Natasha Polyviou

London always has something to celebrate, whether it's the riotous colour of the Notting Hill Carnival or the festive delights of Christmas at Kew. There's something to suit all ages and tastes all year round: what's more, most of it won't cost you a penny.  While we've included the regular events and festivals that keep the city in a giddy social whirl, there's always more going on: check out our Top 10 kids' activities this week. Now get out your diary to make sure you don't miss the year's best cultural happenings for kids. 

What was the UK’s most searched for TV show in 2014? Not ‘Game of Thrones’ or ‘Eastenders’, but ‘Peppa Pig’, a five-minute cartoon aimed at preschoolers. If you have had toddlers in the house in the last ten years, you will in all likelihood be familiar with the show. Essentially a family sitcom for toddlers, it shuns the factory-churned-out, soulless 3D in a lot of today’s cartoons and is served up in short slices of appealing 2D (each episode takes two weeks to animate). It is screened in 180 territories, has been translated into 40 languages and makes $650 million in worldwide product sales a year - not too shabby for a homegrown animation that’s made in a studio cheekily named The Elf Factory. This February the Pig family graces the big screen for the first time. Kids can watch a new 15-minute special, ‘The Golden Boots’, plus reruns of classic episodes. Harley Bird has been the voice of Peppa since 2009, and won the Bafta Children’s Performer award in 2011 for her voice work on the show, becoming the youngest ever Bafta winner at age nine. Now a teenager (‘I turned 13 a month and two days ago’), the effervescent young star says that she has ‘always been called a drama queen from a very young age.’ How many episodes have you been doing Peppa’s voice for?A lot! About 150, maybe a bit more. How did you come up with the voice?I think I just sounded like a pig when I auditioned! It was just my natural voice and since I’ve got older I’ve had to put it on a bit. It’s really eas

Explore the atmospheric seventeenth-century mansion in Richmond and listen to tales of the Duchess of Lauderdale, whose tapping stick, wafts of rose perfume and pet spaniel have been sensed along deserted corridors. The evening kicks off with bolstering drinks and canapés in the orangery, followed by a spooky tour of the house and gardens. Not recommended for children under 12. Find details for Ham House's family ghost tours

Are you tired of 'Twinkle Twinkle'? Bored of belting out 'Baa Baa Black Sheep' to oblige your music-loving child? Baby Broadway has the salvation you seek. After one of these peppy, jubilant concerts you'll have a fresh bunch of kid-pleasing songs to add your family repertoire. In a pretty ingenious move, organiser Anna Unwin has made the link between the inherently catchy nature of hit showtunes and young children's receptiveness to a good singalong. With West End experience herself, Unwin has tapped into her contacts to bring professional singers and musicians to each performance. The quality shows – it's not everyone who can competently carry a Julie Andrews number – means the events are just as enjoyable for the adults as for the kiddos (and often more so, as there is a nostalgia factor involved in hearing the likes of 'Singin' in the Rain').  Think you don't like show tunes? Think again. On the bill are classic ear-worms that are impossible to resist: a Mary Poppins medley is a delight; 'Anything You Can Do' is designed to appeal to toddler contrariness ('No you can't/Yes I can'); and the Disney section may be mildly questionable but it works.  A sprinkling of festive sparkle comes from Christmas tunes such as 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' from 'Meet Me In St Louis' and 'It Feels Like Christmas' from 'A Muppets Christmas Carol'. Some venues are also offering mince pies for the full festive experience.  Dancing in the aisles in encouraged – the venue we attende

You know a book is part of popular culture when the Met Police starts referencing it. ‘We’re going on a bear hunt!’ tweeted the Kingston bobbies last month when they discovered a huge weed forest. Michael Rosen’s 26-year-old picture-book classic in which a family goes looking for a bear through a forest forms the basis for this immersive exhibition for babies to 11-year-olds – kids can feel the swishy-swashy grass, crouch down to inspect tiny ursine model scenes in floor-level glass boxes, and crawl through a tot-sized tunnel to the ‘narrow gloomy cave’ filled with a furry family of lolling bears. It’s a wonderfully atmospheric way to bring the rhythmic story to life.  The preschool and early primary school crowd were enthralled when we visited (cries of ‘There’s Michael Rosen!’ erupted with a giddiness usually reserved for One Direction). For older kids, there are gleefully silly word games to get creative with, inspired by Rosen’s comic rhymes. They can write a mad meals poem in a chocolate cake kitchen or play with word tiles in a recreation of the author’s classroom complete with the terrifyingly big cane that his teacher used on him.  The exhibition works brilliantly as a jumping-off point to inspire young minds to engage with the written word. Though child-sized, it’s packed with just enough to keep those with wandering attention spans rapt. Let the kids loose in Discover’s ace story garden when it’s time for their imaginations to get whirring in the fresh air.

New to the West End toy shop scene, this Middle Eastern company has opened what it hopes will be the first of several stores in the UK. Prepare for a full-on sensory overload as larger-than-life characters will be roaming the aisles, and live gizmo demos are part of the experience. Big-name brands stocked include Disney, Marvel, Lego, Barbie and Sylvanian Families, and a brand new and exclusive Mr Men character, Mr Fun, also has his home here.

If you fancy a family trip out of town, the children's strand of the massive Cheltenham Literature Festival has an embarrassment of riches for bookish families. Big-name authors on the bill include Michael Rosen, Michael Morpurgo, Lauren Child, Francesca Simon, Julia Donaldson, Anthony Browne, Judith Kerr and Melvin Burgess. As well as readings and signings, there are workshops galore, on subjects from creative writing to making dolls' clothes.  

These new creative classes are aimed at young children. The Doodlekins sessions introduce babies to new sensory experiences with singing, movement and bubbles (ages 0-2; Oct 26 & 27). The Squigglers class will involve making a group artwork as well an individual piece to take home – expect painting and sculpting as well as some dancing to round things off (ages 3-6; Oct 28 & 29). Children with special education needs are catered for in the SEN class with messy play, crafting and music (Oct 30). 

As the temperature drops, seasonal outdoor ice rinks start to pop up around town. Going for a slip and slide is a cosy festive tradition, whether you can speed-skate with the best of them or are more of a grip-the-sides-and-hope-you-don't-fall skater. It's all about the atmosphere, so pick a spot and make sure you factor in the obligatory rinkside mug of hot chocolate or dram of whisky. Somerset House ups the ante with skating club nights, twinkly lights abound at the family-friendly Natural History Museum with its cordoned-off kids' rink, and you can make a whole day of it at Hyde Park Winter Wonderland and Victoria Park's Winterville, which offer the full festive shebang for those committed to going all-out. Book your tickets now for these and plenty more ice rinks opening from November. You can't fight it – Christmas is coming, so you might as well do all the nice bits.  Find details for all of London's outdoor ice rinks. Enter our competition to win a pair of tickets to the Natural History Museum Swarovski Ice Rink

Chocolate Week, which runs until this Sunday October 18, is one made-up celebration we have no problem supporting. To mark the occasion we challenged three master chocolatiers to create a confectionery tribute to London. The resulting sweet feats will be on display at The Chocolate Show, where you can also meet the makers (this weekend, Friday October 16-Sunday October 18). Boris Johnson’s head by Aneesh Popat, The Chocolatier ‘I chose Boris because he’s been so fun for London – he knows the public humour and plays with that – and chocolate is fun too. The sculpture is completely hand-done. It started off with my mum’s face, because all human faces have the same proportions. Then I got lots of 360-degree shots of Boris to work from. At one point he started to look like David Cameron, so we had to begin again. You blitz the chocolate in a blender to get a clay texture and keep adding and sculpting it. I put too much on his cheeks and he looked 70 to 80 years old, then as it was pared back he started to look younger; it was really interesting. His head is quite big, when you start to look at it closely.’ The Shard by Barry Johnson of Rococo Chocolates Rob Greig ‘We can see the London skyline from our West Norwood workshop and the Shard stands tall on the horizon – it’s a London icon of the twenty-first century. I recreated it from architectural plans to 1:500 scale and used 7kg of dark chocolate. The most nerve-racking moment with any chocolate showpiece is moving it – by nat

You know that we live for London here at Time Out. But when we see that love expressed in a stylish book full of London-centric illustrations, it brings out the urbanist geek in us. 'L is for London' takes us through the city, one letter of the alphabet at a time. Paul Thurlby describes his style as 'retro-modern', and the graphic midcentury-modern influence jumps out from bold pictures of contemporary metropolitan icons. He arrived at illustration via stints in advertising and T-shirt design, and bookshelves across the land are the better for it.  Here's a taste of his capital ABCs, spelling out – of course – Time Out. T: 'According to legend, a wealthy American bought the old London Bridge thinking it was Tower Bridge.' I: 'Ice skating has become a festive tradition in London at Christmas time.' M: 'Millennium Bridge is nicknamed the "wobbly bridge" after it swayed from side to side on its opening day.' E: 'The 32 capsules on the London Eye represent the 32 London boroughs.' O: 'The Olympic Park was built for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.' U: 'The Underground is the oldest underground railway in the world.' T: 'There is now a glass walkway which offers a view of London life 42 metres above the river Thames.' Buy it for a hip child you know or keep it as a talking point to flick through on your coffee table. Just keep your actual coffee well away from it. 'L is for London' by Paul Thurlby is out today, Thursday October 8. Find out more at www.paulthurlby.com.

Open House London means it’s access all areas this weekend (Sat Sep 19-Sun Sep 20), with insider tours of 800 stunning buildings, quirky homes and important new projects. Here's our pick of four truly unique places to visit, all for free. For loads more snooping inspiration see our Open House London highlights. Deephams Sewage Treatment Works   Open House isn’t just about peeking into 10 Downing Street and the Lloyd’s Building. This monumental sewage treatment works in Edmonton processes 209,000 tonnes of ‘flow’ (the euphemistic term for the liquid and shit) every day. The waste passing through can increase to 1.3 million tonnes in heavy rainfall, enough to fill 520 Olympic-sized, and supremely stinky, pools. Don your hardhats and hold your noses for this pretty unusual day out. Sat Sep 19, 10am-5pm. Tours must be pre-booked by emailing [email protected]. 30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin)   A rare chance to get into everyone’s favourite pickled vegetable landmark. Unsurprisingly, security is high for the Foster + Partners icon – take photo ID and wear your best undercrackers as you’ll be body scanned. We joke on the undies, but do expect to queue. The selfies will be worth it, and while you wait you could scan the £2.99 Open House London app for nearby spots to tour. Amazingly, most of the 800-plus venue weekend is run by just two staff and 1,000 volunteers, which makes the app a veritable bargain. Sun Sep 20, 8am-5pm (last tour 4.30pm). The Pavilion   The chance t