Gayle's Guide ✨ 21st November 24
Issue 33 - Castle of Light, Breakfast with Paddington, Polwarth Preloved Sale and much more!
My hands are too cold to type a proper introduction this week and I’m trying to bash out my final edits while waiting for a takeaway so let’s cut to the chase! 🥶
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🌻ASN 🐣Baby 🐤Preschool 🐔Primary
Friday 22nd
🍿 Toddler Club: Tabby McTat +_Stick Man (1-5y) 09.30 🐤
📍 The Everyman Cinema, St James Quarter
Two favourite books of ours. A ticket includes a seat for yourself and your little one plus a hot drink and slice of cake. Also showing on Sat 23rd at 10.30.
🦋 Friday Friends 14.00-16.00 🌻🆓
📍 Edinburgh Zoo
A themed interactive session in collaboration with the team from the National Museum of Scotland, offering a welcoming space for D/deaf children and their families to learn and have fun. This one is all about weird and wonderful invertebrates.
🏰 Castle of Light entry times from 16.30-19.30
📍 Edinburgh Castle
I’m a massive advocate for non-physical Christmas presents for kids so maybe you could get tickets to something like this instead of a set of matching pjs that won’t get worn again once 2024 is over. Today sees the start of one of the city’s yearly light illuminations, running on selected dates. It's a whopping £22 for an adult but under 7’s go free so maybe something to do while the kids are wee if this is on your list of festive stuff you'd like to get round to.
Saturday 23rd
👨👧👦 Dads Trip 10.00-12.00 🆓
📍 National Museum of Scotland, Chamber St
The Dads are off out for a jolly round the museum! Sign up here if you’d like to join them.
🦉 Curiosity Club: Animals in the Dark (7-11y) 10.30-12.00 🐔
📍 National Museum of Scotland, Chamber St
These sessions are parent-free so a cheeky bonus child-free coffee break for you! Through activities and games, the kids will explore the museum’s treasures while learning all about nocturnal creatures. There's also the Relaxed Curiosity Club 🌻 for children with additional support needs at 14.30.
👛 Polwarth Preloved Sale 11.00-13.00
📍 Polwarth Parish Church
I’m still labelling up stuff to sell myself so the corner of my bedroom (and hall) already looks like a jumble sale! Expect bargains galore for everything you could want for your little ones. Items are sold according to categories and tables are staffed by volunteers so no need to worry about sellers staring while you awkwardly rifle through their stuff. Not only will you be giving items a new life but also supporting the work of Richmond’s Hope which supports bereaved children and young people. Obligatory hot drinks and home baking available too. Many hands make light work so why not sign up to volunteer - it’s great craic and you’ll get to buy stuff before the doors open!
💭 Edinburgh Comic Art Fair 11.00-16.00 🆓
📍 Out of the Blue Drill Hall, Leith
Know anyone who likes comics?
🎄 Christmas Market 2024 11.00-16.00
📍 Edinburgh Steiner School, Polwarth
The Christmas events are coming on thick and fast! This festive market will have the kind of wholesome activities you’d expect from a Steiner School - crochet, storytelling, puppetry, candle dipping and carolling.
🧏♀️ Bringing Deaf Stories to Life (5-9y) 14.00-16.00 🌻🐔🆓
📍 Deaf Action, New Town
Part of Book Week Scotland, this storytelling and writing workshop is facilitated by Deaf author and academic Luigi Lerose and organised by Sarah Goulding, a PhD student researching deaf representation in British picture books. Here, deaf and hard of hearing children will be encouraged to imagine characters reflective of their own experiences and build stories about them in a group of their peers.
Sunday 24th
👨👩👧👦 AWS Family Event 09.00-11.00 🆓
📍 Tumbles Soft Play, Portobello
Part of Adoption Week Scotland, here’s a wee get together for adoptive families and kinship/foster carers for some soft play and chats with exclusive use of the entire Tumbles Soft Play. Through friends and my job as a paediatric nurse, I’ve met lots of adopted and looked after children who have the most incredibly dedicated people caring for them. I am honestly in awe of those of you that step up to offer your unconditional love to some of the most vulnerable children when they need it most. You are amazing! 💖
🐻 Paddington Breakfast 09.00-11.00
📍 Edinburgh Zoo
For any super fans of Paddington, here’s a chance to get your photo taken with him before tucking into some pancakes. We went to the Bluey one of these and even though it felt eye-wateringly expensive for breakfast, my daughter and her friend still talk about it so it was (kind of) worth it as a treat. What we discovered too late was that Bluey and Bingo would be wandering round the zoo for the day anyway and the same applies here with Paddington. So if you’d like to save some cash, here are details of when you can see him over the day for the cost of your usual zoo ticket (free to members).
🖼 Family Print Club (6y+) 10.15/14.00 🐔
📍 Edinburgh Printmakers, Fountainbridge
These sessions are intended for different generations to have fun together while exploring printmaking techniques. This week, kids and their grown ups will be inking up stuff from the recycling bin to make their marks.
👶🏼 Neonatal Families 10.30-11.30 🆓
📍 Kin Collective, Leith
I know from first hand experience how scary and isolating it can be having a premature baby so I am delighted to be able to share this event. Preemieccino is a quarterly meet up for families of babies born early or who were supported by NICU. Everyone is welcome including grandparents and siblings so you can all share your experiences and make connections with other families.
📽 CBeebies Panto 2024: Beauty and the Beast 11.00
📍 Cameo Cinema, Tollcross
An affordable way to get those panto vibes going! Fiver a ticket. I actually just checked how much one of the big pantos would cost and it would be £157 for a two kids and two adults!!!
🐇 A Magic Sunday at Little Plaza 11.00/15.00
📍 Little Plaza, Leith
An interactive magic show with local “close-up magician and sleight-of-hand artist” Tim Licata. The Little Plaza Unique Handmade Gifts Fair is on all weekend too so why not stick around for a coffee and a browse?
🎪 Portobello Loves Circus 18.00-20.00
📍 Portobello Town Hall
”Join us for a spectacular showcase of talented circus acts that will leave you in awe. From aerialists to acrobats to jugglers, this event has it all!”
Monday 25th
🧩 Polwarth Baby & Toddler Group 09.30-11.00 🐣🐤
📍 Polwarth Parish Church
Here’s a salt of the earth kind of playgroup in a lovely canalside church hall. It’s not religious, costs a pound per family and is filled with fellow local parents to chat to over a cuppa. They’re looking for more volunteers so if you can go a bit early to set up and put away toys at the end, I’m sure they’d be very grateful to have you!
Tuesday 26th
👣 Tiny Treasures - My First Christmas (0-11m) 10.30-12.00 🐣
📍 Argyle Studions, Marchmont
”Is this your baby's first Christmas? Come along to this relaxed and friendly session to make some beautiful keepsakes from their footprints or handprints to celebrate and remember it forever.”
🐕🦺 Therapets (5y+) 16.00-17.00 🐔🆓
📍 Newington Library
Head along on the last Tuesday of the month to meet a friendly dog and read them a story. What a fantastic and very sweet way to build a child’s confidence, both with reading and dogs. Booking is essential so call the library or email for your 15min slot.
Wednesday 27th
🌳 Nature Play (0-6y) 10.00-12.00 🐣🐤🆓
📍 Bridgend Farmhouse, near Cameron Toll
This weekly session meets at Bridgend Farmhouse and walks to Craigmillar Castle Park Forest for some child-led, outdoor activities such as scavenger hunts, water play and mud kitchens. Free spaces given to local children (EH16/EH17) but paid spaces may be available if you live elsewhere so contact the organisers in advance to check.
📽 BABY CLUB: Wicked 13.10 🐣
📍 The Dominion, Morningside
Also showing Thu 28th, your baby is invited to the cinema where you both can snuggle up on some very comfy seats. The behaviour of your fellow attendees isn’t guaranteed but you actually very quickly grow accustomed to any wailing!
🎄 Elf the Musical 19.00
📍 Church Hill Theatre, Morningside
Running daily from today until the 30th November, this is (obviously) a musical adaptation of this much loved Christmas film.
Thursday 28th
🎨 CREATE (0-5y) 10.00-12.00 🐣🐤🆓
📍 Pilton Youth & Children’s Project
Run by North Edinburgh Arts, these drop-in creative play sessions aimed at local families give parents and their little ones the chance to bond while enjoying some crafts, music and sensory activities.
⛔ SOLD OUT! Fussy Eating Workshop (6m-5y) 🐣🐤🆓📍 Dr Bell’s Family Centre, Leith
A workshop from Edinburgh Community Food providing strategies and tips for parents in EH6/EH7 on how to deal with their little one’s fussy eating.
✨COMING VERY SOON✨
Gayle’s Guide 🎄 TO CHRISTMAS!
A carefully curated collection of fun and festivities - for Edinburgh families, by Edinburgh families. Generic event lists are overwhelming so I’m consulting the best source out there - the locals. Let's do this together! Here’s your last chance to send me your favourite festive frolics by clicking either button below. Just be warned, this isn’t a call out for free advertising - as with everything in this newsletter, I’ll still only include what I like the look of myself. As thanks for joining in, you’ll get a month's free paid access in January! Sound good??