🐴 19 things to do in London this weekend with the kids (7–8 February)

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Hey DILFs!

I’ve been thinking about putting on my own weekend event – the sort of thing I’m always surprised doesn’t already exist for families.

There are two obvious gaps, as far as I can tell:

The first is bingo afternoons, with a caller, snacks and a bit of entertainment. Children love bingo, and it has the added benefit of being possibly educational if you’re feeling generous, yet under-18s aren’t allowed anywhere near actual bingo halls.

The second is pop music club nights, but in the afternoon. Big Fish Little Fish has rave covered, and How Does It Feel has indie. I’m talking pure 90s and 2000s pop: Girls Aloud, Britney, Take That, Backstreet Boys, maaaybe a bit of Vengaboys and Hanson. That kind of thing.

Those are the ideas so far. I’ll put out a poll soon, but in the meantime do reply if you love or hate either of them, or if you’ve thought up something better: I’m very open to stealing good ideas.

Now, though, what to get up to this weekend…

Enjoy,

Jeff xx

PS Last week’s poll results for “What’s your child’s favourite colour?” have confirmed that DIL families are not normal:

Green: 31%
Purple: 25%
Orange: 12.5%
Pink: 12.5%
Yellow: 7%
Blue: 6%
Red: 6%

Either kids have wildly different taste from adults, or we’re collectively raising a generation of small eccentrics. I’m choosing to believe the latter.

1: Follow the tastes of history’s most extra queen through rooms full of gold things

Marie-Antoinette: An Eye for Beauty
Saturday and Sunday, 10:00–17:00 (and daily until 31 March)
The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, W1U 3BN
FREE

Marie Antoinette has spent the last two centuries serving as history’s go-to warning about what happens when the ruling class loses all contact with reality – so it’s fun to enjoy the small irony that one of the best ways to encounter her in London right now costs absolutely nothing. Thanks to The Wallace Collection, you can go on a free trail through its galleries – wandering past portraits, furniture and full-fat Versailles splendour without forking over V&A money or feeling like you should have brought a powdered wig.

Before the revolution turned her into a punchline, Marie Antoinette was effectively the most watched woman in Europe, criticised constantly for her expensive taste and copied anyway. While pamphlets were busy calling her Madame Déficit (ha ha haaaa! Clever!), dressmakers would be waiting outside the palace to see what she’d put on that morning.

Her price-insensitivity didn’t stop at sleeves and hairstyles: it followed her into the world of interior design, where walls, chairs and cabinets were tweaked, gilded and generally messed with until “perfectly nice” somehow turned into “could use more gold”. Fair or not, she became shorthand for all that excess – the handy face people stuck on a crisis that had far more to do with wars and bad bookkeeping than one queen’s liking for very fancy surroundings.

The trail focuses on her fondness for fancy rooms: you drift from paintings to chandeliers to a commode that seems wildly overqualified for holding socks, building up a picture of the environment she inhabited and helped shape. It’s fun and interesting, takes about an hour, and lets you nose around gilt chairs and impossibly fussy objects without remortgaging anything.

Find out more: https://www.wallacecollection.org/whats-on/exhibitions-displays/marie-antoinette-an-eye-for-beauty/

While you’re there…

👍️ Brown Hart Gardens is a raised public terrace just south of Oxford Street. Built on top of an old electricity substation, it’s now home to limestone decking, water features, plant-lit seating and a domed gazebo disguising the giant electrical box below.

Brilliantly, because it’s within the Grosvenor Estate, it’s subject to some particularly, umm, “unique” bylaws. You can’t be “intoxicated”, “unclean” or “in a verminous condition” – which is fair enough. But you’re also banned from “games, quarrelling, shouting, singing, and the practice of gymnastics” – and if you breach the rules, you’ll be prosecuted.

2: Nose through love letters that survived shipwrecks, trials and spectacularly bad decisions

Love Letters: Love Letters: 500 years of devotion, longing, sacrifice and passion
Saturday 10:00–17:00 and Sunday 11:00–16:00 (and Tuesday–Sunday until 12 April)
The National Archives, Kew, TW9 4DU
FREE – no booking required

When you hear “love letters”, you might picture scented paper, innocent feelings put to paper in terrible handwriting, and someone dramatically pressing a rose between the pages. This exhibition is not that. Instead, it involves the kinds of love letters that would be of interest to governments: private feelings that ended up in court cases, shipwrecks or government files. There’s still some romance in there, but it shares space with family loyalty, desperate pleas and the occasional relationship that ends in prison or execution.

This isn’t, after all, The Museum of Romance. It’s where paperwork ends up when something official has happened – trials, confiscated ships, contested wills, petitions to judges, that sort of thing. So most of these letters survived not because someone tucked them away in a ribboned box, but because they were seized, filed or used as evidence. It’s a slightly less romantic route to immortality, but not everything gets tucked carefully into a drawer.

Which means the stories behind them are all over the place. There’s Catherine Howard’s note to Thomas Culpeper, which helped prove her adultery and got them both executed; letters fished out of shipwrecks that never reached the sailors they were written for; and courtroom exhibits from Oscar Wilde’s trial. There are pleas to judges, petitions to prime ministers and the occasional parent writing in to insist their clearly guilty son is actually a very good boy.

Then, just to keep you off balance, something gentler like Jane Austen leaving almost everything to her sister in her will, or Elizabeth I keeping Robert Dudley’s last letter by her bedside until her death, which are about as close as this show gets to a happy ending.

Find out more: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/love-letters

While you’re there…

👍️ Fancy swapping Tudor heartbreak for something a bit more cheerful and chlorophyll-heavy? Pop over to Kew Gardens for the Orchid Festival, where you’ll find a conservatory packed with technicolour orchids and giant plant sculptures of dragons, koi carp and pandas, all made entirely from flowers.

You need to buy some not-exactly-inexpensive entry tickets and book a timed slot, but if you’re already out west, it’s an easy, high-reward mini-detour before heading home.

3: Mark the Year of the Horse by eating like one

London Lunar New Year Fair 2026
Saturday and Sunday, 12:00–15:00 and 15:00–17:30
Adults £1.50, under-12s free
Woolwich Works, The Fireworks Factory, 11 No. 1 Street, SE18 6HD
Age guidance: suitable for all

Does it ever feel like Lunar New Year happens more than once a year? Possibly because it sort of does. The whole thing stretches out for weeks, whereas the Gregorian one is over in about six hours – either you’re woken by fireworks and very annoyed about it, or you’ve paid £80 to stand in a loud room and can’t remember any of it the next day.

Compare that to Lunar NY. The actual, official date this year – when the Snake becomes a Horse – is Tuesday 17 February, but there are up to 22 days of prep beforehand and another 15 days of festivities afterwards, which gives the whole thing a lot of breathing room. It takes up over 10% of the year, which is longer than some relationships.

Woolwich Works, for its part, is marking the occasion with a humongous fair this Saturday and Sunday, featuring plenty of ways to spend your money:

• Over 100 stalls featuring street food, festive snacks, sweets, teas and crafty bits and bobs

• Workshops in calligraphy, origami and more, for all ages

• Live performances showcasing East Asian dance, music and traditional arts

There are also three more bullet points on the website that duplicate what they’ve already mentioned, using different words. I’m not fooled, Woolwich Works, but I applaud your efforts.

It’s only £1.50 per adult to enter (under-12s go free), so it’s a bargainous way to soak in the atmosphere before inevitably heading home with something tasty in one hand and something handmade in the other.

Find out more: https://www.woolwich.works/events/lunar-new-year-fair

While you’re there…

👍️ The Royal Arsenal has been around since the late 1600s, as the place where armaments and ammunition were manufactured for the British Armed Forces. These days, however, it’s all green open spaces, creative places, and restaurants, cafes and bars.

👍️ Maryon Wilson Animal Park is a happy home to ducks, geese, chickens, sheep, goats, pigs, ponies and deer. It's found inside Maryon Wilson Park – a beautiful wooded area with streams and open grassland and all the idyllic things you miss about the countryside (until you remember that the countryside is mostly boring). It’s about a 15-minute drive or 20-minute bus ride from Woolwich Works.

4: Park yourself in a big warehouse with 100+ beers and call it “family time”

Big Penny Beer Fest
Saturday 7 February, 12:00
Adults £10, under-18s free
Big Penny Social, 1 Priestley Way, E17 6AL
Age guidance: suitable for all

I sometimes suspect this kind of event is what people picture when they first hear about Dads in London: a large warehouse full of beer, with a token “family session” taped to the side. So, for anyone who subscribed hoping for “beer festivals we can technically bring children to”, congratulations. Your moment has arrived.

And for the more try-hard parents out there, remember: not every weekend outing needs to involve puppet shows, museum trails or morally improving exhibitions. Sometimes you need something a little easier on that last remaining brain cell – like the chance to let loose and enjoy from 120+ brews while your kids get a sugar high after pleading with you for Coca-Cola because “it’s a special occasion” somehow.

There’s live music across both Friday and Saturday to give it a low-key festival feel rather than “large room with drinks”, and the Six Nations is on in the Event Space if you fancy parking up for a match between rounds. Saturday’s games are Italy v Scotland at 14:10 and England v Wales at 16:40, and you can book a table for free to make sure you’ve actually got somewhere to sit while it’s on.

If this is exactly the sort of thing you assumed this newsletter would be about, I’m sorry it took so long to indulge you. For the rest of you, call it “cultural balance” – and be assured that normal service resumes below.

Find out more: https://bigpennysocial.co.uk/big-penny-beer-fest

While you’re there…

👍️ Go curling in the same building! See my write-up here.

5: Learn the playground games that inspired Squid Game, minus the peril

Let’s Play, Korea!
Saturday 7 February, 11:00–14:00 (drop in)
British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG
FREE (but you’ll need to book a free timed entry ticket to the museum)
Age guidance: 7+

As I may have mentioned in a previous newsletter, I avoided watching Squid Game for ages because I thought it was a real-life game show in which people actually die. I now know that’s not the case – and thank goodness, because otherwise I’d have assumed the events team at the British Museum had completely lost the plot by organising a family day around it.

As it turns out, the show borrowed a bunch of perfectly normal Korean playground games and made them look sinister. Here they’re back in their natural habitat – low stakes, slightly scrappy, and run by teachers and students from the London Korean School.

The event is taking over the Great Court with drop-in stations for classics like yutnori (a team board game played with throwing sticks) and ttakjichigi (where you try to flip your opponent’s folded paper tile), plus other games that involve throwing, kicking and spinning. You can wander between them at your own pace and join whatever looks fun, and they all run continuously throughout the day. There are also friendly mini-matches at 11:30, 12:30 and 13:30 if you and your children fancy something a bit more competitive, with small prizes for the winners.

There’s also food (which feels like a strong strategic move): sticky honey-ginger biscuits called yakgwa, alongside black sesame cookies and red bean cookies, all free to sample while stocks last.

The entire event runs from 11:00 and 14:00, and you can come and go as you like. If you and your kids have been riding the Korean Wave lately, this is the perfect way to keep it going.

Find out more: https://www.britishmuseum.org/events/lets-play-korea

While you’re there…

👍️ I haven’t visited yet, but the British Museum’s new exhibition, Hawaiʻi: A Kingdom Crossing Oceans, is meant to be fantastic.

Other listings

This section now brings together both new events I don’t have room to expand on and selected older ones from past newsletters that are still running. If you see a “(see my write-up here)”, that’s your cue to click through and rediscover whatever Past Me felt strongly enough to write about.

Family Day at the Saatchi Gallery
Saturday 7 February and Saturday 14 February, 11:00–15:00 (book a 30-minute slot between these times)
Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Road, SW3 4RY
FREE
Age guidance: suitable for all

Hawaiʻi: A Kingdom Crossing Oceans
Until 25 May, 10:00–17:00 (Fridays until 20:30)
British Museum, Great Russell Street, WC1B 3DG
Adults £16, under-16s free

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Sunday 8 February, 11:00, 14:00 and 15:30
artsdepot, 5 Nether Street, Tally Ho Corner, N12 0GA
£13.75 per person
Age guidance: 3+

Brave Bettie
Saturday 7 February, 11:00 and 14:00 (also showing on Monday and Tuesday)
Half Moon Young People’s Theatre, 43 White Horse Road, London E1 0ND
£9 per person
Age guidance: 3–8

Who Let The Gods Out
Saturday and Sunday, 14:00 (plus other dates and times until 22 March)
Polka Theatre, 240 The Broadway, SW19 1SB
£10 per person
Age guidance: 8–13

Last Unicorn Airways
Sunday 8 February, 11:00 and 14:00
Jacksons Lane Arts Centre, 269a Archway Road, N6 5AA
£14 per person
Age guidance: 5–10

Planetarium Go!
Until 1 March, various timeslots throughout the day
£15 per person per show (under-4s free, family packages also available)
Battersea Power Station, Circus Road West, SW11 8DD
Age guidance: different shows are suitable for different ages

Little Red Riding Hood (interactive play space)
Until 22 February (drop in during any time during your visit)
Discover Children’s Story Centre, 383–387 High Street, E15 4QZ
Free with entry ticket (adults and children £10, 1-year-olds £5, under-1s free)
Age guidance: 0–8

REPLAY: A Limitless Recycled Playground (see my write-up here)
Saturday and Sunday, various slots throughout the day (and daily until 12 April)
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX
£7.50 per person
Age guidance: different sessions for 6 months–3 years and 4–11 years (younger children can join older siblings in the older session if necessary)

Squirrel
Until 22 February, various times
Unicorn Theatre, 147 Tooley Street, SE1 2HZ
Adult + child £25, extra child £12.50
Age guidance: 6 months–4 years

Walthamstow Curling Lounge (see my write-up here)
Thursday–Sunday throughout winter
Big Penny Social, 1 Priestley Way, E17 6AL
Adults £10, children £7 (per hour)
Age guidance: 5+ (note: you can book evening slots too, but children are only allowed in the venue until 18:00)

Superhero City Adventure for Kids in Kensington Gardens (see my write-up here)
Available all days and times (it’s self-guided) throughout the season
£6 per group
Europe sculpture, Albert Memorial, Kensington Gardens, SW7 2ET
Age guidance: 4–8

Taylor Wessing Photo Portrait Prize 2025
Until 8 February, 10:30–18:00 (until 21:00 on Fridays and Saturdays)
National Portrait Gallery, St Martin's Place, WC2H 0HE
Adults £9.50, 12–18s £4.75, under-12s free

The Architecture Drawing Prize
Until 15 February, 10:00–17:00 (open Wednesday–Sunday)
Sir John Soane’s Museum, 13 Lincoln's Inn Fields, WC2A 3BP
FREE