Toby B

Toby is our uber-busy events editor for Mommy Poppins LA. Feel free to email Toby about events for our LA area calendar.

Latest posts by Toby

Best Holiday Lights Drive-Thrus and Christmas Light Shows in Los Angeles

Submitted by Toby B on Sun, 11/24/2024 - 6:33am

Enchanted: Forest of Light. Photo by Kathryn Rapier, courtesy of the event.

Holiday lights twinkle extra brightly in a city known for Hollywood, glitz, and glamour. Holiday light shows and Christmas light displays are all over Los Angeles. These festive light shows dazzle and get you in the holiday spirit. Stroll through immersive light displays, wander through Christmas lights in gardens, zoos, and farms, climb aboard a holiday lights train, or enjoy a Christmas light show by the water.

If that's not enough holiday lights in Los Angeles for you, festive SoCal neighborhoods go all out with their annual decorating traditions to treat Angelenos to some incredible neighborhood holiday light displays. For even more holiday fun, check out our Guide to Holiday and Christmas Events in Los Angeles.

LA Auto Show, Winter Fest OC, and More Top Things To Do in Los Angeles This Weekend

Submitted by Toby B on Wed, 11/20/2024 - 6:26am

All aboard The Polar Express! Photo courtesy of The Southern California Polar Express Train Ride

Looking for the best things to do in Los Angeles this weekend? Here are some of our favorite events and activities to add to your list this weekend

Gentlemoms, start your engines! The LA Auto Show roars into the LA Convention Center, showing off the latest automotive advances. Families can test out new rides on a variety of tracks; those too young for a license can find plenty of activities to keep them amused, including video games and VR experiences.

If you're looking for a chilling good time, Winter Fest OC returns to the OC Fair with ice skating, ice tube rides, snow play, and more. New this year: a dazzling holiday light show.

The Glendale Library debuts its new Youth Spaces with a Grand Opening celebration. Teens and younger kids each get their own dedicated areas, where they can play Dungeons and Dragons, learn to record a podcast or sit down for a librarian-led storytime. But you don't have to take our word for—it you can read about it in an (age-appropriate) book!

16 Must-Do Christmas Events and Holiday Activities in Los Angeles for Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Fri, 11/08/2024 - 1:30am

Try sock skating at Kidspace Winter Frolic. Photo by Jamie Pham courtesy of the Museum

'Tis the season for Christmas events and holiday activities in Los Angeles! From the hundreds of Christmas events and holiday activities taking place this year, we've managed to trim our list to the top family favorites.

This year, Santa's bag is overflowing with festive fun for families in Los Angeles. This holiday season's stockings are full of theme parks dressed up in their holiday finest, traditional holiday parades, only-in-LA holiday shows, and other beloved holly jolly traditions. We can barely keep up with all the fun Christmas events and holiday activities in Los Angeles this year.

For more holiday activities, don't miss our Holiday Events and Christmas Activities Guide for Los Angeles, packed with every possible Santa breakfast, holiday and Christmas light shows, Nutcracker shows, Polar Express holiday trains, outdoor ice skating rinks, and so much more.

Veterans Day Weekend 2024 in Los Angeles: 13 Best Things To Do With Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Wed, 11/06/2024 - 1:01am

Veterans Day celebrations take place across LA. Photo courtesy of Canva

Looking for the best things to do in Los Angeles this Veterans Day weekend? Here are some family-friendly events and activities to add to your list for this long weekend!

We owe so much to our veterans—those who have put themselves in harm's way to defend the liberties we hold dear. This weekend also marks the start of several limited experiences and holiday-favorite events, such as Lite-Brite Worlds of Wonder in Santa Monica, Kidspace Winter Frolic, and the new Friends-themed Warner Brother Studio Tour.

Art and science collide with a three-day weekend at the PST ART + Science Family Festival at La Brea Tar Pits. Guests can make a California pollinator puppet, build with Adobe (the mud, not the software), make a colorful stop-motion animation, craft LED flowers & eco-friendly bracelets, look at the sun through solar telescopes, and so much more. Kid's favorite music makers performing include Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, Jazzy Ash and the Leaping Lizards, and Rhythm Child Network. Sounds good to us!

With a three-day Veterans Day holiday ahead, more upcoming holidays are top of mind, like restaurants open on Thanksgiving in Los Angeles, and holiday and Christmas events in Los Angeles to book now. Plan for more holiday fun in our Guide to Holiday and Christmas Events for Los Angeles Families.

14 Best Things To Do in Los Angeles November 2024 with Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Sun, 10/27/2024 - 7:43am

LA Zoo Lights dazzle. Photo by Jamie Pham

November brings plenty of things to do in Los Angeles as we gear up for holidays from Veterans Day to Thanksgiving and full steam ahead to Christmas. Don’t miss our favorite kid-friendly events and activities in Los Angeles this month.

It's a good thing that November starts with an extra hour of sleep. With our LA calendar jam-packed with fun things to do, that extra hour will be much very much needed. Step into a favorite childhood toy at the immersive Lite-Brite Worlds of Wonder in Santa Monica. The Natural History Museum's new wing opens with a day-long celebration. You'll find NHM Commons at the intersection of science, nature, and culture, with new outside and inside spaces, free experiences, and a green-boned dinosaur named Gnatalie. And the countdown to the holidays begins with tree lightings, holiday trains, and twinkling lights!

For more fun things to do in Los Angeles this November, see what's open in LA on Thanksgiving, start planning those holiday outings with the best holiday activities and Christmas events for kids, and prepare for more than just a turkey with our Thanksgiving Activities Guide for Families.

Halloween Weekend 2024 in Los Angeles: Trick-or-Treat and More Things To Do with Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Wed, 10/23/2024 - 2:28am

Kidspace Halloween is a real treat. Photo by Jamie Pham, courtesy of the event.

Looking for the best things to do in Los Angeles this Halloween weekend? Here are some events and activities to add to your list for Halloween 2024.

This weekend in Los Angeles, there is one trick and many treats. The trick? Halloween is next Thursday. The treats? Many of the most popular Halloween events are this weekend! Among the favorites is the Marina Spooktacular in Marina del Rey, two days of free fun for all ages, and all scare levels. The Anaheim Halloween Parade marks its Centennial. Babe Ruth was one of its first Grand Marshalls 100 years ago! Many Día de los Muertos events are held this weekend in Los Angeles, including the annual observance at Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

These are only the beginning of Halloween weekend events. Los Angeles is flush with Halloween celebrations, and our event calendar, just like your kid’s goodie bag, is overflowing with Halloween goodness!

Don’t miss our roundup of free Halloween events in Los Angeles, the best pumpkin patches near Los Angeles, our favorite LA neighborhoods for trick-or-treating , and more Halloween activities on this wonderfully spooky weekend.

34 Things To Do to Celebrate Día de Los Muertos in Los Angeles

Submitted by Toby B on Sun, 10/13/2024 - 7:46am

Celebrate Día de los Muertos. Photo courtesy of the Forest Lawn sponsored event in Glendale.

Día de los Muertos in Los Angeles has vibrant celebrations across the city in many neighborhoods and cultural institutions that honor the Mexican tradition of remembering and celebrating loved ones who have passed away.

Spirited Day of the Dead celebrations are steeped in traditional arts and culture throughout Southern California. Children may be familiar with these celebrations from movies such as Coco and The Book of Life. Expect Aztec dancers, mariachi musicians, Calavera face painting, and sugar skull decorating. Ofrendas, or altars, are also created to remember loved ones and are often the centerpieces of Día de los Muertos events.

Take part in more fall traditions by finding the best pumpkin patches in Los Angeles, going apple picking near LA, and discovering fall fun in our LA Fall Day Trips Guide.

37 Best Things to Do in Los Angeles October 2024 with Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Sun, 09/29/2024 - 7:59am

No tricks, just treats at Boo at the LA Zoo. Photo by Jamie Pham courtesy of the Zoo

There are tons of things to do in Los Angeles for ghouls and gals, but Halloween is the name of the game in October. Los Angeles comes alive with pumpkin patches, haunted houses, fall festivals, and, of course, trick-or-treating—so many opportunities to wear Halloween costumes!

Major treats are in store for things to do in Los Angeles for families this October. Cirque du Soleil's KOOZA clowns around at the Santa Monica Pier, boats dress up in their Halloween finery for Marina del Rey's 3rd Annual Halloween Boat Parade, and wheeled gourds speed to the finish line at Manhattan Beach's Pumpkin Race Festival.

Favorite frightful Halloween activities include the chance to boo at the zoo, remember Coco along with a live orchestra in a live-to-film concert at the Soraya, view Carved jack-o-lanterns in La Canada-Flintridge, walk through immersive pumpkin houses at Mr. Bones Pumpkin Patch in Culver City, and so much more.

These are just a few of our favorite things to do in Los Angeles in October—we're adding more events to the Los Angeles Family Event Calendar daily. Keep reading for the very best things to do in Los Angeles this October, and don't forget to check back weekly for our picks for the best things to do in Los Angeles each weekend.