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

Fun & Free Things to Do Christmas Weekend with LA Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 12/22/2011 - 2:42am

Congratulations, folks; we've made it. We've spent weeks preparing, planning, shopping, making our lists and checking them twice, posing for holiday pictures and sending missives to our entire address book, and finally our hard work has paid off. The holidays have arrived.

No doubt many of you plan to spend Christmas Day home with friends and family. For those of you looking for activities outside the home, good news: we're here to help. First up, we offer 10 Things to Do on Christmas Day. And if your kitchen closes on Christmas Day, we present a list of Restaurants that are Open.

For holiday cheer that continues on into next week, might we suggest some of LA's finest Christmas Light Displays (and, if you're willing to hop on the freeway, More Christmas Light Displays outside of Los Angeles).

Take a break from wrapping (or unwrapping) your presents, and continue reading for some of our favorite picks for this holiday weekend.

Fun & Free Things to Do This Weekend with LA Kids: Merry-Go-Round, Sing-A-Long, and TWO Giveaways! Dec. 17 - 18

Submitted by Toby B on Wed, 12/14/2011 - 8:51pm

Okay, folks: we're in the homestretch. Christmas is a little more than a week away, but there's still plenty of time to get your reindeer in a row. Luckily, the elves at Mommy Poppins are working overtime to solve all your holiday quandaries.

Want to find the best and brightest Christmas displays? Mommy Poppins can shine a light on that.

Looking to volunteer or donate toys for the holidays? Our list will earn you a sackful of checks in the "Nice" column.

Worried about where to eat Christmas Day? We're serving up a full menu of options.

Spent so much on everyone's presents that you need a little treat yourself? How about not one but TWO GIVEAWAYS!

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for this weekend, and to learn about our great big giveaways!

Fun & Free Things to Do This Weekend with LA Kids: Breakfast, Boat Parades and Hanukkah! Dec 10 - 11.

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 12/08/2011 - 12:27am

It is a well-established fact that two weeks before Christmas is the start of boat season. At least, it would seem that way, given the number of Boat Parades floating through the Southland this weekend. We’ve got five Christmas Boat Parades this week alone, and another four coming along next week.

Other running themes this weekend are Breakfasts with Santa (he eats his way across Los Angeles), snow (blanketing the city), Nutcrackers (trust us, there are a lot), and reading to dogs. Actually, there’s only one reading to dogs, but how cool is that?

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks this weekend and to learn how Mommy Poppins can score you a discount to infinity… and beyond!

Fun & Free Things to Do This Weekend with LA Kids: Holiday Walks, Santa Diver, and our first Giveaway! Dec 3 - 4

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 12/01/2011 - 1:23am

There’s no denying it: the Christmas season has started. So Cal kids have already been exposed to snow, ice skating and an average of 2.7 Santa Clauses*, so we at Mommy Poppins suggest you go with the flow and embrace the season of giving. And in that spirit, we offer you our first giveaway, our gift to you, in this holiday season.

This weekend, kids can learn about fire, fashion, and penguins; good little children can visit with Santa for breakfast, storytime, or a vintage train ride. Families can enjoy Big Band music, classic Disney cartoons, a party with Cirque du Soleil, and any number of Nutcracker ballets.

Keep reading for some of our favorite picks for this weekend, and to learn about our great big giveaway!

(*Figure entirely made up)

Fun & Free Things to Do This Weekend with LA Kids: Tree Lightings, Holiday Trains, and Snow Nov 19 - 20

Submitted by Toby B on Wed, 11/16/2011 - 7:12pm

You better not pout, you better not cry, because Santa Claus is coming to town in a big way! We’ve got tree lightings, Santa appearances, holiday trains and snow in the Southland - not to mention dozens of Nutcrackers and a few outdoor ice rinks - and it isn’t even Thanksgiving yet!

But you haven’t even started your Christmas shopping, you say? No problem! Who needs Black Friday, when Mini Social and Petunia Pickle Bottom are holding sample sales this weekend?

So put on your parkas and mittens, and get ready for the start of the Christmas season in Southern California.

Keep reading for some of our top choices for the weekend...

Fun & Free Things to Do This Weekend with LA Kids: Opera, Parade, and Not a Pumpkin in Sight! Nov. 5 - 6

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 11/03/2011 - 12:39am

Well, folks, we made it through. Our tricks were treated; our houses were haunted; our buckets were filled with more candy than we’ll ever be able to eat. Now it’s time to sit back, take a breath, and relax, before the onslaught of turkeys, trees, and jolly old elves begins. (Outdoor ice skating has begun already!)

In the spirit of restoration, we all get an extra hour of sleep this weekend. It’s the end of Daylight Savings Time for 2011, so in the wee hours of November 6 the clock “falls back” an hour. Make sure to reset your clocks (and it’s a good time to check the batteries in your smoke alarm, as well).

This week's fun includes events for TwiHards, Muppet lovers, and kiddie music fans as well as one last chance for arachnophiles.

Fun & Free Things to Do This Weekend with LA Kids: Pumpkins, Scares & A Whole Lotta Shaking Oct 22 - 23

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 10/20/2011 - 12:34am

What’s that seismic rumbling? The vibration of 10 million pumpkins rolling down the 405? No, (well maybe, but that’s not what we’re talking about here). What you’re feeling is the pretend earthquake of the Great American Shakeout, a drill being held Thursday to help kids learn to drop, cover, and hold in the event of a genuine temblor. At 10:20AM schools, businesses, and community groups throughout the Southland are practicing what to do when the Big One (or a medium one) strikes.

Once the dust settles, you’ll find no shortage of things to do this weekend. Halloween draws ever closer, and our calendar reflects that. The weekend is filled with pumpkins, pumpkins, and more pumpkins, two scary aquariums, and quite a few Día de los Muertos celebraciones.

Here are some of our top choices for this weekend...

Fun & Free Things to Do This Weekend with LA Kids: Home Movies, Hobbits, and Blasting off to Jupiter, Oct 15-16

Submitted by Toby B on Wed, 10/12/2011 - 11:21pm

October? Seriously? If you ever doubt how lucky we are to live in Southern California, all you have to do is take a look outside. It’s going to be a gorgeous weekend, and we have all the activities for you to fill it with.

Once again, we are spoiled for choice with things to do. Southern Californian families can celebrate music and art, party with dinosaurs, spiders, or sea creatures, eat to their hearts’ content and learn the secrets of creating comic books. And we can do it all in the blazing sunshine.

Continue reading to see some of our top choices for this weekend...