Gayle's Guide ✨ 5th September 24
Issue 22 - Vogrie Pogrie, hairstyle workshop for dads, Art Walk Porty, LEGO animation workshop, new Buggy Walks and much more!
Welcome back, gang! In last week’s poll, 70% of you wanted more time to plan so I’ve nudged forward by a day and will now cover Saturday - Friday. It’s not much, but it’s the best I can do for now until I try magically carve out some time to get ahead of myself. Anyway, enjoy! ✨
🌻ASN 🐣Baby 🐤Preschool 🐔Primary
Friday 6th
🍄 Friday Afternoon Puppetry with Fiona (3-6y) 14.30 🌻🐤🆓
📍 Stockbridge Library
Having just said I’ve decided to nudge forward a day, I couldn’t resist these gorgeous, handmade puppets! Who’s Fiona? She is a Play Therapist as well as an Early Stages and Special Needs Teacher who is currently adding another string to her bow in the form of bloody adorable puppetry.
🎲 Tabletop Scotland 6th-8th
📍 Royal Highland Centre, Ingliston
A weekend long convention for anyone who loves board games, card games and roleplaying games such as Dungeons & Dragons, Call of Cthulhu, Blood on the Clocktower and even Carcassonne… which I have played, in Carcassonne. 💅🏻 Online sales have ended but it says tickets are available at the door.
Rather than repeat myself for anyone who was expecting more Friday 6th stuff for today, click the button below to see last week’s newsletter, where there’s lots more:
Saturday 7th
🎞️ Lego Animation Workshop (8-14y) 09.30 / 12.00 🐔
📍 Submarine Art, Stockbridge
How I would have loved to do this as a child! This studio runs lots of animation workshops for kids as either full weekly courses or one off - this one is monthly. Materials are provided so your kid can bring their very own Lego creations to life.
💈 Hairstyle Workshop for Dads and Children 10.00-11.00 🆓
📍 Gorgie Memorial Hall
Dads: does your kid have long hair? Why not bring them along to learn how to manage those manes? Free but recommended donation of £10 if you can afford it, expect to learn some basics like pony tails and plaits. My husband and one of his Dad-Pals went along to this and had a great time. Although his plaits continue to be questionable, there’s definitely been some new skills learned and the girls had fun playing hairdressers together. Don’t forget your hairbrush and bobbles.
⚓ Ship Ahoy 10.00/13.00 🐔🆓
📍 Custom House, Leith
Here’s another art workshop at the beautiful Custom House on the Shore. This time they will learn about the maritime flag alphabet and make some flags of their own. It doesn’t specify an age range but the one I featured last week was suggested for 5+ 🤷🏻♀️
🦖 Dino’s: Prehistoric Scotland 10.00/11.30/13.00/15.00 (6-12y) 🐔
📍 Dynamic Earth, Holyrood
Dynamic Earth’s weekly science clubs are back in session, where different themes are explored with some arts/crafts thrown in for good measure. This week, the kids will learn that there were lots of other prehistoric creatures besides dinosaurs.
🍂 Art Stomps Autumn/Winter 11.00 (0-5y) 🐣🐤🆓
📍 Modern One, Belford Road
As much as I mean to take the kids to this gallery, other plans always seem to get in the way so this is a great excuse to visit for some storytelling and arts and crafts. We got ourselves tickets a couple of weeks ago but there’s only a handful left now so don’t dilly-dally if you’re keen to come along!
🔬 STEM Club 14.00-15.00 🆓
📍 Corstorphine Library
This Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths club is on the first Saturday of the month. It doesn’t specify, but I’d imagine it’s probably aimed at primary aged kids. Stick around for ♟ Chess and Boardgames (7y+) 15.00-16.30 🐔🆓
Sunday 8th
🛫 Relaxed Morning 10.00-12.00 🌻
📍 National Museum of Flight, East Fortune
I’m very grateful that my family and I were gifted tickets for 360 Fest at the Museum of Flight last weekend. We’d never been there before but it was great - the kids loved the interactive exhibitions and seeing all the planes (both on land and flying overhead) so I’d definitely recommend making the drive out to East Lothian if you have any tiny, aspiring pilots in your home. This morning session is aimed primarily at those who would prefer a calmer experience, with fewer loud noises and audio-visual displays.
🏖 Art Walk Porty 7th-15th 🆓
📍 Various locations in and around Portobello
This yearly art festival kicks off today with loads of art in public places, shops and private homes, plus workshops and guided tours with artists. While it’s not pegged as a specifically family-friendly event, the majority of the most creative and artistic people I know are kids so definitely a great excuse for a trip to the beach. I’ve only had a quick scan through the programme but the photo above is for a 🐚 Beach Windbreak painting workshop using edible plant dye 15.00-17.00 🆓 Now, that’s some wholesome, September fun!
Monday 9th
💻 Parents Co-working 10.00-16.00
📍 Little Plaza, Leith
This sweet play cafe is launching some co-working days where parents can bring their children to play in a safe and fun environment while they (attempt) to get a solid few hours some work done. This newsletter takes a few hours to write over the week and I do most of it on my phone either breastfeeding or during nap time so this would definitely be an upgrade!
Tuesday 10th
🚼 Buggy Walk 10.30 🐣🆓
📍 Lauriston Castle Grounds
This is a new spot for these weekly walks and what a beautiful place they’ve chosen. The Edinburgh Sketcher, who ran workshops at Lauriston Castle over the summer (and will be doing so again in 2025), was kind enough to agree to let me include this stunning sketch so I could show where you, your baby and some fellow new parents could take a stroll this week. These 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.
Wednesday 11th
👶🏾 Baby & Toddler Community Cafe 10.00-11.00 🐣🆓
📍 John Lewis, St James Quarter
Here’s a monthly baby and toddler group for John Lewis members which I missed from my drafts. It’s free and even includes a free hot drink plus a juice for any preschoolers.
🌎 Relaxed Opening Hours 10.00-16.00 🌻
📍 Dynamic Earth
Here’s another chance to have a quieter experience at a fantastic educational space. As well as the centre having fewer visitors and less sensory overload, the staff are also trained in disability and neurodivergence awareness so are on hand to help.
📽 Baby Club: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice 14.00 🐣
📍 Dominion Cinema, Morningside
Michael Keaton and Winona Ryder are back in this sequel to Tim Burton’s classic from 1988… 36 years on. Bring your baby and enjoy the show in this very plush cinema.
🐧 Zoo Tails (5+) 15.30 🐔🆓
📍 Stockbridge Library
Drop in for this free session in partnership with Edinburgh Zoo and learn all about their penguins.
Thursday 12th
📚 Sensory Bookbug 10.30-11.00 🌻🐣🐤🆓
📍 National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge
Wow, that’s a lot of emojis! Part of the Accessible Book & Story Festival, this special edition of Bookbug will by hosted by folk musician, Emmie Ward, who will share songs and stories using a variety of sensory items as well as Makaton. Older siblings welcome.
✨ Just a reminder that my ASN stuff page gets updated as/when I find any new events so please share it with anyone who might find it useful. It’s pretty sparse right now so get in touch if you know of any ASN events to share.
Friday 13th
🎪 Vogrie Pogrie 13th-15th
📍 Vogrie Country Park, Gorebridge
We had loads of fun at this ”festival of creativity and curious happenings” last year so I can see why folk take the kids to camp for the weekend, we barely scratched the surface in the few hours we were there. Make sure you get your glitter and glad rags on but definitely don’t forget decent footwear cos the trails can get a bit hairy in places, especially with a baby strapped to your chest!
🧱 Lego Club 14.00 🆓
📍 Portobello Library
This fortnightly session is for kids of all ages, with anyone aged 8 or under to be accompanied by a parent or carer aged 12+.
🤖 Friday Friends 14.00-16.00 🌻
📍 National Museum of Scotland
This robot themed session offers a welcoming space for visually impaired children and their families. There’s also an upcoming session on the 27th for D/deaf children.
🎨 Fun Club (P1-P2/P3-P4) 14.30/15.45 🐔🆓
📍 Pilton Youth & Children's Project
Spotted in the NEN, here's an organisation I wasn't aware of, doing some great work for the communities in North Edinburgh for the last 25 years. Check out their website for more info about their kids' clubs, family support and recreational opportunities.
🦇 Bat Walk 19.00
📍 Harrison Park, Shandon
We went along to one of these last year and our daughter (who was 3 at the time) loved it… even though I’m not convinced she spotted any bats. The walk starts with a talk from ecologist Graeme Wilson then it’s all eyes on the skies. There’s even some cool bat detectors to try out. Well worth staying up late for.
✨A reasonable request…
I started this newsletter to help families (primarily my own!) to make lasting memories by finding great events and activities to enjoy with their little ones. Without having to rely on social media. Gayle’s Guide isn’t even 5 months old yet but the stats boggle my mind - over 17,000 page views in the last month alone, 1,800+ followers and close to 1,700 on my mailing list, so it seems to be doing the trick for many of you! I’m actually really proud of it. It's not just a simple list or cut ‘n’ pasted links - an awful lot of time and energy goes into researching and writing it. Precious commodities with a 13 month old and 4 year old to look after.
I love being able to showcase the fantastic groups and organisations that help make our city such a wonderful place to raise children. So I'm delighted that they go on to get further exposure when folk share these events online. However, I'd really appreciate if anyone is regularly listing what they’ve read here as content on their own platforms, that they could be respectful of my work and link back to this newsletter so it can reach more families. Let's lift each other up, we're all just doing our best. ✨