Finding things to do on the school holidays in Brisbane is one of the first reasons why Brisbane Kids decided to put a calendar on it’s website. Providing free promotion to local events means that the Brisbane Kids calendar is filled with things do on on the holidays and all the times in between.
How to make the most of school holidays in Brisbane with kids
Trust us when we say that time passes quickly and little kids grow into big kids and the playgrounds of yesterday become the boredom of tomorrow so make sure you relish the moments of sweet childhood play while you can. This page has been categorised into age groups to make it easier for you to find something that appeals to all.
Using the Brisbane Kids Website to find school holiday fun
The What’s on in Brisbane Calendar. This is updated daily and prior to school holidays fills very quickly with free and fun ideas for families.
Download the latest edition of the Brisbane Kids Magazine which is basically a summary of all the things to do in the season you are in including a collection of all the best events according to our editorial team.
Take a look at our fun activities in Brisbane category which we fill with the best ideas and things to do. This is the main category that feeds off into other smaller categories.
Check out our Brisbane playgrounds map, explore Brisbane, the day trip category and holiday ideas for fun outdoor ideas you can do with your kids in Brisbane and beyond.
School Holiday Ideas for Brisbane teenagers
If you are lucky and you have time off over the school holidays then make sure you set yourself up for success with your teenager by having a bucket load of ideas and suggestions at the ready. Sometimes “not asking” can work well too, simply decide what you will be doing with them that day, get in the car and go! Even better, invite some of their friends to help build relationships with your teen’s friends too.
- Take your teenager mountain climbing. Mount Coolum and Mount Ngungun are achievable hikes for teens and create a sense of purpose and achievement. If you have more time on your hands then head up to Mount Tamborine for some adventure park fun or Mount O’Reillys for some longer bushwalks.
- Go camping, even for a short stay. There are plenty of camping locations within easy driving distance to Brisbane- you can find them under holidays on the menu bar on our website.
- Go bowling especially at night with many places offering glow in the dark bowling with fairly decent music.
- Head to Enoggera Creek or one of the many other place in Brisbane where you can hire kayaks and head our on the water together.
- Enjoy some go-kart racing which becomes more fun when parents actually ride go-kart with them. Nothing like some fun, competitive activity to bring parents and teens closer together.
- Check the Brisbane Kids calendar for festivals, markets and obstacle races that are pitched towards teens, largely this will depend on their interests.
- Head to some garage sales together to try and locate some treasures.
- Play computer games with them! I know, i know.. but honestly, it’s worth understanding what they play and having a go, and them feeling pride in being more skilled than you.
- Go geo-caching which is basically treasure hunting using your GPS on your phone to pinpoint locations.
- Check out a movie together, there are plenty of deals on during the holidays and it’s a nice time to be together without having to chat, if chatting is not your thing at the moment.
- Head to the beach and if you can let them bring some friends so you can relax on the shore and let your teen have a good time. Facilitation of enjoyment is another nice way to softly bond and remain close with your teen.
- Lazerzone at Lawnton have special holiday packages with many including both the arcade and laser component.
If you are working over the holidays then check out all the holidays camps and workshops under the classes menu option. You will find a myriad of different options from active full day camps to short coding workshops and everything in between.
School Holiday Ideas for Brisbane Kids
- Find the playgrounds suited to older kids like Frew Park, Yarrabilba and fairly much any of the urban play playgrounds on our website. If you use our search bar and search for urban play, they will come up. These playgrounds are equally suited to younger kids but provide the benefit of pleasing everyone.
- Wheels are everything and whether is be roller skating, roller blading, bmx, skateboarding or scootering you have many hours of free fun at your disposal. If you own none of these then consider investing in one for your child, (you can often pick up good quality second hand offerings on Gum Tree and in local community Facebook groups).
Bracken Ride Skate Park
- Head to the museum and the Gallery Of Modern Art. When you go to the museum make sure you check out the discovery centre which is full of weird and wonderful specimens collected. The Gallery of Modern Art which is right next door often has exhibitions on and a free children’s gallery.
- Head to a local aquatic centre (if it is warm enough), you will find these are great substitutes for the more expensive water slide theme parks, especially in this “kid” age group. Teenagers might prove harder to impress.
- Take some day trips out to different points of interest, check out the day trips and explore Brisbane pages of our website, there are literally hundreds of different ideas and destinations.
- Take a walk out to King Island (just search for it using the search function on our website).
- Have a picnic at Roma Street Parklands, it has guided walks and you can park nearby.
- Head to your local Bunnings who have a growing reputation for holding fun, free and practical kids holiday workshops.
- Use the Cinebuzz membership at Event Cinemas and check out family friendly movies at less costs.
- It is time to check out your local library who will be likely to have a host of holiday activities on for families.
- Have Tepanyaki for lunch or dinner to show the kids a different type of food option.
- Check out some night markets or festivals, just use our website calendar and find ones on that are near you.
- Check out The Bribie Island Butterfly House, open Wednesdays and Sundays, its a lovely way to spend the day and then return home and plan a butterfly garden.
- Visit your local council website to find out about their holiday programs. Often these are free so you generally need to book fairly quickly.
- Check out the Brisbane Lights at night which is once again searchable via our website search function and will provide a different perspective of the city.
- Take a tour of the clock tower in Brisbane City and finish up with cake at Shingle Inn down below.
- Head out to the Workshops Rail Museum at Ipswich, followed by Queens Park for a picnic lunch and a visit to the free nature centre.
- If you have to work over the school holidays then know that under the classes section we have a fast growing list of the best holiday camps, vacation care and holiday workshop ideas in Brisbane.
If you haven’t found any ideas yet then head to the Things To Do menu option on our website which will give you more ideas. Remember, it isn’t so important that every day be filled with things to do or places to go, just time spent together, whatever that means, matters most.
Join the conversation