What’s On: Beards, Barn Dancing, Baroque Music and Beer
This weekend for the Whole Family:
Cadogan Hall, Crash Bang Wallop! Family Concert: Saturday noon, join the City of London Sinfonia for Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. A very family-friendly concert. Arrive at 11am for pre-concert activities including arts and crafts and percussion zoo. Tickets £10 per adult, £8 per child and family tickets £30.
St Patrick’s Day Parade and Trafalgar Square: Sunday noon-6pm, the parade starts in Green Park, passes Piccadilly and then makes its way down Whitehall to Trafalgar Square. If you don’t mind heaving crowds, bring the kids down to watch the dancing, listen to music, do arts and crafts in the children’s tent and um… enjoy a beer. Free, all ages.
Cecil Sharp House, English Folk Dance and Song Society, Family Barn Dance: Sunday 3-5pm, bring the entire family for a family barn dance with callers, formations and fun. £7 adult, £5 child, children under 2 free.
St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London Musical Orchestra, Family Concert: bring the babies, toddlers and older children to this family-friendly performance of Baroque favourites. £8.50 adults, £6.50 children.
Laundrapp: Crushed for time or space, or just want time to do what you like? Try out the super intuitive, vetted, guaranteed laundry app with 1 hour deliver and collection windows. Just £15 for 8 kilos of laundry washed, folded and delivered. Enter London Baby and receive £10 off your first order – read my review here.
Post your best laundry pile photo with #INeedALaundryFairy and #Laundrapp, winner receives £50 voucher to use with Laundrapp. More info here
This weekend for older kids (and perhaps their younger siblings)
Clapham Pottery Family Day: Saturday, 1:30-3pm. Bring the kids out to Clapham for an afternoon of art therapy. Throw pots, make figurines, £10 per person.
Somerset House, Build Your Own Beard - Saturday noon-3pm, come revel in “Peak Beard” with artist Gareth Owne-Lloyd for an afternoon of beard building. Check out the photography exhibit “Beard” and then make your own scraggly, tangly, fluffy … imaginative beard to wear while you take your flat white. Ages 6-12, free, drop-in
Royal Academy, Studio Sunday: Sunday 11-3p, come and experiment with collage and screen printing in this artist-led, drop-in workshop for all ages. All ages, free
National Portrait Gallery, Double Prints: Saturday 3+ 1-2:30, 7+ 3-4:40. Who are these children in old portraits and what were they like? Join illustrator Katie May Green for imaginative exploration of portrait making. Free
Babies and Toddlers
Royal College of Music Sparks Event, Mini Music in the Museum - bring the children to the RCM Museum of Music and they can take part in an exploration of the instruments. Free, under fives, booking required.
Villa Pia: Mums Travelling Out of School Holidays: Check out this fabulous, family run villa in Lippiano on the Tuscany/Umbria boarder. All food and drink included, prepared by a fabulous chef specialising in regional food. The villa boasts two pools, loads of play equipment, they supply everything but the nappies, and can organise pilates, yoga, cooking, wine tasting for you and your mates. £100 off certain dates in May (outside school holidays and bank holiday) when you mention London Baby
Pimlico Toy Library: Pimlico Toy Library has a new web site showcasing all their wonderful children’s workshops and baby playtimes. This is a fantastic resource for any parent or carer, the toys are fastidiously cleaned and the art workshops are brilliantly planned with high quality materials.
Date For the diary: NCT Nearly New Sale, Saturday 18th April, 10-noon (entry 10am for NCT members, 10:15 for non-members) Westbourne Grove Church, Notting Hill, W11 2RW. £2 per person.
Ritzy, Brixton, Toddler Time:Thursdays 11am, £3 per child, adults free.
Electric Cinema, Electric Scream: Mondays. This week’s feature: Suite Francaise. Bring babies under 12 months to this amazingly plush cinema, relax with some coffee and catch a flick.
Ritzy, Brixton, Big Scream: Fridays, 11am. £7.50. This week’s feature: Dream Catcher
Family Cinema:
Curzon Cinema, Victoria: Do head over and check out Victoria’s swish, new cinema, right off Victoria Street. This week’s Kids Club programme: Planes 2. Saturday and Sunday, 10:30. £3.50 per person.
Gate Picturehouse, Kids Club: This week’s programme: Night in the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. £1 with £4 membership, popcorn and juice £2. (best £3 you will ever spend on a rainy Saturday)
Barbican Family Film Club: This week’s feature is The Great Muppet Caper. Tickets are £2, bring the kids and escape the cold while you chill and watch a movie. Great price. 11am, all ages.
Electric Cinema, Kid’s Club: This week’s feature, Big Hero 6, 10:30am. Check out the Electric Cinema with its plush, red velvet beds, sofas and armchairs. Looks like a great way for Dad to occupy the kids on a Saturday morning.
