🍭 10 things to do in London this weekend with the kids (29–30 November)

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Hey DILFs!

Is it common knowledge what breed Snoopy is? I’ve spent my whole life assuming he was just… Snoopy-shaped, and now I find out he’s a beagle. A beagle! Then again, nothing will ever be as baffling as discovering Hello Kitty is a human girl and not a cat, so perhaps I need to calm down and get some perspective.

Anyway, the reason I now know Snoopy’s ancestry is because 12 of him have suddenly appeared in London. The Wild in Art team is back with another winter trail of sculptures to find around the Fleet Street Quarter, and this year they’ve gone full Peanuts to celebrate Snoopy’s 75th anniversary.

Each sculpture has been designed by a different artist, and they're all dotted across the area. If you need guidance on where to find them, here’s a map you can download to help track them down.

And there’s plenty more happening across the city this weekend, so keep reading…

Enjoy!

Jeff xx

1: Decide whether you’re Team Tempest or Team Towpath in Tate Britain’s grand showdown

Turner & Constable: Rivals & Originals
Saturday and Sunday, 10:00–18:00 (and every day until 12 April)
Tate Britain, Millbank, SW1P 4RG
Adults £24, 12–18s £5, under-12s free

Tate Britain has decided to frame this exhibition as Turner vs Constable: the Great Victorian Rivalry We Definitely Didn’t Make Up. In reality, the two men weren’t at war and seemed to co-exist perfectly peacefully in 19th-century Britain. But turning them into the art-world equivalent of a Kendrick–Drake beef is a clever trick, because it makes you want to go along and pick a side. If you miss the days when magazines tried to turn everyone into either Team Jolie or Team Aniston, this will scratch that itch nicely.

But if you want to properly declare allegiance, you'll need something to base it on – so here’s a cheat-sheet before you walk in.

Turner was a Londoner, born above his dad’s barber shop and sketching before he could tie his shoelaces – so let’s all be thankful Instagram didn’t exist, because his parents would have been insufferable with all their #BoyGenius posts. He spent his adult life travelling around Britain looking for “interesting” weather in the way other people chase football away fixtures, and as a result his paintings are full of atmosphere and drama: storms, fog, sunlight crashing through clouds, ships in trouble and colours pushed right to the edge. He worked fast and wanted impact, and you can tell: subtlety was not a top priority.

Constable was the opposite. Born and raised in Suffolk, he seemed determined to paint the same patch of countryside forever. He took the English weather extremely seriously, making notes about wind direction, cloud movement and time of day with the commitment of a trainspotter. His paintings show the kind of countryside we see on staycations: you’ll spot a decent number of towpaths, riverbanks, watermills and those cloudy grey skies he loved so dearly.

Seen side by side, the difference is immediate. Turner wants you to gasp. Constable wants you to look properly. Neither approach is wrong, but you’ll almost certainly have a preference – and Tate Britain is clearly counting on it.

Find out more: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/turner-and-constable

FYI… staff at Tate Britain (and the wider Tate network) have voted for a week-long strike from 26 November to 2 December over pay and conditions. If you’re planning to visit the Turner & Constable exhibition this weekend, check the gallery’s website in advance in case things are impacted.

2: Step into a sugary city where Smarties are streetlights and the bus stops are biscuit tins

The Gingerbread City
Saturday and Sunday, 09:00–17:30 (and daily until 4 January)
Unit 5, 79–81 Coal Drops Yard, Stable Street, N1C 4DQ
Adults and 12+ £13.50, 3–12s £8.50, under-3s free

It’s fair to say this exhibition gets around. In 2022 it was in Belgravia. Then it popped up in White City in 2023. By last year it had migrated to what felt like the outer rim of the known universe (Chelsea) – which is when I announced in this very newsletter that I’d be cutting off my own nose to spite my face, because I LOVE Gingerbread City but Chelsea is absolutely taking the piss when it comes to travelling distance.

This year, it’s in King’s Cross – where it should stay forever, mostly because I can get there without needing to bring snacks or paracetamol for the journey.

The Gingerbread City is a proper festive joyride – a miniature metropolis built by some of the world’s sharpest architects and designers, all crafting houses, schools, museums, cinemas, office blocks and green spaces out of gingerbread, Smarties, chocolate fingers and whatever else they can glue together with royal icing. It’s essentially the platonic ideal of a Christmas exhibition: Christmassy, instantly appealing to both children and adults, and cultural enough that you can call it a “proper outing” but relaxed enough that nobody is standing behind you explaining brushstrokes. It also smells unbelievable.

If you’re wondering whether these leading creative minds should really be devoting their time to something so frivolous, then you’re sure to be an absolute ray of sunshine at Christmas. And anyway: yes, it looks frivolous, but the whole point is to test out new ideas for city-making – to rethink how we build and how a bit of whimsy might fix the bits that currently make us mutter on the school run.

Each year brings a theme, and this one is The Playful City: a prompt to consider how joy, curiosity and connection might shape the places we actually inhabit. It’s essentially asking architects to remember that cities can be fun, not just functional, and that “play” is an underrated design tool for unlocking better, kinder cities.

This year’s gingerbread creations include a school with slides between classrooms; a train station doubling as a skate park; rewilded rooftops; and edible public squares, apparently.

Find out more: https://www.thegingerbreadcity.com/london.html

While you’re there…

👍️ After being inspired by The Gingerbread City, book a workshop session (for up to four people) to construct your own joyful Community Centre in gingerbread form. It’s pricey – £79 per group – but there’s a LOT of gingerbread to go around. (And, of course, you get to take home your creation.)

👍️ Or, if you’re prepared to wait until next week, you can take part in some special gingerbread workshops held by GBBO star Pui Man. He offers family-friendly gingerbread cookie-decorating (£30 for up to two children with one adult), and a High Tea gingerbread-house decorating extravaganza (£120 per person!!).

3: Follow the elves through yurt discos, toy workshops, popcorn and parlour games

Whippersnappers Winter Wonderland
Sunday 30 November, slots between 14:00 and 17:30 (and other weekends until 21 December, with slots between 10:00 and 17:30)
Whippersnappers College Lodge, Old College Gate, Dulwich Park, College Road, SE21 7BQ
Adults £17.50, children £28.50
Age guidance: 3–7

TICKETS ARE GOING REALLY BLOOMIN’ FAST!!! Many time slots are sold out already (but there’s a waitlist available)

Is the other, better-known Winter Wonderland filing a dispute for trademark infringement? I wouldn’t blame them – if this one gains any more momentum, Hyde Park might start panicking about brand dilution. (Although If it ever did end up in court, I trust the judge would chuck the case out immediately on the grounds that the Hyde Park version is pretty much a full-blown scam).

The Whippersnappers Winter Wonderland sounds glorious. It takes place inside the old Victorian Park-Keeper’s Lodge in Dulwich Park, which they’ve transformed into a cosy sequence of miniature Christmas worlds. You’re greeted by elves, handed a hot chocolate or mulled wine and a mince pie or biscuit, and then guided in small groups through a series of magical scenes.

You start at the Elf Radio Station in a yurt, where children are handed instruments or microphones so they can help the Elf band record a new Techno Space-themed Christmas banger. Then it’s on to the Toy Workshop and Mini Cinema, where you watch a short film about Hans the Magic Toymaker (popcorn included) before the kids are encouraged to test toys, press buttons and generally behave like untrained quality-control staff on the world’s jolliest shift.

After that it’s biscuit-decorating with Mrs Claus, which involves an alarming quantity of icing and sprinkles paired with a very welcome “you’re not at home – go wild” energy.

At Christmas-Tree Fairy Land, you actually get a moment to breathe while your child’s face is transformed into a reindeer, snowflake or penguin with the help of Christmas magic (AKA face paint). They can then write or draw a Christmas wish for Santa and play a few Victorian pantry games while they wait for their big moment with the man himself. I’d be amazed if Sonic or Pokémon cards were knocking around in 1890, so it’s a rare chance for them to experience games that pre-date screen time, Bluetooth and arguments over whose turn it is.

And finally it’s time for Santa’s Grotto: a proper sit-down with Mr Claus, a personalised gift and a family photo in which one person will look terrified, one will blink, and Santa will be doing his best to look like he isn’t counting down to his next whisky.

The whole thing lasts around an hour and a half and feels like someone has gently cranked up the hygge knob.

And when you stack it up against the Hyde Park Winter Wonderland – which is essentially a theme park wrapped in tinsel – this one feels practically radical. No screaming crowds, no queue that ends in another queue, and no sensory onslaught masquerading as festive cheer. Just Christmas, minus the faint feeling you’ve been had.

Find out more: https://whippersnappers.org/winter-wonderland/

While you’re there…

👍️ If your child is under 3, there’s a “Santa Meet & Greet” at the same location – which is for babies and toddlers only. (Unfortunately it’s only on between 9 and 11 December though.)

👍️ Ever wanted to fling your child down a Rembrandt? Dulwich Picture Gallery recently opened a new play area called ArtPlay Pavilion, which turns its paintings into soft play. Van Ruisdael’s Waterfall shows up as wavy surfaces and flowing layouts, Dughet’s stormy trees and Van de Velde’s sails become swings and windmills; and the use of sunlight in De Gelder’s Jacob’s Dream and Rembrandt Girl at a Window turn into shiny textures, copper pots and sun capes. There are also some root-like lumps to clamber over, inspired by Jan van Kessel’s woodland scenes, as well as a central “calm” pit – which I’m guessing is where you’ll find all the parents congregated.

4: Return to the deep dark wood for songs, snowballs and one very clever little mouse

The Gruffalo’s Child
Saturday at 10:15 and Sunday at 10:30 (plus other dates and times until 11 January)
£10–£24 per seat
Lyric Theatre, 29 Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 7ES
Age guidance: 3+

One of my greatest regrets as a parent is that I didn’t force-feed my eldest more Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler when he was small enough to accept my literary decisions without protest. These books are special: funny, rhythmic, properly plotted, and never once doubting their readers’ intelligence. I wouldn't have thought small children could keep up with stories built on bluffs and double-bluffs and general trickery, but that’s clearly because I don’t know children as well as JD and AS do.

If your own offspring are still young enough, get them into the Donaldson–Scheffler universe immediately – and then you might stand a chance that when they’re older, they’ll want something more satisfying to read than schoolyard-banter books with fart jokes on every page.

And the perfect way to kick all this off is by taking them to see The Gruffalo’s Child on stage this Christmas. The show picks up exactly where The Gruffalo ends. The Gruffalo’s Child sneaks into the deep dark wood to track down the “Big Bad Mouse” who once tricked and terrified her dad. On the way she runs into the snake, the owl and the fox – all played by one actor who appears to have mastered the art of the three-second costume change. Each creature confidently gives her completely useless advice about where the mouse might be, and she barrels on until she finally finds him.

And when she does, he’s tiny and quiet and absolutely not big or bad. He might have left it at that, but once she threatens to eat him he (naturally) outsmarts her. Because in Donaldson-world, brains beat size every time, no matter how many spikes or claws you turn up with.

There are fantastic songs, a snowball fight, silly gags and a fox who appears to have swallowed the spirit of Del Boy (you’ll see what I mean when you see it). It’s probably a good idea to swot up on the original Gruffalo before you go, but it’s not essential. And if it does inspire your kid to pick up the book at home afterwards, you’ve potentially dodged some terrible future reading choices. Congratulations on your excellent parenting.

Find out more: https://nimaxtheatres.com/shows/the-gruffalos-child-2025/

5: Visit Santa in a candy-cane wonderland that doesn’t charge you £25 for a photo

Christmas Candy Grotto
Saturday and Sunday, slots between 10:00 and 18:00 (and all future weekends leading up to Christmas)
Woolwich Works, The Fireworks Factory, 11 No. 1 Street, SE18 6HD
£13.50 per child (parents, carers and adult family members go free)
Age guidance: suitable for all

I see an intrinsic problem with most Santa’s Grottos: you spend an absolute fortune for your kids to stand awkwardly next to Santa and tell him exactly what they want for Christmas… then Santa rummages in his sack like a man on a mission and produces an “ages 8+” Lego digger set for your daughter, who literally just asked for a Gabby’s Meow-mazing Dollhouse.

She’ll try to hide (or absolutely won’t hide) her disappointment while you realise you now have to get her everything she actually asked for in order to keep the magic of Santa alive.

So this extortionate visit to a grotto – which required a taxi because the trains were down – has now cost you even more money and left you with a child quietly questioning Santa’s ability to do the one job he’s famous for.

My solution? Find a grotto that doesn’t cost a bomb and doesn’t try to rinse you for everything you have. At Woolwich Works, the gift is a sweet treat – simple, cheerful and impossible to get wrong – and you can bring as many adults as you like for free. Grandparents, aunts and the neighbour who likes a grotto are all welcome – as long as they’re not expecting a present from Santa and are content with admiring the décor. The whole space is done up in a cheerful “sugar” theme: candy-cane fences, an iced roof and a garden lined with giant lollipops. And there’s an area to “colour, create and craft” if you’re a bit early for your appointment with Mr Claus.

Then, rather than being funnelled into a kiosk to spend £25 on one printed photo, you’re simply told to use your own smartphone and capture the moment yourself. That's right: there’s no upselling and no laminated price board full of “premium bundles”. Which instantly puts it in the elite category of grottos that aren’t trying to pull a fast one.

Find out more: https://www.woolwich.works/christmas-candy-grotto

6–10: More, more, more, more, more!

Mama Goose
Saturday 29 November, 14:00 and 19:00 (and other dates and times until 3 January)
Stratford East, Gerry Raffles Square, E15 1BN
£10–£39.50 per person
Age guidance: 5+

“Join local lass Mama Goose and her magical golden-egg-laying goose in Stratford this holiday season!

Will Mama Goose be able to resist the temptations of fame and fortune, or will she learn that the best things in life are free?

Stratford East pantos are famous for tearing up the rulebook and telling classic stories with a special East London twist. Round up your friends and family and join us for a reimagined telling of the fairy tale classic.”

Antarctica
Saturday and Sunday, 10:30 and 14:00 (and other dates and times until 17 January)
Polka Theatre, 240 The Broadway, SW19 1SB
£18 per person
Age guidance: 3–7

“At the bottom of our planet, lies the South Pole: a magical, wind-whipped world of snow, ice and some of the most wondrous creatures on Earth including slip-sliding penguins, cheeky albatrosses and mysterious creatures of the deep.

In fact, only the bravest of explorers have ever set foot there. Could you be one of them?

This festive season, our Adventure Theatre is once again transformed into a wintry wonderland for our younger audiences to enjoy, as the brilliant Olivier Award-winning Little Bulb ('The Nutcracker') return to Polka to whisk you away on an unforgettable journey full of clowning, puppets and plenty of snowy surprises.”

Family Workshops - Frozen Foxes
Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 and 12:30
Little Angel Studios, Sebbon Street, N1 2EH
£9.50 per person
Age guidance: 3–6

“Join our exciting puppet workshop and bring Arctic foxes to life! Get hands-on as you craft adorable, fluffy puppet versions of these clever and beautiful creatures. You’ll leave with a charming Arctic fox puppet and a new appreciation for these remarkable animals.”

Stick Man
Sunday 30 November, 11:00 and 14:00 (Saturday has sold out)
artsdepot, 5 Nether Street, Tally Ho Corner, N12 0GA
£15 per person
Age guidance: 3+

“Touching, funny and utterly original, Freckle Productions’ delightful adaptation of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s Stick Man is back in town!

What starts off as a morning jog becomes quite the misadventure for Stick Man: a dog wants to play fetch with him, a swan builds a nest with him, and he even ends up on a fire! How will Stick Man ever get back to the family tree?

This award-winning production, from the team behind Zog and Zog and the Flying Doctors, features a trio of top actors and is packed full of puppetry, songs, live music and funky moves.”

Baby Broadway Christmas
Sunday 30 November, 10:00, 11:30 and 14:00
artsdepot, 5 Nether Street, Tally Ho Corner, N12 0GA
£13.75 per person
Age guidance: 0–8

“Join us for a magical Baby Broadway concert that brings the spirit of Christmas to life for families with young children!

Sing and dance along to festive showtunes from hit musicals and beloved Christmas films, all performed by two talented West End singers.

Enjoy classic songs from Elf, White Christmas, The Snowman, Frozen, and more. Festive fancy dress is encouraged, and the fun doesn’t stop there – expect bubbles, bells, flying babies, and puppetry for a truly interactive experience!

Open to all ages – from newborns to school-aged kids and grandparents – this 45-minute concert is the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season. This lively concert is all about the music, with no costumes or elaborate staging – just festive fun for all.”