Goodbye Mary Poppins.......
Pre- Christmas theatre breaks in London can become a bit of a family tradition. You just have to find the right thing to go and see. This is the last chance to see the current West End production of Mary Poppins because it closes in January. I think they are quickly going to sell out for December so a Christmas theatre break in London with, (or without!) the kids needs to be booked soon.
As a child I loved the PL Travers books and read all of them. They were just magical. The film was good but I never quite forgave them for making Mary so different from how I imagined her. This production has stayed closer to the book than the film did and is all the better for that.
Combine a theatre break in London with shopping trip?
It would be great to combine a bit of discreet Christmas shopping with a night in a child friendly hotel and an evening at the theatre with Mary. Because, you know "Its a jolly holiday with Mary"! This just sounds more and more appealing :-) What could be better for getting us in a festive mood? We could probably see the lights as well. I wonder what they'll be like this year. Last year's were fantastic with lots of blue everywhere. Very pretty!
As for the London shops, well! Taking the kids to Hamleys is a bit mad in November or December but you just have to grit your teeth and enjoy it! On the other hand, you've got the major department stores for one of you to browse whilst the other one does Santa duty.
Train or car?
For us it has to be the train every time! I hate London traffic and the long drive on the motorway is no fun for any of us. The train is quick, painless and has an onboard loo! What more can I say? The best thing is if you can get a table, then it's out with the colouring books and comics whilst the grown-ups take turns to have a snooze. Some of the trains even hand out goody bags for the kids. It's always worth asking at the buffet as they don't advertise them.
When to Book?
Really, for anything popular you need to be thinking about booking as soon as you can. Once you've decided on the show you want you need to get cracking, otherwise you'll be struggling for dates. It's surprising how quickly your time gets booked up too so it helps to get things pencilled in as soon as you can. October is OK but anything later is cutting it fine!
Is it mad to take young kids to the theatre?
My answer to this has to be an emphatic No! Kids can enjoy a theatre performance just as much as adults do. The secret is to catch 'em young! Even toddlers can be educated that it is just not acceptable to shout out or worse yet scream during a play. Be realistic though. A young child is not meant to sit still for hours at a time. Be prepared to do regular wanders to the loo or take them for a bit of a walk during a lull in proceedings. You might be surprised though, once entranced even 3 year olds can sit quietly for long periods. Take a favourite cuddly and don't be too shocked if little ones end up asleep on your knee.
Older children thrive on good theatrical performances and enjoy them every bit as much and sometimes more than adults. Watch out for little girls, and occasionally boys, getting star struck though! This can be the start of a very expensive hobby!
All that's left to do is book
So all that remains to be done is to book. There are some great sites where you can book the whole package, train tickets, hotel, dinner and tickets for the show. That's really the best way to sort out theatre breaks in London.