Need ideas to entertain the kids these school holidays?


The Summer holidays are long and once Christmas is over there are a long couple of weeks until school starts again. Finding things to keep the kids occupied can sometimes be costly and difficult to come by, especially if you live in a rural area.

We have 10 activities that are either free or cost-effective for you to do with the kids these Summer holidays.

Go Tenpin Bowling

Tenpin bowling is a fun game for any adult and children above the age of 5. A lot of venues also offer food and drinks so you can make it a great family outing for a few hours with a few games.

Play a game of Mini Golf

Test your skills against your children with a game of putt putt or mini golf. Usually a game consists of 9 holes and even some venues have a few different courses that you can play. A fun activity to do out of the house at any time of the day.

Have a picnic with games

Pack up a delicious picnic for the family and head to the local park, beach or river. Take some games including a frisbee, cricket set or even a kite and enjoy being outdoors in the sun. Don’t forget your sunscreen!

Create a treasure hunt

Utilise your own house and backyard to create a fun and interactive treasure hunt. Make little questions and clues for the kids to find, use their own toys and have a fun reward at the end of the hunt such as a movie night with popcorn or a special dessert for after dinner.

Have a craft day

Head to your local craft shop (Spotlight, Bunnings etc) to gather supplies to create and paint some art and craft for a day. Make your own designs, paint and decorate wooden boxes, picture frames jewellery boxes that the kids can keep in their own rooms or give away to friends and family for presents.

Take the family on a bike ride

Grab the bikes and head out for a bike ride around town, around the lake or down by the river. A lot of areas have some fantastic bike tracks to use that are all different lengths and difficulties, depending on the children’s ages as to how long you go for and how difficult the ride is.

Make a vegie patch

Grab some vegie seeds of the kids favourites, some soil and a container to help them build their very own little vegie patch. They will love the responsibility of looking after their vegetables, watering them and seeing them grow so they can pick them and take them in to the kitchen.

Have a day at the Zoo

Head to your nearest Zoo for a day of exploring and visiting animals from around the world. You can pack your own lunch to take with you and remember your water bottles as it does get hot walking around in the sun.

Be a Masterchef for the day

Buy all of your ingredients, put an apron on the kids and be a Masterchef for the day by cooking up a storm in the kitchen! You can find some kids-friendly recipes online where they can do a lot of the cooking themselves.

Have an afternoon of story creation

Have a topic to tell the kids and everyone has to write their own short story based on that topic and for it to be presented when everyone is finished. It could be that there has to be a hero in the story or that it has to be about a dinosaur. This is a great way to get the kids using their imagination and have fun creating a story to be told.

Cristy Houghton