How to entertain a preschooler in London

We love going to London and whenever we have a trip planned there, the children are always really excited.

Travelling by train is a must for me, we have driven to London before and parked on the outskirts, but I love taking the kids on the train, it is more relaxing for everyone and we can sit and play games, chat or just have a rest if necessary without worrying about where we are going or the constant ‘are we nearly there yet’ chants.

A still talks about our trips to London last year and loves looking at photos of our adventures.  She is very keen to go again and is insisting that we have a ‘girl’s trip’ just me and her and so I have been having a little look to see what we could do on our ‘girl’s trip to London’ .

No girl’s trip would be complete without shopping of course, so a  trip to Hamleys is high on the list and why wouldn’t it be?  Seven floors, yes seven floors of the latest toys and endless demonstrations and things to see.  I am quite sure that we could spend a whole day at Hamleys and at least half of that would be in the LEGO department.  It is also a good idea to raid the money boxes before going there too or you might find that your bank account will feel the pinch of those ‘must-have’ toys and games. A also wants to make a return trip to the M&M’s Store as it is four floors of sweet inspired loveliness.  I had no idea that this shop existed until we went last year but it is amazing and worth a visit just to see the huge range of M&M’s that you can pick and mix and the bright colours and full-sized M&M characters are a huge appeal to little ones too.

A bit of sight-seeing is also nice and I never tire of the open-topped bus tours that you can buy a ticket for a day or two and hop on and off when you need to.  I have done a few of these over the years and I always learn something new about our capital city.  A loved the bus tour last year and if you have people with little legs they are a godsend as they give you all a chance to have a sit-down and a rest while seeing the sights.

One thing that you might not expect to find is a farm park in the centre of London but Mudchute Park and Farm is just that.  One of the largest city farms in Europe, Mudchute has 32 acres of countryside in the middle of the Isle of Dogs and with a park, animals and seasonal events, this would be the perfect place to take a picnic and keep a pre-schooler entertained.

But the absolute top of A’s list of things to do (and mine too but don’t tell anyone) is In The Night Garden Live.  A grew up watching In The Night Garden and even though she tells me regularly that she is a ‘big girl’ now and too big to watch Cbeebies (which makes me very sad), there is something about In The Night Garden that she finds memorising and the Upsy Daisy Doll that she had for her first birthday is never far away.

Everyone that I know who has seen In The Night Garden Live has said that it is spectacular.  It takes place in its own purpose-built, family-friendly Showdome that has only thirteen rows of seats ensuring a good view for everyone; big and small.  With two different stories to choose from, both including all of the characters, the stories and characters are bought to life with puppets, projections, costumes and music.

In The Night Garden Live is on a national tour currently at the O2 in London but will be at London Richmond Old Deer Park from the 21st June until the 5th July and at the time of writing tickets are still available.  If you are looking for accommodation, there are two hotels; Holiday Inn Kensington and the Holiday Inn Bloomsbury that are close to the venue and would be perfect for a family stopover.

This is a featured post but the girl’s trip to London is definitely going to happen and I will let you know how we get on.