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For Tiny Londoners & Their Adults

Bablands is a resource for Londoners who find themselves with a small creature to dress up and entertain. Part-magazine, part-guide, Bablands follows the adventures of Bab as she seeks out London's coolest kids' shops, best child-friendly hangouts and under-fives activities that won't make mummy want to gauge her eyes out with a weaning spoon.

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Is it a bomb? Is it a blimp? Is it a giant bowling ball? Well actually it’s a ship’s fender, which as we know (🤷‍♀️) is used to absorb the kinetic energy created when a ship berths against land. It creates a buffer. A go-between. A full stop. A period. This show is called PERIOD. Do you see? It’s by Fiona Banner AKA The Vanity Press and I really liked it. Probably more so because I’m on my period and basically feel like I’m being thwacked repeatedly in the fanny by one of these things. The fender is accompanied by a series of seascapes that reminded me of Oliver Jeffers’ amazing disaster paintings. Catch the show until the 24th of January. . . . . . #coolthingsfortinylondoners #fionabanner #period #londonwithkids
In the words of Bon Jovi: whoa, we’re halfway there! Yes, it’s Babvent day TWELVE and today we’re teaming up with the brilliant @bringyourbaby_londonwalks to offer two mates and their babes tickets to a Bring Your Baby Pub Quiz event of their choice. As you know I’m all about doing the things you did pre-kids WITH your kids but I’d never heard of a guided tour OR a pub quiz you can take your baby to until I found Lucy. I really believe in everything she’s doing and I’m getting very excited about taking Roro on her Dickensian London tour next week (anyone else going?!). To enter this competition simply LIKE this post, make sure you’re following @bablands.london and @bringyourbaby_londonwalks , and tag some mates (one tag = one entry). The competition will end tomorrow, 13th of December, at 8pm, when I’ll be randomly selecting a winner. Good luck! 👶 . . . . . #babvent2019 #coolthingsfortinylondoners
Bathing in the lovely pink glow of a Dan Flavin at @bastian.gallery . Today we managed six galleries in the space of three hours and one toddler managed to do the whole thing without their buggy (I won’t say which one but you can probably guess). A nice bit of escapism pre-election. Who’s shitting it? 🙋‍♀️ . . . . . #danflavin #bastiangallery #mayfair #londonwithkids #coolthingsfortinylondoners
COMPETITION CLOSED It’s Babvent day 11 and today we’ve teamed up with the rather excellent @lunaandcurious to offer one lucky winner this cute pull-along snail by Plan Toys, which is made from sustainable rubberwood and would make the perfect gift for the hard-to-buy-for baby/young-toddler in your life (literally NO idea what to get Roma for Christmas. It’s a problem). If you’ve never been to Luna & Curious you’re missing a treat; it’s kind of like the world’s smallest department store on the world’s nicest estate (geekily obsessed with the history of the Boundary Estate but that’s another story for another day). Babu once shoplifted a really nice hat from here! To win Mr Snail (who crawls btw), simply LIKE this post, make sure you’re FOLLOWING @bablands.london and @lunaandcurious and TAG some mates (one tag = one entry). This competition ends tomorrow, 12th December, at 8pm, when I’ll be randomly selecting a winner. Good luck! 🐌 . . . . . #lunaandcurious #babvent2019 #coolthingsfortinylondoners
We went to see some cars! It was no Tim Walker: Wonderful Things but we had a nice time, especially considering three out of four of us don’t care about cars. Still holding out for the V&A doing another kids’ exhibition a la Winnie the Pooh: Exploring a Classic though. If you’re umming and ahhing about the car thing I’ve put a review up on the site that may or may not help you (prolly not tho) 🚗 . . . . . #coolthingsfortinylondoners #vandamuseum #carsacceleratingthemodernworld #londonwithkids #southkensington #carexhibition
COMPETITION CLOSED It’s Babvent Day 10 and today we’re partnering with the excellent @florencemuseum to give one lucky winner a family ticket (two adults and up to four kids) plus a museum guide book as a souvenir of your trip. We had the best afternoon when we visited recently and the museum has got loads of fun stuff coming up in the new year - including a new temporary exhibition - to celebrate Florence’s 200th birthday. To win simply LIKE this post, make sure you’re FOLLOWING @bablands.london and @florencemuseum and TAG as many mates as you like (one tag = one entry). This competition ends tomorrow, 11th December, at 8pm, when I’ll be randomly selecting a winner. Good luck! 👩‍⚕️ . . . . . #babvent2019 #coolthingsfortinylondoners #florencenightingalemuseum
We NEEDED a good day today after what feels like 500 years of snot and vomit and misery and THANK GOD we managed to have one thanks to our bestest buddies @kerri_and_sprog who always cheer us. We went to see the very cool and very eccentric @leightonhousemuseum , the former home of the painter Frederic Leighton. There’s not really anything for kids here and I did have to change Roma on the floor of the toilet while she crawled away at 100mph and we did have to endure the usual dickish tutty eye-rolling courtesy of someone who clearly thinks culture isn’t for children and we should just be sitting in doing potato printing while we wait for our kids to turn 18, BUT this place is really good and the staff were kind and made us feel welcome, so that was nice. The house is also undergoing a massive multimillion pound renovation so hopefully at the very least they’ll stick a changing table in there (they also do family days and scavenger trails and stuff but they’re aimed at older kids). I’d love to come back here by myself and have a proper look round, although that said the museum’s proximity to Holland Park and its brilliant adventure playground (AND its sandpitted toddler playground) actually makes it a pretty good one to do with little ones if you’re cool with leaving your buggy in reception and not touching anything (which we are... for now 😬). . . . . . #kensington #leightonhousemuseum #coolthingsfortinylondoners #hollandpark #tiles #londonwithkids
COMPETITION CLOSED It’s Babvent day 9 (how?!) and today’s prize is one of my personal favourites. Brilliant boat-based children’s bookshop @tellingtalesshop is offering one lucky winner a three-month fixed book subscription that will be personalised and tailored to the child in question. I can think of very few presents as special as a book subscription and Telling Tales’ owner Daisy has such a good eye for a beautiful book, so someone is in for a real treat here. To win, simply LIKE this post, make sure you’re FOLLOWING @bablands.london and @tellingtalesshop and TAG some mates (one tag = one entry). THAT’S IT! This competition ends tomorrow, 10th December, at 8pm. Good luck! 📚 . . . . . #tellingtales #babvent2019 #coolthingsfortinylondoners
Filthy, filthy scenes from the brilliant @paintmisbehavinuk , Roma’s favourite arty, messy, sensory class. This is another review that’s been at the end of a very, very long to-do list for a very long time, but between the advent calendar and me getting flu then Babu getting flu and now Roma (probably) having flu I literally just caaaan’t 😭😭😭. Anyway, these classes are themed around a different artist or genre each month (this was last month’s Bauhaus 100 class). The upcoming Peter Doig-inspired snowscapes session is sold out and the January class hasn’t been announced yet but the Pop Art Hearts Valentine’s class is bookable on @hoop_app now. It’s so cool I kind of don’t want to share it, but here I am 😬 Full review and more details coming soon. . . . . . #paintmisbehavin #messyplay #coramsfields #coolthingsfortinylondoners #londonwithkids
COMPETITION CLOSED It’s Babvent day 8 and for today’s giveaway we’ve teamed up with London’s iconic Royal Opera House to offer a family of four (two adults, two kids) tickets to one of their excellent Family Sundays events on Sunday 12th January 2020, PLUS two amazing (trust me, they're AMAZING) goody bags for the kids. We’ve been to a few Family Sundays and can confirm they are absolutely magical, filled with one-of-a-kind opportunities to do incredible things like conduct a real-life string quartet, sing and dance with the professionals and so much more it would be impossible to fit it all into an Instagram post. To win this super-special prize simply LIKE this post, make sure you’re following @bablands.london and @royaloperahouse and tag a friend (or 10) who you think might be interested below (each tag = one entry). This competition is open until tomorrow, 9th December, at 8pm, when I’ll be randomly selecting a winner. Good luck! Family Sundays: https://www.roh.org.uk/tickets-and-events/family-sundays-dates ROH Shop: https://shop.roh.org.uk/?_ga=2.225307996.796090134.1574629016-812362562.1571784249 . . . . . #royaloperahouse #babvent2019 #coolthingsfortinylondoners
Silent Madness by @mowalola is an incredible immersive installation that makes you feel as though you’ve stumbled across some kind of underground gig only you’re in charge of the playlist, and the musicians and their instruments are covered in tar and have giant nails coming out of their heads 🤷‍♀️ The exhibition, which opened at @nowgalleryse10 yesterday, aims to “disrupt and question preconceptions of normality whilst challenging traditional discourse surrounding African sexuality, encouraging visitors to shed the pressures of convention and live life by their own terms” 💪 It’s on until the 19th of January and if you head there tomorrow you can grab a free Mowala tote bag and a copy of @thepeninsulist as part of @samplelondon , a pop-up Christmas market offering design-led gifts, yummy street food, a helter skelter and family-friendly craft workshops in collaboration with @ikeauk . (Forgot to do my weekend roundup again didn’t I 😐.) . . . . . #nowgallery #greenwichpeninsula #northgreenwich #se10 #samplelondon #mowalola #silentmadness #thepeninsulist #coolthingsfortinylondoners #londonwithkids #mylondon
COMPETITION CLOSED It’s Babvent day 7 and today I’m excited to be partnering with our favourite kids’ shop, the beautiful @niddlenoddleshop in Crouch End, to give away this stupidly cute @moulin_roty Apres la Pluie rabbit. The rabbit is called Mousse and comes with her own pink fleece leaf for your little one to wrap her in (she’s suitable from birth and she’s on my Christmas shortlist of things to buy Roma that she can then completely ignore). Niddle Noddle is the most incredible shop with the most beautiful range of toys, clothes and nursery decor. I defy you to venture to this corner of north London and not pay them a visit, particularly since they have an amazing yellow helter skelter in the corner. To win this little beaut simply like this post, make sure you’re following both @bablands.london and @niddlenoddleshop and tag as many friends as you like (one tag = one entry). This competition will end tomorrow, 8th December, at 8pm. Good luck 🐰 . . . . . #babvent2019 #coolthingsfortinylondoners
This year’s @museumofarchitecture Gingerbread City is utterly ridiculous. I mean I know the people who make it literally design houses for a living but how they create something so epic out of gingerbread is totally beyond me - I mean has anyone ever tried to make IKEA’s VINTERSAGA gingerbread house? Enough said. You can see this magical metropolis at @somersethouse until the 5th of January, and even take part in a transport-themed gingerbread house-making workshop while you’re there. All the info is up on the site now - link in bio 👆 . . . . . #pressevent #gingerbreadcity2019 #gingerbreadcity #somersethouse #museumofarchitecture #thingstodoinlondon #londonwithkids #coolthingsfortinylondoners
COMPETITION CLOSED It’s Babvent day 6 and we’re already a quarter of the way through! Today’s brilliant prize is a set of family tickets (x4) to see Thumbelina at @halfmoon_theatre on Saturday 11th January at 11am. This magical take on Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale of a girl no bigger than a thumb features traditional glove, rod and shadow puppets and is aimed at ages 2+. For a chance to win, simply like this post, make sure you’re following @bablands.london and @halfmoon_theatre , and tag as many friends as you like (one tag = one entry). That’s it! This competition ends tomorrow, 7th December, at 8pm. Good luck 🎭 . . . . . #babvent2019 #coolthingsfortinylondoners
We love @actionspace , a London-based non-profit visual arts organisation that that does some absolutely amazing work with artists with learning disabilities. Their inclusive workshops are some of the best we’ve been to (remember Pop-Up Pardip at @tate last year?) and it’s the most beautiful thing watching these incredible, talented artists at work. On Wednesday we went to @britishmuseum for their Purple Light Up day of disability-led performances and workshops to coincide with the International Day of Disabled Persons. This is Mark Lawrence’s “Clever the Way It’s Moving”, an interactive, ever-evolving installation consisting of sculpture, film projections of Lawrence’s drawings and collage, and a variety of materials that we were invited to add to the work. Seriously though - how many artists do you know that would actively welcome toddlers coming in and helping to make their art with them? It was exceptionally lovely. Head to @kerri_and_sprog ‘s profile for a much better photo of this with the artist in shot ♥️ . . . . . #coolthingsfortinylondoners #parentingtheshitoutoflife #thingstodoinlondon #londonwithkids #mylondon #londonlife #purplelightup #britishmuseum #actionspace #internationaldayofdisabledpersons
COMPETITION CLOSED It’s Babvent day 5 and today’s prize might come from the only non-London organisation on the calendar (EDIT: they started in Walthamstow so it’s fine 😉) but they’re super awesome and are literally called BOSS BABS so they basically had to be involved. You’ve probably already come across the GALphabet, a pack of 26 beautifully illustrated double-sided flash cards showcasing kickass women in a range of occupations from A-Z. The GALphabet was inspired by Boss Babs owner Jenny’s little girl Nancy and Jenny’s determination that being a girl would never hold her back from realising her hopes and dreams. Today we’re giving away one set of cards for a very lucky Bab (I’ve already bought my one a set for her stocking 🤶). All you have to do to enter is like this post, make sure you’re following @bablands.london and @boss.babs and tag as many friends as you like (one tag = one entry). This competition ends tomorrow, 6th December, at 8pm, when I’ll be randomly drawing a winner. Good luck! 👩‍🚒 . . . . . #babvent2019 #coolthingsfortinylondoners
Obligatory annual Father Christmas photo courtesy of the brilliant team at @museumoflondon . It’s like Narnia down in the Victorian Walk grotto this Christmas and Babu was so spellbound she lost the ability to speak, although that’s true of most situations at the moment (really don’t blame her to be honest). Roro definitely had him sussed though and kept swiping at his beard, presumably in an attempt to pull it off and out him as a festive fraud. He gave them both presents though so I think he was their mate by the end of it. I wonder how I ended up with such sceptical children 😐 The Victorian Santa’s Grotto is running this Friday 6th-Sunday 8th (although it’s sold out all day Saturday and Sunday) then every day from the 13th-23rd. It’s suitable for under-7s and costs from £10 per child (including gift), with photography costing extra, and you can book your slot here: https://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/museum-london/whats-on/santas-grotto?id=23408&s=true&day=1575590400 🎅 Thanks for a lovely day MoL ♥️ . . . . #gifted #victorianwalkgrotto #museumoflondon #fatherchristmas #londonwithkids #coolthingsfortinylondoners #santasgrotto
COMPETITION CLOSED It’s Babvent day 4 and today we’re chuffed to be giving away tickets to the amazing SKATE ice rink at @somersethouse on either Saturday the 4th or Sunday the 5th of January 2020. We’ve been to SKATE for two years in a row now and it really is magical, from the rink-side @baileysofficial Treat Bar to the @fortnums Christmas Arcade and giant pine tree, not to mention the atmospheric ice rink (which I totally didn’t use my baby as an excuse to chicken out of getting on both years 😬). To win this incredible prize simply like this post, make sure you’re following @bablands.london and @somersethouse and tag as many mates as you like (one tag = one entry). This competition is open until 8pm tomorrow, 5th December, when I’ll randomly select a winner. Good luck! ⛸ . . . . . #babvent2019 #coolthingsfortinylondoners
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