During school holidays, parents feel like taxi drivers and ATMs. Here are 10 ideas that will not break the bank, and all happen in or near Lane Cove.
Lane Cove Library and Willoughby City Council Libraries
There are also plenty of free craft easter activities, ozobot workshops, and much more in April 2025 – find out more here. The Lane Cove Library has per capita the highest borrowing rates of any public library in NSW, did you know there are activities at four different branches – find out more about the Lane Cove Library here.
If you can’t find anything you like at the Lane Cove Library, check out some of the fun kid’s activities at the Willoughby City Library here.
Tour The Lane Cove Toy Library
The Lane Cove Toy Library has over 1,300 toys, games, and puzzles for kids of all ages. Why buy when you can borrow? There is something for everyone at the toy library. The Library caters to families with kids 0 to 18 and adults who love board game parties. Some parents have told the library that they love the games they can take out with them when they are dining out and get the kids off their devices. Book a tour here.
The Open Day runs from 9.30 am to 12.00 pm and there are sessions available throughout this time slot.
Enjoy Some Free Events at The Canopy
During the School holidays, the following free events are scheduled for The Canopy.
The Wiggles World of Dance – 15th and 22nd April 2025 from 10.00 am to 10.45 am
Playgarden at The Canopy – 16th April 2025 9.30 am to 11.30 am
Shakespierence Romeo and Juliet – 26th April 2025 6.00 to 8.00 pm
Meet the Easter Bunny at HQ Artarmon – 19th April 2024
Meet the Easter Bunny and enjoy a FREE chocolate egg giveaway on Saturday, 19 April, from 11 AM – 2 PM.
Rock Drop
This is a great idea. Your child paints a rock and then drops it in a local park. You then post a picture on a special Facebook page. All the details are here.
Pack a Picnic and Head Off to a Local Park or Playground
Check out our local parks and playground here.
Some of ITC’s top spots to picnic are here.
Mindarie Park is very popular for picnics (and it has its own cafe).
Have you checked out the newest park in the Lane Cove Council area – Wadanggari Park. It was opened in September 2023 and is locate in St Leonardsa. Wadanggari means ‘banksia’ in Sydney Indigenous language.
Wadanggari Park includes:
- Adventure-style playground, inspired by a banksia
- Natural turf
- Plaza
- Passive nooks
- Picnic settings
- Accessible picnic settings
- It seamlessly connects to St Leonards Library, St Leonards train station, Coles, retail and the 300-space underground car park (two hours free parking).
Parking is available (2 hours free) in an underground car park which you enter via Christie Lane and Lithgow Street St Leonards.
Have a Devonshire Tea at Carrisbrook House
Carisbrook remains the oldest surviving house in its area, its fabric largely intact. It was bought in 1969, by Lane Cove Council, which maintains it. The Heritage Council of NSW placed a permanent conservation order on the house in 1981.
Lane Cove Historical Society has furnished the house to the mid-Victorian period with an extensive collection of antiques and hand-worked household utensils. Guided tours, public programmes, film and photo shoots and other special events are also arranged by this society.
Carisbrook’s magnificent gardens and grounds still run down to Burns Bay, connecting the house with the river, which was such a vital element in settlement and transport in its earlier days. You and your family can tour the museum or just drop in for Devonshire tea on a weekend open day. ITC was volunteering at Carisbrook House on an open weekend, and families enjoyed the scones!! A Devonshire Tea costs $15.00 per person, and you get scones, jam and cream, and a pot of tea or soft drink.
You and your family can tour the museum or just drop in for Devonshire tea on a weekend open day. ITC was volunteering at Carisbrook House on an open weekend, and families enjoyed the scones!! There are two scones on each platter so you can share with the kids.
Carisbrook Historic House will be open on Saturday 19th April and Sunday, 20th April 2025 from 10 am to 4 pm during the Easter school holidays. Self-guided tours are available (headphones provided).
The Car park entrance is off Waterview Drive.
After you have toured Carisbrook House or enjoyed a Devonshire tea, you can pop over to Hughes Park and play in the playground. Read more about Hughes Park here.
Bushwalks
Nearly every house in Lane Cove is located near a bushwalk. In the Cove has trekked over quite a few of them, and we now have a dedicated section on our website for local bushwalks and playgrounds.
Play Some Tennis or Use a Practice Wall
Lane Cove has numerous tennis courts scattered all over the Local Government area. There are also some practice walls. Find out more about our local tennis courts here.
Have Fun on a Tree Sculpture
What do you do when a beloved tree falls down? You make it into a sculpture. You can climb the sculpture at Central Park.
Once the kids have climbed the tree sculpture, they could practice tennis on the tennis wall located at the other end of the park, and then the whole family could head over to The Diddy for their lunch specials (not available on Good Friday). The lunch special is for adults and they also have kids meals.
Some Other Ideas
Here are some other quick ideas:
- For younger kids, the Blackman Park bicycle track is fun, with a flying fox and other play equipment.
- If your kids are aged 10 to 16, they may want to do some activities at Synergy Youth Centre, located under the Lane Cove Aquatic Centre – open Monday to Friday between 12 pm and 5 pm. School holiday activities are here.
School Holiday Activities
If you want to book your kids for some school holiday activities during the school holidays, you can find a list of school holiday activities here.
- Golf
- Tennis
- Coding
- Dance Camps
- Maths
- All Abilities group programs
- Craft
- Music Camp
Note these activities are all fee for service.
Term Two Activities
Also it is about the time to think about term time activities. It’s never to early to start booking your term time activities. We have put together a list of some local activities for babies, pre-schoolers, primary school students, tweens, teenagers/secondary school kids – in other words something for everyone. Read our article here.
Lane Cove Tutoring and Support Guide
We see so many posts on Lane Cove Chat by ITC asking for tutoring contacts that we thought we would put together a guide for options in Lane Cove and surrounds, giving you an overview of what each offers so you can find the best fit for your child’s needs.
Finding the right academic support for your child can make a world of difference, whether they need help catching up, extending their skills or building confidence in a particular subject.
Fortunately, Lane Cove is home to a wide range of tutoring services and educational support options, from specialist literacy and numeracy programs to occupational therapy and speech therapy. Read more here.
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