School Holiday Survival Guide: Summer 2025-26 National Edition • CHILD Magazines

11 Dec School Holiday Survival Guide: Summer 2025-26 National Edition

Posted at 06:35h in Editors Picks, Inform, Inspire by Editor

These holidays are a great time to get outside, try something new, or mix low-key and special outings so downtime still feels interesting.

Outdoors, family and long lazy days — Summer school holidays are here! Whether you’re after outdoor adventures, rainy-day escapes, or unique family experiences, we’ve rounded up ideas across most States.

Craft & Indoor Time

Try nature crafts: collect flowers/leaves and press them, make bark rubbings, leaf mandalas.
DIY board games: let kids invent their own board game (draw a board, make rules, use household objects as pieces).
Comic strip or short story writing & illustrating.

Active & Outdoors

Orienteering or geocaching—turn a walk into a treasure hunt.
Night-sky activity: if there’s a telescope or observatory nearby, do a star-gazing evening; or use phone apps to track constellations.
Bike or scooter circuits in local safe paths or parks.

Learning / Skill Building

Cooking a theme day (e.g. “foods from around the world”) so every day you cook or try something new.
Gardening with a purpose: grow herbs or vegetables you can eat; make successive plantings so things pop up over the holidays.
Photography challenge: a photo-scavenger hunt, let kids pick a theme (shadows, colours, shapes, animals) and take photos.

Relaxed / Low Key

Backyard camping or glamping, even just in sleeping bags or tents, with stories or a movie under the stars.
PJ day + build a fort with blankets, cushions, then read books or watch a family movie.
Swap playdates or group up with another family to share supervision and outings.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~