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

Sand Snowmen, Palisades Village Tree Lighting, and More Top Things To Do in Los Angeles This Weekend

Submitted by Toby B on Wed, 12/03/2025 - 12:40pm

The jungle animals must work together to stop 'The Enormous Crocodile' in this lively stage production of Roald Dahl's book. Photo by Danny Kaan

Looking for the best things to do in Los Angeles this weekend? Here are some of our favorite events and activities to add to your list this weekend

This is one playful weekend in Los Angeles. We're making sand snowmen in Hermosa Beach, fishing with Santa Claus in South El Monte, swinging on the rings at Performances and Play at Historic Muscle Beach, and joining the Christmas Playdate at Saint Monica Preparatory TK-2. There's fun to be had in the theatre too, whether you go with the panto production of A Snow White Christmas in Laguna Beach, the outsized hilarity of Roald Dahl's The Enormous Crocodile, or the inaugural winter play from the inimitable Actors' Gang: Children of the Winter Kingdom, both in Culver City.

Some folks light trees; we light the Apollo Capsule at the Columbia Memorial Space Center! But when we do light trees, it's extra special, like the lighting of the tree at Palisades Village, a flicker of hope for recovery and renewal of Pacific Palisades.

22 Best Things to Do in Los Angeles December 2025 with Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Sun, 11/30/2025 - 1:15pm

Disney on Ice: Magic in the Stars glides into DTLA. Photo courtesy of Feld Entertainment.

December brings plenty of things to do in Los Angeles with Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Eve. Don’t miss our favorite kid-friendly events and activities in Los Angeles this month.

Top things to do in Los Angeles and unwrap this December include Wicked at the Pantages, Manhattan Beach Annual Holiday Fireworks Festival (snow and fireworks!), and an entire fleet of boat parades, including Dana Point's Boat Parade of Lights, and LA County's Annual Holiday Celebration. Elsa, Ariel, and Moana skate into the Southland with a new Disney on Ice show, and the Skirball's annual Hanukkah Festival kicks off the Festival of Lights in the most kid-friendly way.

To end the month in style, ring in the new year at Gloria Molina Grand Park—or let the littles have their fun at the Noon Year's Eve Party at the Southern California Children's Museum. Keep reading to discover the best things to do in Los Angeles this December.

For even more fun things to do in LA this season, check out our Holiday and Christmas Activities Guide for LA Families—which includes a roundup of the Best Holiday Lights Drive-Thrus, Walk-Thrus, and Christmas Light Shows in Los Angeles, where to see The Nutcracker and other holiday shows in LA, and more.

Best Holiday Lights Drive-Thrus and Christmas Light Shows in Los Angeles

Submitted by Toby B on Fri, 11/28/2025 - 9:33am

Enchanted: Forest of Light is one of the best holiday light displays in LA. Photo by Kathryn Rapier, courtesy of the event.

Holiday lights twinkle extra brightly in a city known for Hollywood, glitz, and glamour. Holiday light shows and Christmas light displays are all over Los Angeles. These festive light shows dazzle and get you in the holiday spirit. Stroll through immersive light displays, wander through Christmas lights in gardens, zoos, and farms, climb aboard a holiday lights train, or enjoy a Christmas light show by the water.

If that's not enough holiday lights in Los Angeles for you, festive SoCal neighborhoods go all out with their annual decorating traditions to treat Angelenos to some incredible neighborhood holiday light displays. For even more holiday fun, check out our Guide to Holiday and Christmas Events in Los Angeles.

Thanksgiving Day Weekend 2025 in Los Angeles: Parades, Turkey Trots, and More Things To Do

Submitted by Toby B on Tue, 11/25/2025 - 9:43am

Earn those Thanksgiving pies! Photo courtesy of Turkey Trot Los Angeles

Looking for the best things to do in Los Angeles on Thanksgiving Day and all Thanksgiving Day weekend? Here are some events and activities to add to your list for this long holiday weekend!

We'll go ahead and say it—we’re thankful. Our Thanksgiving weekend calendar is stuffed with activities reflecting the season's joy: Take part in a Turkey Trot, visit a flurry of holiday light displays, such as Tanaka Farm's Hikari and Holiday Road at King Gillette Ranch, or check out Grinchmas and Super Nintendo World during Holidays at Universal Studios Hollywood. To top it off, on Sunday, claim a spot on Hollywood Boulevard to watch the Hollywood Christmas Parade.

Plus, discover all the activities and events open on Thanksgiving Day, find out which restaurants are open, and check out our Thanksgiving Activities Guide for Families for crafts, movies, and even Thanksgiving jokes. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Mommy Poppins!

16 Must-Do Christmas Events and Holiday Activities in Los Angeles for Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Fri, 11/14/2025 - 1:30am

Try sock skating at Kidspace Winter Frolic. Photo by Jamie Pham courtesy of the Museum

'Tis the season for Christmas events and holiday activities in Los Angeles! From the hundreds of Christmas events and holiday activities taking place this year, we've managed to trim our list to the top family favorites.

This year, Santa's bag is overflowing with festive fun for families in Los Angeles. This holiday season's stockings are full of theme parks dressed up in their holiday finest, traditional holiday parades, only-in-LA holiday shows, and other beloved holly jolly traditions. We can barely keep up with all the fun Christmas events and holiday activities in Los Angeles this year.

For more holiday activities, don't miss our Holiday Events and Christmas Activities Guide for Los Angeles, packed with every possible holiday and Christmas light show, Nutcracker shows, Polar Express holiday trains, outdoor ice skating rinks, and so much more.

Veterans Day Weekend 2025 in Los Angeles: 16 Best Things To Do With Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Wed, 11/05/2025 - 1:01am

Veterans Day celebrations take place across LA. Photo courtesy of Canva

Looking for the best things to do in Los Angeles this Veterans Day weekend? Here are some family-friendly events and activities to add to your list for this long weekend!

We owe so much to our veterans—those who have put themselves in harm's way to defend the liberties we hold dear. Families can thank local veterans in person at Torrance Visit with a Veteran, one of several Veterans Day observances that are held this weekend in advance of the Tuesday holiday.

This weekend also marks the opening of several seasonal-favorite events, such as Ice at Santa Monica, Kidspace Winter Frolic, and Astra Lumina.

Families can add their light to a communal glow at the Los Angeles Water Lantern Festival in Irwindale, as their own personally-designed lanterns become part of a luminous fleet at Santa Fe Dam.

As we prepare for Veterans Day, more upcoming holidays are top of mind, like restaurants open on Thanksgiving in Los Angeles, and holiday and Christmas events in Los Angeles to book now. Plan for more holiday fun in our Guide to Holiday and Christmas Events for Los Angeles Families.

16 Best Things To Do in Los Angeles with Kids November 2025, According to Mommy Poppins Editors

Submitted by Toby B on Fri, 10/31/2025 - 11:43am

LA Zoo Lights dazzle. Photo by Jamie Pham

November brings plenty of things to do in Los Angeles as we gear up for holidays from Veterans Day to Thanksgiving and full steam ahead to Christmas. Don’t miss our favorite kid-friendly events and activities in Los Angeles this month.

It's a good thing that November starts with an extra hour of sleep. There are so many fun things to do, that extra hour will be very much needed. For train lovers, make tracks at Day Out with Thomas, gear heads can race over to The LA Auto Show, and whether you like bikes or Demigorgons, you can head Upside Down with CicLAvia's Stranger Things themed event on Melrose Avenue. And, the holidays are coming, the holidays are coming! Everyone's favorite recurring LA holiday events are kicking off this month, including Holidays at Disneyland, LA Zoo Lights, and Christmas on the Farm.

Halloween Weekend 2025 in Los Angeles: Trick-or-Treat and More Things To Do with Kids

Submitted by Toby B on Wed, 10/29/2025 - 9:28am

Jump right into the daily Kidspace Halloween Parade to strut your stuff in costume. Photo by Jamie Pham, courtesy of the event.

Looking for the best things to do in Los Angeles this Halloween weekend? Here are some events and activities to add to your list for Halloween 2025.

This weekend in Los Angeles, there are many treats, along with a trick or two. The weekend starts with a Friday Halloween, which you can spend trick-or-treating in your favorite neighborhood, or scaring up fun at your spooktacular of choice, like the Lakewood Halloween Carnivals or the DTLA Halloween Festivals for Kids. Then it's on to Día de los Muertos: we recommend the annual observance at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, the Self Help Graphics Día de los Muertos Celebration in East LA, and the Día de los Muertos Celebrations held at multiple Forest Lawn locations.

Non-holiday fun this weekend includes Day Out with Thomas in Perris, UCLA's free STEM festival Exploring Your Universe, and a Getty Center Family Festival built around the theme of Medieval Travel.

Don’t miss our roundup of free Halloween events in Los Angeles, the best pumpkin patches near Los Angeles , and more Halloween activities on this wonderfully spooky weekend.

Toby B

Latest posts by Toby

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