It’s school holiday time! Here’s a list of ideas to keep everyone busy!
First stop: check out the Hills District Mums website. There are HEAPS of ideas and suggestions, particularly in the ‘Play’ section, for things to do that will keep everyone entertained!
Holiday camps, classes & workshops. If you need a helping hand with care over the break, there are stacks of camps and classes on in and around the Hills, for all types of interests. Here’s a list. Book soon as they fill up.
Spot On Children’s Festival at Riverside Theatres. From Saturday 28 September.
Get ready for an absolutely MAGICAL joy-filled festival, full of theatre and musical performances, hilarious children’s comedy, adventures to the far and beyond, and many more entertaining shows for the whole family. Plus there are free activities and performances happening in their Courtyard.
Find out more about the shows here.
And enter our comp to win a family pass! Enter here.
Paper Planet at PHIVE in Parramatta
Swing Bridge Loop Walk in Cherrybrook. We found a new bushwalk a while back thanks to a local mum. Swing Bridge Loop Walk is tucked in the very quiet back streets of Cherrybrook. This is a great option if you’re introducing kids to bushwalking. It’s a loop walk of approximately 800m and is described as ‘easy to slightly challenging’. It takes approximatey half an hour. For more info click here.
Fun at local shopping centres!
- Castle Towers – learn balloon twisting & design your own sunglasses
- HomeCo. Castle Hill – The Charm Kiosk
- Winston Hills Mall – Week 1:The Enchanted Garden & week 2: dino craft.
Check out the refurbished Wollundry Park at Pennant Hills. It’s had a huge makeover and is looking very flash! There’s a nursury rhyme theme to the playground with larger, more challenging options for older kids and smaller, toddler-friendly structures also. Plus our favourite – imaginative play elements!
We’ve always enjoyed this playground as there’s seating, shade, it’s fully fenced, parking isn’t difficult, it’s by shops and toilets are next door at the library if needed. Read more here.
Visit the new putt putt course at Lynwood Country Club
Lynwood Links Mini Golf opened in July – it’s a great addition to Lynwood and perfect for families. There’s no booking – you just show up. Mini golf is also open until 10pm, meaning you can play a little later – great for adults and older kids. For older teens, if they’re playing solo, you don’t have to enter via the clubhouse and sign in – mini golf has its own separate entry you can go through. Open 7 days, 10am – 10pm. You can find all the info here.
Check out the activities at the Hudson Hotel in Seven Hills. To make a booking click here.
Visit your local library. There are great libraries in the Hills including Dural, Castle Hill and Vinegar Hill.
Discover Geocaching. Have you heard of it? Our kids only recently discovered it, even though it’s been around for a long time now. It’s essentially a global treasure hunt where you use a GPS device, most commonly these days a mobile phone, to hide and seek containers, called geocaches or caches, at specific locations. The first geocache was placed in 2000 and by 2023 there were over 3 million active caches worldwide. There are 3111 in Sydney alone!
Our kids love it because it combines the outdoors, treasure hunting for something physical and a form of technology. We downloaded an app called Geocaching – our kids decided to contribute to purchase the premium version for a year. It enables you to find caches with a difficulty of 2 and above and has other additional features. Be sure to have a pen with you to write your name on the scroll once you’ve found the cache. Google Geocaching for all the info.
Activities at Castle Hill RSL
Castle Hill RSL has a number of kids activities on these school holidays including:
- Little Red Riding Hood. Tuesday 1 October. 11am show start.
- Kids Silent Disco. Wednesday 2 October. 10.30am to 12pm
- Kids First Aid Class. Tuesday 8 October. 10.30am to 12pm.
- Poppy Making Workshop. Wednesday 9 October. 12pm start.
- Play School Live in Concert. Sunday 13 October. 9.30am and 11.30am.
Savour the Flavour. Saturday 12 October.
- cooking demos & Q&A sessions by local businesses and chefs
- over 55+ food and beverage stallholders
- Bilpin Fruit Bowl Apple Pie Eating Competition
- best dressed competition – hint: wear pink
- free face painting
- live music.
Visit Fagan Park for the day. With the Children’s Forest opening earlier this year the park now has 3 playgrounds. Find out more here.
Go for a bush walk in the Hills! There are a few lovely walks right on our doorstep. Check them out here.
Go for a bike or scooter ride. There are many parks in the Hills that have paths or areas to ride on. Here’s a list.
Light up Bella Vista – a Diwali celebration, 5pm to 8pm, Sunday 13 October, Bella Vista Pocket Park.
Join in Light Up Bella Vista, a vibrant celebration of Diwali, at Bella Vista Pocket Park. This event promises to bring together people from all backgrounds in a joyous evening filled with food, music, dancing, and lights. Find out more here.
Hang at a water play park. Cross your fingers for some sunny days! Water parks are a great option if you don’t want to head to the beach. Visit one of the water play parks in and around the Hills.
Head out for the day to the Ian Potter Children’s WILD PLAY Garden in Centennial Park. If you haven’t been before, it’s well worth the trip from the Hills to the East! Find out more here.
Inflatable Holiday Fun at The Centre Dural. These school holidays, your kids can get out some energy jumping on a wide range of inflatable rides at The Centre in Dural while you can sit back and enjoy the cafe. 2 hour sessions are available everyday of the school holidays between 9am and 4.30pm, no booking required. Tickets are $13 for kids 4 and under, and $20 for kids 5 and over. See website for more details.
Take a trip to Canberra! If you’ve never visited, it’s fabulous for families! Here’s a list of things to see and do.
Get crafty with cardboard boxes! If you need a day or two at home to rest and recharge (and save $!), here are 10 awesome and easy things to make from cardboard boxes. These activities are great for free, cheap days at home, especially if it’s too rainy to go out, or if everyone just needs a rest day. Check out the 10 ideas and how to make them here.
Find a new playground in your area. We love a hidden gem! Sure, these little parks often don’t tick every box and because of their locations they’re on the smaller side, but they’re more than fine for a morning play in the sun and because they’re so hidden, are lovely and peaceful. Here’s a list of playgrounds you might not know about.
Enjoy a day trip to somewhere you haven’t been before. Here are some of our favourites.
Make up a dance! Choreograph and perform a concert for mum and dad! Remember doing this? Dance, comedy sketches, magic or singing are great fun!
Visit Meadowbank Regional Playground. In terms of playgrounds it’s without a doubt one of the best we’ve ever seen. Find out about it here.
