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Fun activities for kids over the school holidays

Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay

We posted last week about some of the free Christmas shows we were planning to bring our two children to see over the school holiday period. We have already been to two of them, which our children thoroughly enjoyed.

If there is one thing for sure though, it’s that kids often have boundless energy to expend – at least our two boys do – and we love to tire them out to increase the chances that they sleep well at night.

As we are in the midst of the school holidays, it is a good time to have activities up our sleeves to keep the kids busy. Since the weather is quite unpredictable these days, we have been more geared toward indoor activities for December, hoping to throw in an outdoor picnic one of these days if the weather permits.

Here’s our list of six (hopefully) energy sapping activities that you might consider:

1. My Little Climbing Room

Having been a rock climbing enthusiast during university days, it was a delight to find out about this new rock climbing gym geared specifically towards kids from 0-12 years old. We are looking forward to bringing our kids to try this out in December. Do book a session in advance to ensure less waiting time as the maximum number of kids per session is 15. It is located at Promenade @ Pelikat near Paya Lebar, and Hougang Avenue 1.

2. Tickle Tickle playgym

If you live in the northeast of Singapore, Tickle Tickle playgym at Hougang Stadium is a nice little abode that is not crowded on weekdays, and is ideal for children from about a year old or even younger crawling babies, as the tunnels are relatively low and easy to navigate. There are also ride-on vehicles and several cooking and other toys that both our 22-month-old (nicknamed Kwazii) and nearly 5-year-old (nicknamed Barnacles) enjoyed. If you’re looking to hold a small party, the gym is also available for party bookings. Fun & Laughter playgym at City Square Mall is another option with tunnels for the little ones to expend lots of energy, and it also has a smaller room for the younger toddlers.

3. Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden

We found out that the Jacob Ballas Children’s Garden at the Singapore Botanic Gardens has recently reopened, with a flying fox, canopy bridge, wheelchair trampoline, veggie farm and new kids cafe, Food for Tots (which has a small play- and colouring area). Kwazii loves the small water play area with mini fountains, and we’re quite sure Barnacles is going to love the new additions when we next visit in the coming weeks.

4. Pirate Land @ Centrepoint

During our recent visit to Legoland Malaysia, we stayed in the Pirate room, which our kids enjoyed very much. We were delighted to find out about this newly opened pirate-themed playgym at Centrepoint, which we think our kids will love.

5. Vivo City Knightcrawler display and free outdoor playground

Photo: Mummy and Daddy Daycare
Photo: Mummy and Daddy Daycare

If you have kids who are fans of superheroes (Batman, specifically), the latest Knightcrawler display at Vivo City – a real replica from the “Justice League” movie – is a must-visit. It’s 14m wide and 3.4m high, and photo opportunities are free! It apparently took 36 hours just to assemble, and is exclusive to Singapore until 3 Dec when it will go back to Los Angeles. After they have had their fill of ooh-aah moments with the vehicle and life-size statues, there’s always the free outdoor playground at Vivo, as well as coin operated and Zoomoov rides at Vivo and Harbourfront.

6. Christmas Village @ Orchard

From 25 Nov all the way until Christmas, the area outside Ngee Ann City will be decked with a Christmas village. We loved the time during our visit to Germany seven years ago in 2010, when we walked around all the Christmas markets, and really felt the Christmas spirit (as well as the freezing winter cold). While we won’t have blistering cold weather here, we’re looking forward to the Great Carousel as well as munching on lots of Christmas goodies. We are planning to enjoy this market with our kids closer to Christmas, when we take them for a walk down Orchard to enjoy the Christmas light up.

7. Prudential Marina Bay Carnival

Photo: Prudential Marina Bay Carnival

If you have primary school-going kids, they may enjoy Singapore’s “biggest carnival”, which will be held from 15 December until 1 April 2018. There will apparently be more than 40 rides and games from various countries, with performances and of course, lots of food. We are not sure how many rides our children can enjoy (if any) as the two are still quite young, but we are still quite tempted to pay it a visit. It will be open daily from 4-11pm, and longer hours from 3pm-2am on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Disclaimer: we haven’t actually been to some of these yet, but they are on our to-do list in December. Happy holidays!

Mummy and Daddy Daycare are the pseudonyms of a Singaporean husband and wife who are raising two young boys aged four and one, nicknamed Barnacles and Kwazii from the children’s Octonauts series. Get into the minds of this couple who describe parenthood as a lifetime adventure – you are always learning something new! Whoever said parenting was a walk in the park?


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