Gayle's Guide ✨ 10th October 24
Issue 27 - October holiday stuff, Halloween stuff and loads of free stuff including tennis, drawing, outdoor learning and circus skills...
In just a couple of days, Edinburgh’s original and best weekly newsletter of family friendly events will turn the tender age of 6 months old! 🎂 If it was a baby, I’d be stressing about weaning right now but the only sustenance this baby needs is continued support from you lovely readers. You’ve all had a part to play in making this newsletter “an incredible resource” for Edinburgh families. Oh, and we just passed 2,000 subscribers! 🎉 It might take a village to raise a baby, but it’s an entire city that’s nurturing Gayle’s Guide. So keep telling your friends… we’re setting a trend here!
🌻ASN 🐣Baby 🐤Preschool 🐔Primary
Friday 11th
🎮 Game On 29th June - 3rd November
📍 National Museum of Scotland, Chamber St
I’ve mentioned this before so apologies for repeating myself but now it’s a personal recommendation. I was very kindly gifted tickets to this this interactive exhibition celebrating the creativity, technology and culture of video games and we absolutely loved it! Turns out I’m not as unbeatable at Mario Kart as I thought I was though and dancing along to Billie Eilish is harder than it looks (absolutely disgraced myself!) There’s loads of playable games, including some home-grown in Scotland. Under 5’s go free. While you’re there, check out their Family Activity Area for a change of scene and some screen-free calm time.
🍿 Toddler Club: The Gruffalo + Room on the Broom (1-5y) 09.30 🐤
📍 The Everyman Cinema, St James Quarter
A ticket for this Julia Donaldson double bill includes a seat for yourself and your little one plus a hot drink and slice of cake/small popcorn.
⛔ SOLD OUT Sensory Disco (6-18m) 10.00 🐣📍 Joy Tots, Ferry Road
These babies gotta party! Here’s a sweet wee sensory disco session promising some great tunes.
🎃 Let’s Draw Halloween 14.00-15.00
📍 Little Plaza, Leith
This drawing session with Edinburgh illustrator Elaine Macintyre will allow your budding artists to draw some creepy creatures, ghouls and goblins. All materials provided and they will head home with their self-designed Halloween stickers.
I’ve unlocked this wee bonus post I sent to my paid subs at the weekend, so take a look for a few more Halloween stuff I’ve come across so far:
🍁 Craft Club - Canadian Thanksgiving (5y+) 14.30 🐔🆓
📍 Newington Library
I didn’t even realise there was a Canadian Thanksgiving… sorry Canada!
Saturday 12th
🎾 Barclays Free Park Tennis (8y+) 10.00-11.00 🐔🆓
📍 Victoria Park
Here’s a nice wee free tennis session for all ages (over 8), volunteer run and open to all abilities. This looks like a one off but there’s also a weekly session in Leith Links at 14.00 🐔🆓 Well now, isn’t that a good deal?
🎨 Nature Crafts Family Workshop 10.00-12.00 🆓
📍 National Library of Scotland
This event is part of Green Libraries Week but is the only one in Edinburgh on the map of events. Drop in for this workshop to make some bug hotels and bird feeders and do a teeny tiny bit for some teeny tiny creatures in your garden.
⚙️ Mesmerising Mechanisms 10.00-16.00 🆓
📍 Water of Leith Visitor Centre, Lanark Rd
This interactive exhibition will showcase the work of local clockmaker, Ian Graham with all sorts of wooden machines like ball runs and drawing apparatus. While you're there, why not take advantage of the water play contraptions in the visitor centre where kids can do some next level water play, causing floods and controlling water wheels on stainless steel models. Plus there's a cafe and an easy access point to the water nearby for plopping stones and splashing about so don't forget their wellies!
👻 Curiosity Club (7-11y) 10.30-12.00 🐔
📍 National Museum of Scotland, Chamber St
These sessions are for children to enjoy without their parents so a cheeky bonus child-free coffee break might be in store for you! Through activities and games, the kids will explore the museum’s treasures while learning all about Supernatural Scotland. There's also the Relaxed Curiosity Club 🌻 for children with additional support needs at 14.30.
🇯🇵 Edinburgh Multicultural Festival at Corstorphine Library 12.30 🆓
📍 Corstorphine Library
If you missed the full festival last month at Lauriston Castle, you’re in luck since it’s touring libraries during October. This session features music and “storigami” from Mio Shudo who will play her clarsach and delight an audience of all ages with her Japanese folk tales. They’ve also got a full programme of school holiday stuff going on.
🍂 Family Festival: Autumn Celebration 13.00-15.00 🆓
📍 Craigmillar Castle Park
Here’s a great excuse for a crisp (hopefully) Autumn walk in the beautiful Craigmillar Castle Park. Expect puppets, Autumn crafts, a lantern walk and way more fun, crunchy leaves than your kids can possibly know what to do with.
🧵 Magical Highland Stories with Lizzie McDougall and the Highland StoryQuilts 14.00 🆓
📍 Stockbridge Library
Lizzie McDougall spent her childhood in Stockbridge and today she will be telling the younger generations some stories from the Highlands, illustrated beautifully by her handmade Highland StoryQuilts. Just drop in. Thanks to the organisers for getting in touch with this.
👯 Dance ‘n’ Tales (6y+) 14.00 🐔
📍 Scottish International Storytelling Centre
Part of the Scottish International Storytelling Festival, you might have seen these two back in August at the Book Festival (for free) but here’s your chance to see them again (for a fiver). “Discover mysterious new worlds as Moyra Banks and Fergus McNicol create a bridge between story and dance”
Sunday 13th
🌿 Green Explorers (8-12y) 10.00-15.00 🐔🆓
📍 The Risk Factory, heading to Redford Woods
Is this really a full day of free outdoor entertainment?? I believe so!
”Learn woodland survival skills, fire lighting and outdoor cooking. Have fun and adventures in wild places playing stealth games, learning tracking, using camouflage, and discovering more about the wildlife around you.”
🎃 The McDougalls Halloween Party Show 13.00-14.00
📍 Church Hill Theatre, Morningside
Here’s something a bit different to your usual Halloween parties. How about a full, singalong stage show with ghoulish games?
🤹🏾♂️ Open Community Circus 15.00-17.00 🆓
📍 The Wee Play Hub, Ocean Terminal
Got a kid that's always trying to do tricks/cartwheels/juggling? These drop in family sessions on Sundays are for all ages to learn some circus skills like juggling, hula hoop, balancing and spinning. They also run regular, paid classes for various age groups with a sliding pay scale so no child needs to miss out.
Monday 14th
✏️ The Big Draw at Lauriston Castle 10.00 🆓
📍 You guessed it… Lauriston Castle
A great excuse to get the family outdoors to visit Lauriston Castle and witness the beautiful autumn colours tuning up. Drop in and get drawing in these stunning surroundings. Pencils and drawing boards will be ready for you to collect in Mimi’s cafe, as will some tasty treats. Also on Friday the 18th.
⛔ SOLD OUT! Macastory’s Rip-Roaring Renaissance (6y+) 11.00/13.30 🐔🆓
📍 National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge
This Renaissance-themed family walking tour claims to offer “a riot of fun”… I honestly need to keep a list of all these bizarre sentences I find myself typing these days.
📚 Author Talk and Puppet Show - Lapin Is Hungry (3-7y) 13.00-14.00 🐤🐔🆓
📍 McDonald Road Library, Leith
Here’s a wee bilingual storytelling and puppet show, perfect for all your little boutchou.
Tuesday 15th
🧏 The Baddies (BSL Interpreted) (3y+) 10.30/13.30/15.30 🌻
📍 Lyceum Theatre, Grindlay St
I wouldn’t usually dream of repeating myself every week but this particular showing of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s The Baddies will be BSL interpreted so I thought this might be useful to some of you. Looks like it’s the only one for the whole run so if you know anyone who uses BSL that might like this…
🎻 Recitals for Wrigglers 14.00-14.35 🐣🐤
📍 Stockbridge Parish Church
For the very cultured baby or toddler in your life, here’s an interactive session with live music from a professional violist and cellist. Expect some wonderful music, storytelling and wriggling!
Wednesday 16th
⛔ SOLD OUT! Haunted Gingerbread Houses (various times) 🆓
📍 IKEA, StraitonNot sure what’s so haunted about them but if you’re needing stuff from IKEA, you might as well give the kids something to do there and get some bonus free biscuits.
✨ If you get swallowed up by the inevitable time void within the flat-pack fortress, there’s also a Halloween Quiz Night at 18.00 🆓 (This bit isn’t sold out but I can’t be arsed reformatting a new event!)
⛔ ANOTHER THING BLOODY SOLD OUT! (sorry to my free subscribers!)
Creating Comic Book Characters for Families(7-12y) 11.00-12.00 🐔🆓
📍 National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge
”Award-winning comic creators Metaphrog will talk you through their own process, showing how images and words come together to make a successful comic book. You will also be able to start designing and drawing your own character.”
🚼 Buggy Walk 14.00 🐣🆓
📍 Figgate Park, Portobello
These weekly walks are a wonderful way to get some exercise, meet local parents and explore with some adult conversation. Lots of different walks take place all over the city so check them out here, just remember to sign up to get the exact location of where to meet.
Thursday 17th
🎨 Your Art World Sensory Morning 10.30-12.00 🌻
📍 National Gallery of Scotland, The Mound
Here’s a special session of Your Art World, specifically for children with autism, learning disabilities or other additional support needs. There will be lots of art and crafts plus other families to connect with.
🍄 Autumn Exploration (4-9y) 13.30-15.30 🐤🐔
📍 Water of Leith Visitor Centre, heading to Colinton Dells
The Water of Leith Visitor Centre run these outdoor kids’ sessions from time to time and I hardly ever manage to keep them in the newsletter cos they always sell out. So if you fancy taking the kids to the Dells to play games and explore the changing season, book in quick!
👶🏻 Polwarth Bumps and Babies 14.00-15.30 🐣🆓
📍 Polwarth Parish Church
This weekly meetup is for expectant and new parents to drink tea, make new friends and chat. It's run by an experienced midwife from the NCT and held in Polwarth Church which has a beautiful, canal side garden to sit in. Plus, it’s definitely on despite the school holidays, when lots of baby groups get shoved aside by the big kids.
🏳🌈 LGBT Youth Scotland Neurographic Art Workshop (13-16y) 16.00-18.00 🍗🆓
📍 The Crannie, just off the Royal Mile
It’s World Mental Health Day. Part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, this creative workshop gives LGBTQ+ young people a chance to “contribute to a new community artwork, making their own lives visible.” This is an older age range than I usually feature, not intentionally but just cos my children are still so little, I gravitate towards younger kids’ events.
👶 Dads Antenatal Workshop 19.00-21.00 🆓
📍 Gorgie War Memorial Hall
I haven’t ventured into the realm of antenatal classes in Gayle’s Guide but this one’s a bit different so worth a mention. Antenatal care and support is (understandably) very much geared up to primarily supporting women and mothers but here’s a workshop specifically for dads-to-be. A donation of £10 is welcome to cover costs and support Dads Rock. EDIT: Dad’s Rock has written an blog post for World Mental Health Day, reflecting on the challenges parents face and celebrating the positive impact the charity is having on families they support. 💖 Read it here.
Some extra free stuff to do during the school holidays…
There’s obviously already loads in the list above but here’s a few extras that are going on over the week while the kids are off school, climbing the walls. I’m still blissfully unaware of the challenges of school holidays but my heart is with you. You can do this. I believe in you.
🎨 Your Art World October Holidays MON-FRI 14.00-16.00 🆓
📍 National Gallery, The Mound
Here’s another drop-in midterm holiday art opportunity if you’re looking to bridge the gap between lunch and tea time.📚 Corstorphine Library October School Holiday Programme MON-SAT 🆓
📍 Corstorphine Library, obviously
The team here put on loads of free events for kids over the summer holidays so I’ve been waiting to see if they’d do it again for the October break. Loads of crafts, stories and plus a special Halloween with Edinburgh Zoo session on Wednesday at 15.00.🌍 Creative Climate Action MON-SAT 10.30-15.30 🆓
📍 National Museum of Scotland
Take the kids to design a fabric square inspired by their hopes for climate action and then The Edinburgh Remakery will construct them all into a massive, quilted banner which will hopefully be on display in the February holidays.🕷 Eerie Encounters MON-SUN 10.00-16.00 🆓
📍 Dynamic Earth, Holyrood
The Science Communication team at Dynamic Earth are running another series of free, drop-in activities over the next month where kids can look at wee beasties under the microscope, make venus fly trap puppets and origami insects.📚 Scottish International Storytelling Festival
This doesn’t kick off properly until the 18th October, but there’s some great stuff planned over the mid-term break too. I’ve mentioned a couple of events from this festival in the newsletter already but here’s another link to see what else is on this week. Full programme here.🪲 Wicked Encounters MON-FRI 10.00-12.00
📍 Edinburgh Zoo
Ok, not actually free, but included in your zoo ticket or membership are these drop-in sessions at the Budongo Trail where you can get up close and personal with different creatures. The promo pic shows someone holding a stick insect so I’d imagine it’s a bit of a show and tell with zoo staff.
✨ Gayle’s Guide will always be free! But here’s an extra week for my paid subscribers. Everyone will see these next week though so no panic. Also, since this newsletter is getting longer every week, please do double check details just in case I’ve gotten something wrong. My brain doesn’t work like it used to!