Kids Events are listed by city, then type. Submit listings at least 14 days before publication to kids@list.co.uk. Listings are compiled by Laura Ennor.
GLASGOW
Activities & Fun FREE Toy Stories Until Mon 2 May (not 25 & 26 Dec, 1 & 2 Jan). Tue–Thu & Sat 10am–5pm; Fri & Sun 11am–5pm. Scotland Street School Museum, 225 Scotland Street, 287 0500. See how children of the past played, at this exhibition of toys and games. Mrs Claus at Pollok House Until Fri 24 Dec, 11am–4pm. £4. Pollok House, 2060 Pollokshaws Road, 0844 493 2202. Mrs Claus pops into Pollok House to visit the children and drop off some gifts. Timed ticketing system applies. Glasgow On Ice Until Thu 30 Dec (not 25 Dec). Mon–Fri noon–10pm; Sat & Sun 10am–10pm. £6–£8.50 (children £5–£6; with Kidz/Young Scots card £2.50; family ticket £23; parent and toddler £6). George Square, www.glasgowloveschristmas.com. Festive fun on the ice. Parent and toddler sessions every half hour on Sun 10am–noon and Mon–Fri noon–1pm. Beauty and the Beast Family Workshop Sat 18 Dec, 10am-noon, 2–4pm. £5 per child; adults free. Citizens’ Theatre, 119 Gorbals Street, 429 0022. Family fun for 5–10 year-olds and their adult companions, based around the Citz’ magical Christmas show, Beauty and the Beast. Booking essential. Santa Safari Sat 18 Dec, 10am, 11am & noon. £12 per child. Mugdock Country Park, Craigallian Road, Milngavie, 956 6100. Explore nature and track some reindeer to see if you can find Santa. Children must be accompanied. Booking essential. FREE Saturday Art Club Sat 18 Dec, 10.30am–1pm. Gallery of Modern Art, Royal Exchange Square, 287 3050. Art activities relating to the art on display with drawing, collage, sculpture-making and games. Parents can get stuck in too. Ages 3–11. Santa on the Sno Sat 18 Dec–Fri 24 Dec, 11am–6pm. £7 per child. Xscape Braehead, Kings Inch Road, Braehead, 885 7051. Visit Santa at his hideaway hut by the ski slope. Booking recommended. FREE Homemade Christmas Decorations Sat 18 Dec, 2pm. People’s Palace, Glasgow Green, 276 0788. Learn how to make your own tree decorations at this family workshop for ages 5+. FREE Sharmanka Family Weekend Sun 19 Dec, 1–4pm. Trongate 103, 276 8380. Sharmanka and Street Level Photo Works team up to offer this interesting photogramme workshop for families. The afternoon starts with a performance in Sharmanka’s kinetic theatre, followed by a chance to create some beautiful silhouetted images. Ages 8+. First Foot Family Disco Sat 1 Jan, 7pm. £29.50 (under 12s £12; under 3s free). Crowne Plaza, Congress Road, 0871 942 9091. Family-friendly party including sparkly welcome drinks, three- course meal and a disco. Theatre & Dance The Selfish Giant Thu 16 & Tue 21 Dec, 10am & 1.30pm; Fri 17 Dec 10am & 7.30pm; Sat 18 Dec 2pm & 7pm; Wed 22 Dec, 10am & 7pm. £9 (£4–£5). Platform, The Bridge, 1000 Westerhouse Road, 276 9696. Wee Stories presents a new take on the classic tale of a mean giant, who might just mend his ways in time to have a happy Christmas. Pinocchio Thu 16, Fri 17, Tue 21 & Wed 22 Dec 10.30am & 1.30pm; Thu 23 Dec 10.30am; Sat 18, Sun 19, Fri 24, Sun 26, Tue 28–Fri 31 Dec & Sun 2 Jan, 1.30pm & 3.30pm. £8 (children £4; family ticket £20). The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, 565 1000. A new version of
78 THE LIST 16 Dec 2010 – 6 Jan 2011
the classic fairytale, featuring music, song, dance and puppetry. Ages 3+. Wee Red Thu 16–Sun 19 Dec 10.30am & 1.30pm; Tue 21 Dec–Fri 24 Dec 10.30am, 1.30pm & 4.30pm. £7.50 (family ticket £30 for five people). Scottish Youth Theatre, The Old Sheriff Court, 105 Brunswick Street, 552 3988. The familiar story of a little girl with a red hood gets a Scottish twist in this interactive show for ages 3–7. Fresh Faced Fri 17 Dec, 6pm. Prices vary; most events free but the performance of Gender Divide is £4.50 (£3.50). Tramway, 25 Albert Drive, 0845 330 3501. A night of performance and workshops by and for young people, including work by the National Youth Theatre, YDance’s all-female Free To Dance group and Junction 25. See preview. A Very Cosy Christmas Sat 18, Tue 21, Wed 22 & Thu 23 Dec 10.30am, 1.15pm & 3.15pm; Sun 19 Dec 1.15pm & 3.15pm; Fri 24 Dec 10.30am & 1.15pm. £12 admits one child and one adult (extra child £5; extra adult £7). Tron Theatre, 63 Trongate, 552 4267. Festive storytelling show for children aged 3–6, all about the fun that can be had in the snow. Wonderland Sat 18 Dec noon, 2pm & 4pm. Wed 22–Fri 24 Dec & Mon 27–Fri 31 Dec 2pm & 4pm. £6–£7. Citizens Theatre, 119 Gorbals Street, 429 0022. Max the mouse learns to skate with the help of various festive friends in this fun Christmas show. Ages 3–6.
EDINBURGH Activities & Fun Gardening 4 Kids Fri 17 Dec, 1–3pm. £1. Bridgend Allotments, 41 Old Dalkeith Road, www.bridgendallotment.org.uk. An intro to horticulture for ages 6-10. Children must be accompanied. Booking essential. Create Sat 18 Dec, 10am–noon. £1 (NEAC ‘Good Neighbours’ 50p). North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 15a Pennywell Court, 315 2151. Drop-in crafts and messy play for children under 5. Dance Sat 18 Dec, 10–10.45am & 11–11.30am. £1 (NEAC ‘Good Neighbours’ 50p). North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 15a Pennywell Court, 315 2151. Dance workshops for kids. Ages 8–11 at 10am and ages 5–8 at 11am. Art Sat 18 Dec, 10–10.45am & 11am–noon. £1 (NEAC ‘Good Neighbours’ 50p). North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 15a Pennywell Court, 315 2151. Art clubs for different age groups on a Saturday morning. Ages 5–8 at 10am and ages 8–11 at 11am. An Enchanted Christmas in the Museum Sat 18 Dec, 10.30am–12.30pm & 1.30–3.30pm. £4. Museum of Childhood, 42 High Street, 529 4142. Make Christmas cards, tags and framed pictures to give to friends and family. Booking essential. Suitable for ages 5+. Supersonic Christmas Sat 18 & Sun 19 Dec, noon–4pm. Children £5 (includes gift). National Museum of Flight, East Fortune Airfield, 247 4238. Santa has upgraded - visit him in his jet stream airplane! Booking recommended. FREE Connect Super Science Shows Sat 18 & Sun 19 Dec, 12.15pm, 1.15pm, 2.15pm & 3.15pm. National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, 225 7534. Catch either a ‘Super Science Show’ or ‘Meet the Scientist’ – find out which on the day. Ages 5+. Shows last 20 minutes. Christmas Crackers Sun 19 Dec, 3–5pm. £12. Imagination Workshop, 136 Marchmont Road, 466 0148. Make personalised crackers with pictures, names and favourite treats to suit each family member. Price includes juice and snack. Ages 5+. Santa’s Gorgie Grotto Wed 22–Fri 24 Dec, 2–3.30pm. £3. Gorgie City Farm, 51 Gorgie Road, 337 4202. Meet the man himself in his sheep house grotto and get an early Christmas present.
Storytelling Story Space: Reindeers and Robins Thu 16 Dec, 11am. £6 per child. Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. A lively session of storytelling, games and song for wee ones aged 2–5, with Allison Galbraith. Stories Round the Tree Sat 18 & Fri 24 Dec, 1.30pm & 3pm. £4 (£3). Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Storytelling with Sylvia Troon, Allison Galbraith and Ian Turbitt for ages 4+, followed by an enchanting puppet nativity show. FREE Talking Trees Storytelling Sun 19 Dec, 2–3pm. Royal Botanic Garden, Inverleith Row, 248 2909. Talking Trees storytelling returns to transport adults and children alike to a magical land far, far away. Ages 5+. Hogmanay Hoots Fri 31 Dec, 2.30pm.
£4 (£3). Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43–45 High Street, 556 9579. Spend the last afternoon of the year having fun with some festive family games, New Year guises, stories and songs, courtesy of Mac-a-Story. Theatre & Dance The Gruffalo’s Child Thu 16 & Fri 17 Dec 10.30am. £11 (£8.50). The Pleasance Theatre, 60 Pleasance, 650 4673. Another cracking adaptation of a Julia Donaldson picture book from Tall Stories, the team who brought us The Gruffalo. Blingdarella Thu 16 Dec 11.30am, 2pm & 7pm; Fri 17 Dec, 10.15am & 11.30am. £1.50–£2.50. North Edinburgh Arts Centre, 15a Pennywell Court, 315 2151. Fun-packed Christmas show from students at Telford College, best suited to kids aged 7–12.
PERFORMANCE EVENING FRESH FACED Tramway, Glasgow, Fri 17 Dec
If you want something done right, do it yourself, the old saying goes. So who better to curate a night for young people, then young people themselves? Featuring live theatre, music and dance, film screenings and workshops, Fresh Faced is an exciting new venture aimed at the under 20s.
Jess Thorpe of Junction 25, one of the theatre companies showing work on the night, explains the idea behind it all. ‘It’s a response to the fact that young people aren’t using Tramway as much as they could, or feeling like the building is theirs,’ she says. ‘Fresh Faced is a chance for young people to see their own ideas represented. They designed it all, and came up with the name and concept, and it’s just great to be able to give the space over to them.’ YDance, the National Youth Theatre and Glasgow Youth Film Festival are just some of the companies taking part in the (mostly) free evening.
Thorpe herself has directed Gender Divide, a fascinating look at the different pressures and opportunities facing teenagers in 21st century Britain. As Thorpe discovered during rehearsals, the situation is constantly shifting. ‘Gender changes with generations, and that’s an exciting thing,’ she
says. ‘We work with 12-18-year-olds, and it’s definitely different even within that age group, so we’ve had some really colourful debates. One of the themes in the show is about having to be the perfect woman or man, because we live in the age of Cheryl Cole and we’re being told she’s the perfect woman. So it’s been interesting to see how young people critique those role models and whether those are the things they aspire to. And the answer is yes – and no.’ (Kelly Apter)