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☃️ 22 things to do in London this weekend with the kids (20–21 December)

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Jeff – Dads in London
December 17, 2025

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Hey DILFs!

Aaaand it’s Christmas week!

If you’re currently panic-scrolling on your other device for gifts, may I gently redirect you to the gift shops of London’s galleries and museums? They're full of actual good things – the kind you'll want for yourself and can hand over without an apology.

My go-tos:

Pro tip: ignore the “Christmas Gifts” sections — they’re almost always naff. The good things hide in homewares, prints, clothing, etc.

All have an online store, but – given how close it is to Christmas Day and how off-kilter deliveries can get at this time of year – it might be safer to visit instead.

Enough retail strategy. On to the events. Enjoy!

Jeff xx

Bluey’s Big Play
Saturday and Sunday, 11:00, 14:00 and 16:30 (plus various dates and start times until 11 January)
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX
£17–£37 per person
Age guidance: suitable for all

Hands up which adults here don’t enjoy Bluey. Actually, let’s make this a proper poll:

Do you enjoy watching Bluey?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

If the first option gets anything less than 97% of the results (and only not 100% because I’m expecting a few of you to mess with me for your own enjoyment), I’ll quietly log the outliers for future psychological study.

So to all you Bluey lovers – and your undoubtedly Bluey-loving children – how could you possibly resist this: Bluey’s Big Play.

The plot isn’t exactly one of those Scandinavian thrillers where no one speaks above a whisper and everyone is traumatised by an elk: Bluey and Bingo want to play, and Dad wants to laze around. So the two kids have to “pull out all the games and cleverness at their disposal to get Dad off that bean bag”. If it seems the creators have really half-arsed the storyline for a quick 22.68 bucks (£17 converted, to keep the idiom intact), don’t worry: this show is an Olivier Award-nominated live stage theatrical adaptation, so there’s clearly been more thought put into it than “Dad sits, kids complain.”

When you watch the trailer, you’ll notice that the characters aren’t played by big adult humans wearing costumes: that would be scarily uncanny, and not at all conducive to bounding energetically across a stage. Instead, there are large puppets controlled by visible puppeteers, giving the characters proper movement and personality. It’s worked for other shows (like 101 Dalmatians and Running Wild), so I’m hopeful it’ll have the same magic here.

This feels like a very safe bet for a winter outing – and a very safe bet that you’ll walk out having cried at something extremely wholesome. Again.

Family Workshops - Reindeers
Saturday and Sunday, 10:00 and 12:00
Little Angel Studios, Sebbon Street, N1 2EH
£9.50 per person
Age guidance: 3–6

The other weekend, my kids came home from a Little Angel family workshop with two of the cutest arctic fox puppets you’ve ever seen. Whoever realised that a fully functional creature can be engineered from a super-soft sock, a polystyrene ball, a cup, a stick and an elastic band deserves a pay rise, a medal, and possibly their own R&D lab.

One of the great things about Little Angel Theatre is that they create these wonderful puppet shows for children, then help keep the whole thing going by letting kids make their own characters in post-show workshops. As a result, we now have a frankly unwieldy number of home-made puppets, all of whom have been incorporated into an increasingly elaborate show staged from behind our sofa. (The foxes have unionised, which feels like the natural next step.)

Many of the workshops link directly to the theatre’s productions, but this reindeer one is simply linking to Christmas instead. In it, you’ll be guided through making your very own reindeer puppet – the sort you can animate around the house or hang on your tree, depending on whether you favour festive decor or festive chaos. Either way, it sounds excellent.

A small note on tickets: as with all their workshops, adults need their own ticket – and historically this has meant adults get to make their own puppet as well. At the recent arctic fox workshop, this… did not happen, and I’m still annoyed at myself for letting it slide. If the same thing happens to you at the reindeer workshop, let me know and I’ll organise the appropriate response – something between a polite email and a full-blown class action.

While you’re there…

👍️ Little Angel’s lovely little penguin production, ME, is still running. As is the puppet penguin-making workshop. (Note: the show takes place at Little Angel Theatre, while the workshop is at Little Angel Studios around the corner.)

London International Horse Show
Saturday and Sunday, choose between morning, afternoon and evening entry (final day is on Monday)
Excel London, Royal Victoria Dock, 1 Western Gateway, E16 1XL
Adults £36, under-16s £27.25

My entire understanding of horses is that they supposedly enjoy Polo Mints – a rumour I’m fairly sure was started by Big Mint. Meaning: I know nothing about horses, or what horsey people are into, or if any of my readers are in the slightest bit interested in horses anyway.

What I can say is that you don’t need to know a horse’s arse from its elbow to find the London International Horse Show interesting. I mean, it looks interesting to me, and – as must be quite clear by now – I’d struggle to pass a horse-themed multiple-choice quiz with the answers printed on it.

It seems to be equal parts elite sport and Christmas spectacle – world-class riders doing serious things, small ponies doing unserious things, and dogs participating in some sort of agility competition. (And even I know that dogs aren’t horses, so I’ve no idea who they’re trying to fool with that one.)

The variety on offer is like a tub of Celebrations used to be – before it was basically ten Milky Ways, two Twixes and not much else. One of the big events is the Show Jumping World Cup Qualifiers in three disciplines: dressage, show jumping and driving. Other elite and serious events include the “LeMieux Puissance” (a knockout-style show jumping competition) and various “showing” competitions (where horses are judged based on their appearance, conformation, movement and manners).

There are also the more “crowd-pleasing” events, like the Shetland Pony Grand National, the aforementioned dog agility competitions, and various exhibitions from groups like the Met Police mounted branch.

If all this is beginning to make you wonder if horses actually enjoy all this… there’s also a bloomin’ horse auction – which does rather suggest the horses weren’t asked for their thoughts. Personally, I’m choosing to keep my distance from the entire philosophical question and simply report back what’s happening.

No obligation at all, but here’s the link if you fancy it:

x

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Nine Lessons and Carols for Curious People (Family Matinee)
Saturday 20 December, 11:00
King’s Place, 90 York Way, N1 9AG
Adults £23, children £17
Age guidance: 10+

I don’t quite know how to categorise this event. And I think – judging by the description – the organisers are perfectly happy for that to be the case. Nine Lessons and Carols for Curious People has always been an endearingly shambolic, joyful lucky dip of a show – once described by its creator Robin Ince as what would happen “if the Royal Variety Show was put in a matter-transportation machine with the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures”.

In its grown-up incarnations, the line-up has included everyone from Brian Cox and Katie Steckles to Dr Helen Czerski, Jarvis Cocker, Dara Ó Briain and an assortment of poets, primatologists, musicians and researchers pulled away from serious work to explain extremely unserious things. Past highlights have featured the science of champagne corks (complete with frame-by-frame photography), the maths of snowflakes (including a demonstration of how to cut out a scientifically accurate paper one), a song about the solar system, and an explanation of how robots learn. If this is starting to feel like the world’s best show, rejoice: you’ve officially found your people.

The matinee version, being half the running time and aimed at families, won’t be delving into the more adult corners of astrophysics or existential philosophy – but the spirit is very much the same. Meaning: a fast-moving grab-bag of astronomy, art, poetry, primatology, robotics, ragtime and whatever else happens to wander onstage. Special guests are announced closer to the day, but the show’s track record suggests you’ll get a lively mix of clever people talking enthusiastically about unexpected things as if it’s all perfectly normal.

And in case the title has you anticipating a singalong, the name is purely a playful nod to the traditional Nine Lessons and Carols service. This version swaps hymns for head-scratchers, so don’t come expecting Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – unless someone’s smuggled it in under the banner of experimental music.

While you’re there…

👍️ Samsung KX is basically a juiced-up Apple Store. In addition to loads of devices to try out, there’s a free Gaming Zone (which uses “the most advanced Samsung gaming technology”), a cafe, an area for coworking and a “Support Lounge” (essentially a modestly named Genius Bar). It’s a fab space that’s never too busy, but – even with all the gaming opportunities – it’s only really going to entertain everyone for about an hour or so.

There’s No Business Like Snow Business
Saturday 20 December, 14:00–15:15
The Royal Institution of Great Britain, 21 Albemarle Street, W1S 4BS
Adults £17.27, under-17s £11.02
Age guidance: suitable for all

Trust The Royal Institution to take the festive season and give it a gloriously nerdy twist. While every other London venue is encouraging us to make wreaths or yell “Oh no he isn’t!!!”, the RI would rather have us pondering, “Why do we associate Christmas with snow? And is there anything we can do to make sure it snows on 25 December?”

Like all RI shows, this one somehow keeps kids completely absorbed. On paper, a “whistle-stop tour of temperature” sounds like the sort of thing that would lose a seven-year-old’s attention before you’ve thawed a single ice cube – even with the promise of “exciting demonstrations and experiments” – but the RI has a knack for turning science chat into actual entertainment.

And in among all that talk of frozen water, the event casually drops in fractals – which has to be the second ever time that particular word has appeared in polite company outside a classroom.

While you’re there…

👍️ Mayfair has some of the loveliest streets in London – and this self-guided walking tour is a great way to see them. Two maps (for parts 1 and 2 of the tour) are at the bottom of the written description of the route.

Other listings

This section now brings together some 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.

The Magic Flute
Until 24 December (various dates and start times)
The Place, 17 Duke's Road, WC1H 9PY
Adults £16, children £12
Age guidance: 5+

Merry Makers: Festive Card Craft Workshop
Saturday 20 December, 10:30–12:30 (drop in between these times)
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: suitable for all

Christmas Comes to Moominvalley
Until 4 January (various start times)
Jacksons Lane Arts Centre, 269a Archway Road, N6 5AA
£12–£26
Age guidance: 3+

A Christmas Wish
Saturday and Sunday, 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00 (also Monday at 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00)
Woolwich Works, The Fireworks Factory, 11 No. 1 Street, SE18 6HD
£13.20 per person
Age guidance: 0–8

Carols for All — The Shepherds
Saturday 20 December, 12:30–13:30
St James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, W1J 9LL
Adults £15.82, under-16s £10.54
Age guidance: suitable for all

Grinchmas Afternoon Tea Sightseeing Bus Tour (see my write-up here)
Daily until 31 January, various time slots
Departs from Victoria Coach Station, 164 Buckingham Palace Road, SW1W 9TP
Adults £52, children £47
Age guidance: 5+

Dracapella (see my write-up here)
Until 17 January (various dates and start times)
Park Theatre, Clifton Terrace, N4 3JP
£22.50–£47.50 per person
Age guidance: 10+

A Squash and a Squeeze by Julia Donaldson
Until 23 December, 11:00 and/or 13:30
Leicester Square Theatre, 6 Leicester Place, WC2H 7BX
Adults £25.50, children £19.50
Age guidance: 3+

The Firework-Maker’s Daughter
Until 18 January, various start times (usually 11:00 and 14:30 on weekends)
Polka Theatre, 240 The Broadway, SW19 1SB
£10–£​​29 per person
Age guidance: 6–12

Storytelling with Santa at the Natural History Museum
Saturday and Sunday, various slots throughout the day
Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7 5BD
£18 per child (each child ticket includes up to two adults)
Age guidance: suitable for all ages

The Snow Queen – A Woodland Adventure
Weekends until 21 December, daily until 24 December, 11:00 and 14:00 (and also 16:00 on weekends)
The Albany, Douglas Way, SE8 4AG
£14 per person
Age guidance: 3–8

The Gingerbread City (see my write-up here)
Until 4 January, 09:00–17:30
Unit 5, 79–81 Coal Drops Yard, Stable Street, N1C 4DQ
Adults and 12+ £13.50, 3–12s £8.50, under-3s free

Whippersnappers Winter Wonderland (see my write-up here)
Saturday and Sunday, 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

Christmas Candy Grotto (see my write-up here)
Saturday and Sunday, slots between 10:00 and 18:00 (and also Monday 21 December)
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

Mama Goose
Until 3 January, various start times
Stratford East, Gerry Raffles Square, E15 1BN
£10–£39.50 per person
Age guidance: 5+

A Merry Misrule
Until 24 December, various start times
Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, SW11 5TN
Adults £18.50, under-16s £16.50

The Night Before Christmas
Until 31 December (various days, 10:00 and 13:00)
artsdepot, 5 Nether Street, Tally Ho Corner, N12 0GA
£13.75 per person
Age guidance: 3–7

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