Corporate Open House Invitations: Do Kids Count?

It's a week before the open house and the venue wants a final number. Your list says 74 names. Then someone from marketing asks the question nobody wrote down: do the children count? If you're sending corporate open house invitations with families on the guest list, that one answer decides the food, the seating and how many adults fit in the room.

Children at a company event are not a footnote. They eat, they need somewhere to sit, and at plenty of venues they take up a place in the room's official capacity. Settle that before the invitation goes out.

Corporate open house invitations: settle the count before you send

Ring the venue and ask one plain question: do under-18s count towards the room limit? Some spaces apply a lower limit to small children. Some count every person who walks through the door. Some count children from a set age. Then read the catering contract, because it usually works from a number of diners, and a six-year-old who eats half a portion still sits on that number. A room that holds 80, with 15 children, leaves you 65 adult seats. You'll feel that at the door.

• Ask the venue whether children count towards the room limit, and from what age.
• Check whether the catering contract counts children in the number of diners.
• Decide now if there will be a children's menu or smaller portions.
• Plan the space: a table of their own, low chairs, or a corner to play in.

Your RSVP should ask about children, not assume

Add a numeric question to the RSVP form: how many adults and how many children are coming? That one line gives you the number you need for the caterer. If the evening runs long, or you're laying on something for the younger ones, add a second field for ages. If a count is all you need, keep it to one question.

Word it so nobody has to guess. 'Are you bringing children? Tell us how many, and their ages' gives you a number you can use. 'Kids welcome' leaves you ringing three families the week of the event.

Food, seating and the shape of the evening

Once the replies are in, pass the number of children to the caterer: smaller portions or a children's menu, depending on the age spread. Then look at the room again. Ten children usually want a table of their own and a bit of distance from the speeches. If the event runs past their bedtime, work out who is watching them, because a three-hour evening needs more than one pair of eyes.

Decide whether children count towards the headcount, then let the RSVP collect the number for you.

Say clearly whether children are invited

Be direct about the policy. If children are part of the day, say it: 'The little ones are part of the celebration.' If it's an adults-only evening, say that too, and say it warmly: 'This one is a night for grown-ups, and we'd love you to enjoy it without worry.' What you want to avoid is 'bring the kids' — it reads like an open invitation, says nothing about the headcount and leaves the caterer short of food. Once that's settled, the invitation does the rest. A digital invitation lets you set your own RSVP questions, and confirmations arrive in one ordered list. If you later need ages as well, you edit the invitation and the link stays the same: no resending, no chasing replies on WhatsApp. It's 29,99 EUR as a one-off payment, and your guests open it in a browser on their phone.