Darwin December and January School holidays 2019 break is fast approaching! We will have six weeks break for Darwin public schools. Starting Friday 13th December (Private and Independent school holidays may be slightly different – please check with your school). Students will return to school on 28th January 2020!
Yes parent SIX WEEKS to keep the kids busy and entertained without loosing your sanity! Darwin Family Life has rounded up some of the fantastic options that are free (or affordable) activities to do with your kids these Darwin December and January School holidays 2019.
Darwin December and January School holidays 2019
Cas Christmas Pool Party – Sunday 15th December
It’s not Christmas without a pool party! Join City of Darwin and their Alderman for a very Aussie pool party this December at the Casuarina Swimming Pool (17 Gsell Street Casuarina).
There will be a free Sausage sizzle, cake, water wonderland games; including SLIDES, photo booth and finally a DJ. This is a free event with free entry into the pool all day. So get your best togs, grab a towel and join in for some fun from 10am till 2pm on Sunday 15th December.
Santa’s Village – open now till 24th December
Santa’s Village is now open in the Smith Street Mall – open from Monday to Saturday – 9.30am till 11am and 11.30am till 1pm near the playground. There will be Santa and the Fun in the Parks team set up with loads of fun free activities for the kids. Plus take your own photo of the kids with Santa!
Casuarina Square – Xmas festivities
Cringeworthy Christmas Photos
Pop-up every Friday from 5.30pm to 8.30pm and Saturday 10.30am to 1.30pm. Throw on an ugly sweater and pose with your family and friends for a free photo! Located near Amcal Chemist.
Christmas Bauble decorating
Enjoy 10 days of free Christmas Bauble Craft decorating fun! From 14th to 23 December from 10am till 12 noon set up near Seed Heritage.
Plus there is Gift Wrapping services brought to you by Sommerville. Extended trading hours starting Monday 16th December leaving you more time to shop! Why not try the VIP Parking – Enjoy hassle free parking this Christmas at Casuarina Square! For more information about this and more happenings head to their website here.
City of Darwin libraries – Darwin December and January School holidays 2019
City of Darwin libraries have their Summer Reading club happening again! Sign up to win some awesome prizes. The club runs from Friday 13th December to Thursday 23rd of January. There are incentives for each milestone reached, plenty of activities, a chance to win an iPad and the Summer reading party at Cas Library to wrap it up. The Summer reading club is open for anyone aged 0-18 years and you can register at any of the libraries.
The City of Darwin libraries also have a full six weeks of FREE fun activities these Darwin December and January School holidays 2019, at their four libraries (Karama, Casuarina, Darwin City and Nightcliff). Activities include Christmas photo booth, Toonworld model making, Corrugated Iron Youth drama games and more, movies, tech zone, story times and so much more! Some activities are suitable for certain ages. No bookings required – however space is limited in some sessions, arrive early to avoid disappointment. Check out the full program here
Casuarina library is located at 17 Bradshaw Terrace Casuarina
Nightcliff library is located at 10-12 Pavonia Place, Nightcliff
Karama library is located at Karama Shopping Centre on Kalymnos Drive
City library is located at Civic Centre, Harry Chan Avenue
Activate Darwin
The Activate Darwin Hub in the Smith Street mall will have a few Christmas activities happening from 10am till 12 noon. Bookings are essential click here to register
Monday 16th Dec – Christmas Sand cards and Plant Sand Art
Wednesday 18th Dec – Christmas Cookie decorating and Christmas Craft workshop
Palmerston Library Christmas Craft week – Mon 16th to Fri 20th December
Christmas craft week kicks off at the Palmerston library (located on the Boulevard
Palmerston), on Monday 16th December till Friday. Join in at the Library for a week of Christmas-y fun! All activities are FREE and start at 2pm. Movies for all ages, crafts for ages 5-12
Movie Monday – Home Alone
Tuesday – Reindeer Antlers * Hats
Wednesday – Baubles & Photo Frames
Thursday – Wooden Ornaments & Sand Art
Friday Flicks – The Muppet Christmas Carol
Taminmin Community Library
Taminimin Community Library located at 70 Challoner Cct Humpty Doo will have a FREE School holiday movie screening of Home Alone on Friday December 20th. Movie will start at 12pm and popcorn and drinks are provided.
Swim Dynamics – School holiday swim lesson intensives
Give your child’s swimming and water confidence a boost these Darwin December and January 2019 school holidays by participating in Swim Dynamics School holiday intensive program. They will build water confidence, skill development and keep the kids active & busy! Let’s face it, there’s no better place to be than in the water in this weather!
Choose from group classes or arrange private one-on-one sessions with one of our awesome instructors. Lessons are scheduled between 8.30am & 12pm (exact time dependent on level) at Nightcliff Pool.
December/January Holiday Program dates:
Week 1: Dec 16 – 20
Week 2: Jan 6 – 10
Week 3: Jan 13-17
Week 4: Jan 20-24
For more information and to register head here
Palmerston Library – January program
The Palmerston library will have lots of fun free activities happening from Monday 6th till Friday 24th January. All sessions start at 2pm. Activities include movies, gadgets and games, circus workshops, BuildITUp NT (space limited secure your spot), balloon twisting, disco and more! Full program below or click here
Top End Multi Sports
TEMS will have their popular sports holiday program back in January. Running for the week from Monday 20th to Friday 24th of January. For ages 5 – 12 yrs – Daily program or book in for the week. $60 per day or $250 for the week.
Program consists of: Soccer, games, tennis, volleyball, movie, pool time and more. Daily activities have flexibility to suit children.
From 8 am till after 4.30pm. The holiday program will be held at Top End Multi Sports Centre at 110 Old McMillans Rd Coconut Grove.
For more details or to book in your child – head here Spaces are limited!
Crocosaurus Cove – Junior Reptile program
Exclusively offered during the NT School Holidays, the Junior Reptile Ranger Program is perfect for the animal lover in your household. This one-of-a-kind tour allows kids to see behind the scenes of our park and help our experienced handlers feed and care for our reptiles! This program costs $60 per child. Accompanying adults can gain entry to the attraction for the discounted rate of $20.
This fully guided 2 hour tour includes: behind the scenes access to the park with our reptile handlers, special Reptile Ranger educational talks and exclusive opportunity to hold and feed juvenile crocodiles and other reptiles.
The Junior reptile program will be run every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday during January NT School Holidays from 3-5pm. (Excluding Wednesday 1st January and finishing Friday 24th January.) For more details and to get your tickets check out their Facebook event here.
Darwin Creative Dance Industries
Darwin Creative Dance Industries is hosting the National Institute of Perfoming Arts (NIPA) two day dance program operating on 22nd and 23rd of January.The NIPA Studio is based in Melbourne, Australia and offers private coaching in all genres of dance, acrobatics, singing, acting, and performance and audition technique. NIPA Performing Arts Workshops deliver masterclasses and teachers seminars nationally and internationally.
The January program will run from 9am till 6pm on both days. NIPA workshops are a great opportunity for students to develop their skills and build experience across a wide range of performing arts styles. For more information click here. To book your child into the NIPA program head here
Darwin Squash Centre
Darwin Squash centre have lots of different options these upcoming school holidays in January. Ring them today to book your option! 8945 7362.
Option 1 – Drop and Go!
4 hours of fun in an indoor, sun-safe & air-conditioned environment. Kids can play squash, racquetball, cricket, soccer, colouring in, giant games and finish off with a movie screened on the court wall. All food is provided.
Available Tuesday’s and Thursday’s (7th, 9th, 14th, 16th, 21st and 23rd of January 10am – 2pm $30 per child.
Option 2 – Sit and Watch!
Get your kids to learn to play while you sit back and enjoy a freshly ground coffee!
They’ll learn to play in a fun group coaching session, then finish off with a friendly competition using all the skills they’ve just learnt.
Wednesday 8th, 15th and 22nd of January 10am – 11am. $15 per child
Option 3 – Stay and Play
Join the fun and get on court with your kids… Adults play at kids prices! Simply rock up to hire a court for Squash or Racquetball and experience the fun for yourself. You’ll get a great workout while the kids burn energy too – all inside in a sun safe, air-conditioned environment.
Every weekday between 10am & 4pm. $5 per person for 1 hour. Available all School holidays 13th December till 27th January – except during Christmas Closure. Please not Darwin Squash Centre will be closed from Christmas 21st of December and reopen 4th of January.
Leanyer Recreation Park
Another great option to keep the kids busy and cool these school holidays is to visit Leanyer Recreation park. It is a FREE water recreation park located at 215 Vanderlin Drive Leanyer. The Park consists of dry and wet recreational areas. The wet area includes a swimming lagoon (shallow in many ares – great for toddlers and young children), three massive water slides for the older kids and a wet playground that is great for all ages. There are large grassed areas for play, BBQ’s, a dry playground, skate park and basketball courts. The Park has lots of shaded areas including over the pool, the wet play area, the skate park and the grassed areas. There are toilets and change room facilities.
Opening hours during the school holidays are:
9am to 8pm – grassed area and BBQ’s
10am to 6pm – wet play area
11am to 6pm – water slides
Leanyer Recreation Park will also have Surf Life saving NT and City of Darwin Fun in Parks team providing some free fun in January.
Palmerston Water Park
10am to 6pm – wet play area
11am to 6pm – water slide
Activate Kids
Activate Kids is a free program for children aged 0-12 that are residents of Palmerston and rural areas. It aims to promote healthy habits and the opportunity to try new and exciting activities during the holidays. The program is operating from Monday 16th December to 25th January. Activities include Circus skills, basketball, ED gym, Adventures in the garden and Harvest corner. Click here for the full program. Registrations are essential – click here
Fun in the Parks
Darwin Waterfront – January activities
Keep the kids entertained their FREE January school holidays each weekday from 10am to 12 noon. Commencing Monday 6 January 2020, activities will include water slides, build-a-city up cycling, surf and sailing in the lagoon, circus workshop, sponge bomb wars, recycled robots workshop, giant bubble play, crafting garden mobiles, balloon twisting and come and try soccer. Click here to access the full program.
Pool Parties – various dates and locations
Join the Y at their free youth pool parties! It is free for ages 4-17. Children under the age of 10 must have adequate supervision of a parent or guardian over the age of 16. They will be running the CHALLENGER inflatable! So come down, gather your mates and challenge them these school holidays! There will be a free BBQ and also fun activities *INCLUDING INFLATABLE TOYS*. There will also be music and other entertainment!
Parap Pool party – Wednesday 8th January – 3pm to 6pm
Nightcliff Pool party – Friday 17th January – 3pm to 6pm
Casuarina Pool party – Friday 24th January – 3pm to 6pm
Darwin Ice Skating Centre – special offers!
Our friends at Darwin Ice Skating Centre have some great special offers always on for families! You can skate 1 Parent & 1 Child (5yrs and under) for just $24. Or a family pass of 2 Adults & 2 Children (between 6 Years & 14 Years) is $60.00.
If you buy a pre-paid pass for 10 sessions and receive a 20% discount off the total price. They also have loyalty cards where after 10 skating sessions, you’ll be able to skate for free on the 11th visit.
PLUS keep an eye out for their Snow play sessions for all ages these school holidays on their Facebook page. Check out their school holiday ice skate session times here
Jape Homemaker Village
Jape Homermaker village is located at 366 Bagot Road Millner. They have opened a brand new market/indoor playground for families! Best of all it is FREE and air conditioned so perfect if you need to escape the weather! They will be open from 10am-2pm Wednesdays to Sundays with new market stalls, activities for adults and kids and live music planned over the coming weeks.
School holiday activities:
Saturday 11th Jan & Friday 17th January – 10am till 2pm – Build and Win LEGO competition. All ages welcome. T&C Apply. Winner to received a $50 Jape Homemaker village voucher
Colouring in competition – Sat 18th till Sunday 26th January. Simply download their activity sheet from here or collect a hard copy from Jape Furnishing Superstore or The Village Central Market and Playground and enter. One lucky winner will be treated to a $50 gift voucher to spend in the Homemaker Village. T&C apply.
Zone 3
Zone 3 Darwin have got a great school holiday special to keep the kids entertained. From 10 am to 6 pm you can get 2 hours of unlimited laser tag and arcades for just $15 per child. Head in today during the holidays! They are located at 3/70 McMinn St Darwin City! Closed Christmas Day.
The Planet Tenpin
The Planet Tenpin has some great deals these School holidays to keep the kids busy these school holidays at an affordable price! Only $8 per person for a game of Tenpin or other great options. See the flyer for more details. Valid from Friday 13 December until Monday 27 January 2020. Not valid with any other offer. Not valid on Saturday nights from 7pm.
Playshack Palmerston
Why not head into the Playshack located in the Hub complex Palmerston (Shop 7, 3 Maluka Drive). Let the kids run and burn their energy and you can enjoy a coffee or drink and a slice of Petra’s Raw cakes available for purchase. The Playshack have extended during school holidays. Their hours will be 8.30 am till 4 pm Monday – Friday, plus the usual weekend times of Saturday 9 am till 5 pm and Sunday 10 am till 4 pm. Entry is only $8.90 per child during the week and bubs under 1 are free. Please remember your socks! Closed Public holidays.
Musuem and Art Gallery Northern Territory (MAGNT)
The Musuem and Art Gallery NT (located at 19 Conacher St) is another great place to take the kids and keep them entertained for a few hours in air conditioning! My kids love visiting the turtles next to the main entrance and there is always interesting new exhibitions and the same old favourites. Currently there is the Between the Moon and the Stars exhibition on plus more. There is also the Museum’s discovery centre for kids open each daily from 1pm to 4pm. Entry to the MAGNT is free and they are open Tuesday to Saturday 10am till 4pm and Sundays open 10am till 5pm. Click here for our Facebook write up on the Museum.
We hope you have a safe and Merry Christmas and enjoy the Darwin December and January School holidays 2019.
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