheap and funny things this year.

People are known to run a little wild with gag gifts, so I don't want one of these poor kids sitting there with something totally uninteresting or inappropriate

[depechemodefan]

I think you are going to be stuck having to buy something cheap for both kids and wrapping them up yourself.

See if you can get a Wii. At the library, kids would start playing with a Wii or a playstation and ignore everything going on.

[ShinyGreenApple]

It's at the Olive Garden, so a gaming system is a little out of the question Hence another reason I really need to get my own place, it would be just me so there's be plenty of room to host things like this at. These kids are exceptionally well-behaved in public (he will insist that at home is an entirely different story!), so they're not the kind to need constant stimulation. I think a nice small gift will do for them though, as they're both still young and probably won't pick up on the fact that the adults are all stealing each other's gifts or desperately trying to get rid of an embarrassing one.

[EricKei]

These kids are exceptionally well-behaved in public (he will insist that at home is an entirely different story!)

Sounds like one of my nieces. At school or out on the town? We get reports from teachers that she's a perfect little angel, ditto from others who interact with her. At home? She HAS to have her way (middle child), and has to have it RIGHT NOW! --

me, 5:05pm> "I said X could play with that until 6, then you until 7..."
her, 5:10pm> "I wanna play with it NOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWW!"
her, 5:15pm> *varies between stomping her feet and lying on the couch backstop so that she's more or less lying on X's shoulder* Make her give it to me! I want it!" etc

Or, what she is really known for...She finishes a Lunchable, drink, and a cookie, on top of the apple she polished off not half an hour before...Wait ten minutes, and "I'm hungryyyyyyyyyyyy"

[ShinyGreenApple]

I've never visited his house and he talked up how the Olive Garden has a large area for large parties, not offering to host, I noticed

I guess how they are at home is his and his wife's issue, but I imagine we're all different in our own element, so to speak. All I know is he usually shows up to these events, everyone dressed to the nines, and except that you know the kids are there, you wouldn't know they're there! They sit through adult dinners and don't interrupt people or scream, and two years ago the little boy was rifling through his Dad's gift (I'd drawn his name that year) and found Reese's cups in it. He asked who had bought it because he wanted to personally than them, it was so flippin' adorable. They only time I've ever seen these kids really act out was when they were sick and picking up meds at the pharmacy.

[Kittish]

Coloring books and crayons to keep them occupied, and a small gift each for them to open. Sure, the restarant has some crayons, but it's like a pack of three.

[Kanalah]

I second the coloring/activity books.

[ShinyGreenApple]

Bestie and I have come to an agreement. She's picking up something for the girl, and I get the boy. Huzzah all around!