Celebrating with kids

susiecb I would recommend the Orangery at Kensington Palace. I said it was pricey, but actually by London standards £40 for four is probably good value. The meringues were to die for and DD and I had delicious White peony tea and very good cakes. I'm just a provincial hayseed me!

We were looking at Tea at the Ritz for a birthday coming up. You need to book three months in advance and teas start at £48!!!!! Harrods apparently is lovely , no need to book to far in advance - not sure how much it was though.

Ganja you have to put brackets around each word, so ( smile ) three times, but no spaces between bracket and word.

Sorry folks, it's the Orangery, not the Conservatory. Beautiful elegant building past The .Sunken Gardens behind the main palace. They must have held the most wonderful soirées and receptions there. It was filled with sunlight when we were there.[smile,smile,smile] Hope they work this time.

Thank you all for good wishes and suggestions. We went to the Enchanted Palace exhibition at Kensington Palace, absolutely magical and highly recommended for children of all ages. Delicious tea beforehand at the Conservatory. Scrumptious but PRICEY. Supper at Monica Jones just off Ken High Street. It's not really for children, but we booked in at 6.30 and the staff were very sweet with the GC, and put us in a booth so we felt very cozy and private. All in all a thoroughly memorable day.[smile, smile, smile]

Ganja Hope your daughter, you and all the family enjoy 40th birthday celebrations
Relax Enjoy LIFE and really hope you ALL enjoy the occaision

MDougall I did suggest that actually, Tongue in cheek, but was told that the Ritz wasn't special anymore, just a room with a lot of gilt chairs. We are going to the amazing sounding all singing all dancing exhibition at Kensington Palace then an early supper at a restaurant in Ken Hi Street, said to have good food and be child friendly. Will report back.

Instead of lunch, why not take them all for Tea at the Ritz. I did this for a friend and our children and they absolutely loved it. The food is scrumptious, you can order cake and champagne for a real treat, and you have an excuse to dress up and really feel very special. You can book online in advance and they will even park your car for you if you drive into London. My daughter was about 8 years old when we did it (she is 38 now!) and she still remembers the whole thing, as does my friend who was going through a bad time at the time.
Someone I know went recently and it is still very special.

Thank you for the suggestions. Not sure about Harrods, Argos is GDs favourite shop so far. Would hate to give her ideas above my bank balance!

Also Giraffe , there is one on the South Bank. There is also The Canteen, near the National Theatre which does good food and is child friendly.

Why don't you go somewhere like Harrods? Then the kids (and you!!) can look round the lovely toy dept and the amazing food hall before and after. We have also found the Rainforrest Cafe (you need to book) is excellent for kids and good fun. We also love the Spaghetti House chain in London. There are a few of them and being Italian they are child friendly!!
Hope you have a great time x