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 Activities for the Weekend Before Christmas with LA Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 12/17/2015 - 7:15am

Congratulations, folks; we're almost there. 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 our hard work is about to pay off. The holidays are upon us. This weekend offers one last shot to complete any unfinished business: buy a tree, meet the big guy, maybe string a few lights around the house.

Or, you could just look at other people's lights. (Soooooo much easier.) 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). There's no better time than the present to catch a Nutcracker performance. And while sometimes you may feel like a nut, there are other times you don't, so we've offered up some alternatives as well.

Whatever you're celebrating this weekend, keep reading for some of our favorite picks...

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: KURIOS, Peter Pan, Last Night of Hanukkah, December 12 - 13

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 12/10/2015 - 8:00am

You must have been unbelievably good this year because you have been gifted with a weekend full of awesome. First up, Cirque du Soleil makes its way to LA with KURIOS, featuring Cirque’s signature acrobatic artistry, enhanced with a hint of steampunk and boatloads of “oh my gosh, how do they do that!?” And speaking of boatloads, there’s boatloads of holiday boat parades this weekend. Because we Angelenos love us some boat parades.

You want more awesome? Lythgoe Family Productions is back with another Christmas panto, this time taking on Peter Pan and Tinkerbell. These shows have consistently been a high point of the Christmas season for us, with show biz vets and teen Disney stars blowing us away with their talent. Disney on Ice glides in with only the best ice-related Disney tale ever, Frozen. And if that weren’t enough to fill your stocking, we are days away from the next installment from a galaxy far, far away.

As with last week, most of the Hanukkah events are concentrated on Sunday, which is the final night of the holiday. If you haven’t received any gifts yet by then, you are owed eight. (Tell your family you will accept tickets to Kurios, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, Disney on Ice and Star Wars—marathon optional but it would count for 6).

Keep reading for more on all the awesomeness that is this weekend…

Fun and Free Things To Do Hanukkah Weekend with LA Kids, December 5 - 6

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 12/03/2015 - 4:52am

Oh Hanukkah, oh Hanukkah, come light the menorah. Again. And again. Hanukkah is enjoying its moment in the spotlight in a torrent of latke and donut-filled celebrations, with all manner of creative takes on menorahs (tiles, LEGO, sculpted of ice). I bet there's enough Hanukkah fun to fill eight crazy nights!

Actually, this weekend is filled with a lot of a lot of things. Santa Breakfasts. Parades. Parades of boats. So Cal snow. Victorian takes on Christmas. Tree Lightings. Screenings of Elf. You name it; we've got it. A lot of it. And you are going have to choose what to do and what to miss. (I don't envy you.)

This is going to be our story until the end of December, by the way. With more ballets than you can shake a Nutcracker at, and a whole chorus of Hallelujahs, the seasonal fun just keeps coming. And we wouldn't have it any other way!

Keep reading for a seasonal abundance of weekend fun...

The Good Dinosaur: Parent Review of the New Disney Pixar Film

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 11/26/2015 - 11:49am

The latest Disney-Pixar flick comes roaring into theaters this week with astoundingly rendered background art; themes of family, friendship, and overcoming fear, and starring roles for those kid-favorite critters, dinosaurs. Though largely aimed at a younger crowd, The Good Dinosaur is rated PG, and some themes and moments may be a little too intense for more sensitive viewers. Read on to find out if this film is appropriate for your family (and why it's worth seeing at Hollywood's El Capitan for folks in LA this holiday season).

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: CHILL, Season of the Force, Doo Dah Parade, November 21 - 22

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 11/19/2015 - 7:22am

Must be the Santa Anas, because I'm sensing change in the wind. Harvest gold has given way to red and green; there's a serious CHILL in the air, and our kids are starting to tally up their naughty and nice scores. (Here are a few ways to help tip the scales in their favor.)

We're one week shy of T-Day, and we all know that turkey won't even be cold before we enter a non-stop marathon of holiday frenzy. But luckily, we get to put our own SoCal spin on things. We may do a few turns on the ice, but we'll follow up with a day at the beach (and make sure to brag about it to our friends and family who are not so climatologically blessed).

If you're not feeling the Thankschrismakkuh spirit just yet, there's plenty of non-seasonal fun to keep you happy this weekend: think dinos and Doo Dah, stars and Cirque, mariachi and American Girl. Holiday, shmoliday, we're just here to watch the birds. Next week, however, it's game on.

Keep reading for our not-the-holidays-yet picks for this weekend....

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: Dreamworks, Sid Science Kid, Family Guy Sings, November 14 - 15

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 11/12/2015 - 8:00am

I admit, last weekend I was sort of freaking out about the whole "November isn't Christmas" thing, but it's cool now. We met Santa, hung with a few elves; there's red cups all over town, and we're even thinking of meeting up with Santa again (because we'll have lots of opportunities).

Stuff may not be over 'til the fat lady sings, but the holidays ain't even started until the Family Guy (creator) gets his croon on. Twice. But you can also do science by way of animation, twice, and I don't think it has anything to do with the holidays. We've got Smurfs, Giant Robot, Sir Topham Hatt, and the Peanuts; we've got stunt dogs and Okee Dokee Bros, all of it non-denominational.

Yes, you can start your holiday shopping now. Yes, you can skate and play in the snow. And break out the pecans because we've got Nutcrackers, twice. And if there is one lesson that this weekend in November can teach us, it is that the holidays are there for you if you want to find them. Me, personally, I look in those red cups. Twice.

Keep reading for our most down for the season picks for this weekend....

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: Exploring Our Universe, Bye Bye Spiders, and Christmas... Wait, What? November 7 - 8

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 11/05/2015 - 8:18am

Hasta la vista, Halloween; it was real. We may have pulled a muscle or two dragging those overloaded trick-or-treat bags around, but at least we earned a break before the next onslaught of holiday overload comes a calling. That's why we're going to fill this weekend with Santa Claus.

What's that? I meant science. There's some serious science happening on the UCLA campus this Sunday. Your kids can prepare for careers in astrophysics, pharmacology, food science... Speaking of putting the food in science, anyone up for a tree lighting?

Tree lighting? No, that was supposed to be "pumpkin launching." A fitting end for the Halloweeny squash. And it's science, because launching and trajectories and, well, squashing. (Squashing! So nice, you say it ice!)

Keep reading for our merriest picks for this weekend....

Weekend Fun for LA Kids: Fishy Fest, Life: A Journey, Grand Ave October 24 - 25

Submitted by Toby B on Thu, 10/22/2015 - 8:05am

I guess you could pretend it’s not Halloween next week. There’s plenty going on this weekend: a great new exhibit opening, a really big consignment sale, walks to raise money for pancreatic cancer research and special needs kids. You can look at birds, and explore cultural venues downtown, and learn about water conservation and trains (both model and big).

Though why you would want to ignore it is beyond me. Candy. Dressing up. Candy just for dressing up. I understand you might want to avoid the scares, but really most of the spooks are of the ha ha kind, not so much bring out the defibrillators. (Though there is some of that.) And you could always use that old standby “Harvest” (with "Fall" as a close second) as your excuse for downing fistfuls of sugary goodness. (Candy corn grows in fields, doesn’t it?)

You say po-TAH-to; I say Happy Halloween. Harvest on, my friends.

Keep reading for our most Hallo-harvesty picks for this weekend....