Keep the kids busy, engaged, and having fun with a whole bunch of activities we’ve curated for all ages! Whether you want them to engage in something creative, get into something together as a family, head out to get some fresh air or settle in for some calm days at home; we’ve got you sorted!

CREATIVE 

Little Explorers At Home Boxes

Let the young ones learn through play with these lockdown boxes for kids from Little Explorers at Home. The Playdough Box ($25) includes three x 450g tubs of natural homemade playdough, driftwood and mini pine cones. The Craft Box ($20) includes two plaster of Paris, four x wooden shapes, paint, pom-poms, and glitter!
To purchase, message over Instagram here

Home Made Playdough
You can’t beat homemade playdough, can you? It’s so quick, so simple and can potentially keep the kids entertained for hours. There are SO many recipes to making this at home, but this is my go-to…

What you’ll need:
- ½ cup salt

- 1 cup plain flour

- 2 tbs cream of tartar

- 1 cup water

- 3 drops liquid food colouring (adjust to your liking)

Method:

- Mix all ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan

- Stir over-heat until mixture is thoroughly mixed

- Allow to cool before you start creating

- Store in air-tight container

Cooking & Baking

Get the kids in the kitchen and start creating something delicious. Whether you work together to create a new dish you’ve all been talking about around the dinner table, or have some fun and create something yummy you can keep in the cupboard for treats throughout the holidays!

Butcher’s Paper Tracing
Got some big rolls of butcher’s paper lying around? Cut out some big pieces and get the kids tracing each other and decorating their tracings with pens, pencils, and whatever else you’ve got stored in your craft supply.

Chalk Art
Get your hands on a container of chalk and head outside to bring the wooden fence or concrete driveway to life with colour.

Pasta Jewellery
An oldie but a goodie; cut up some string and get out some pasta tubes and let the kids make their very own necklaces and bracelets. Step it up a notch and make some coloured pasta to add that little extra pizzazz to the finished product.

FAMILY-FUN

Boardgames & Card Games
There’s no better family bonding than a boardgame right? Break out and dust off those family board games and card games and make a night of it!

Puppet Show 
Let the kids showcase all their fluffy stuffed toys and put on a show of their own; a toy puppet show! Get them setup behind the couch or make use of the bunk beds!

Backyard Picnic 
Enjoy the sunshine in your own backyard and pack a basket full with all the picnic trimmings. A bag of breadrolls, a roast chicken, ham, salad, even vegemite and butter! Set out the picnic blanket or round up the camp chairs and enjoy your basket full of goods all from the comfort of your backyard.

Treasure Hunt/Scavenger Hunt
Follow up your backyard picnic with a surprise treasure hunt. Have some pre-created maps or checklists, with lists of things for the kids to find. Keep it as easy or make it as hard as you please; the kids could be exploring the backyard and the house for hours!

Hide & Seek
Another family favourite is of course hide and seek! Can’t go wrong with this little bit of family fun.

Dance Party
Need to just get the good vibes flowing? Or want to start the day on a high? Have impromptu dance parties throughout the day. Blast the tunes and dance through your favourite songs.

RELAX

Movie Fort 
Do you have memories of creating movie forts as kids? I know I sure do! Collect the dining chairs, all the old linen and get making the ultimate movie fort. Make sure you’ve got the film picked out and stuff your fort full of blankets, pillows, fairy lights, and of course; snacks!

Stargazing 
Get all your warm clothes on and set on an adventure to the backyard to look up towards the skies. Make sure it’s a clear sky before locking anything in, because you don’t want to be disappointed!

Yoga & Meditation
Need to calm the mood a little bit in the house? Light the candle or put the diffuse on to set the tone, pop a kid-friendly YouTube Yoga session up on the TV or computer and work through the moves to stretch, breathe, and calm your body and mind. 

LOCAL PARKS

Need to get out and let the kids burn off some energy? Check out the below local parks that are known for their playground equipment.

Newcastle 

- Lambton Park: Elder St & Morehead St, Lambton

- Empire Park: 107-109 Memorial Dr, Bar Beach

- Laneway Park: 4 Moira St, Adamstown

- Henderson Park: 42 Lockyer St, Merewether

- King Edward Park: Reserve Rd, Newcastle

- Centennial Park: Bruce St, Cooks hill

- Smith Park: 31 Boreas Rd, Hamilton North

- Islington Park: 151 Maitland Rd, Islington

- Wickham Park: 61 Maitland Rd, Islington

- Tourle St Reserve Playground: Tourle St, Mayfield West

- Connolly Park: Thornton St, Carrington

- Blackbutt Adventure Playground | Richley Reserve: Freyberg St, New Lambton

- Stockton Active Hub: Griffith Park, Stockton

- Harold Wesley Knight Park Playground: 65 Lonus Ave, Whitebridge

Lake Macquarie

- Toronto Foreshore Playground: 2 Victory Pde, Toronto

- Speers Point Park: Park Rd, Speers Point

- Warners Bay Park: 1 John St, Warners Bay

- Pelican Foreshore: Lakeview Pde, Pelican

- Webb Park Playground: 2A Beach Rd, Redhead

WALKING TRACKS 

Stretch those legs and get the whole family hitting the pavement with one of these iconic walks around Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.

Newcastle

- Hickson St Track

- Bathers Way

- Nobby’s Headland & Breakwall

- Honeysuckle to Nobby’s Beach

- Fernleigh Track

- Mount Sugarloaf Walk

- Boarding House Damn Walk

- Stockton Shipwreck Walk

Lake Macquarie

- Warners Bay Sculpture walk

- Ken & Audrey Owens Walk

- Yuelerbah Walk at Glenrock

- Greenpoint Walk

- Kilaben Nature Walk

- Cooranbong Swing Bridge Walk

Do you think we've missed something? Email us!