Easter holidays on the Gold Coast are set to be a brilliant time for families with an egg-ceptional array of fun activities to keep the kids entertained. Budding nature lovers can learn about their local environment or become wildlife carers for a day, and little creatives will love expressing themselves at Home of the Arts. Australia’s largest inflatable playground is coming to town and of course, the Easter Bunny will be hopping all over the Gold Coast, delivering eggs and spreading joy in the form of chocolate.
Kids Take Over at HOTA
It’s already Home of the Arts, but on the school holidays, did you know HOTA is home to the kids when they literally take over? An array of activities are planned including the Wheel of Fun featuring 7 art-inspired activities to keep curious kids engaged, and if you have an aspiring chef in the family, Mini Master Chefs will inspire them to create the perfect dish that could feature on HOTA’s Palette Restaurant menu. For something illuminating, let kids turn their torch into a paintbrush on a voyage at Sea Of Lights. If that’s not enough, for the first time in forever, the Disney 100 Concert featuring some of Australia’s best voices, arrives for two spectacular shows on March 31st and April 1st.
Bounce Like a Bunny
Maybe you’ve taken the kids to inflatable playgrounds before, but nothing like THIS inflatable playground. Tuff Nutterz is setting up at Tallebudgera Recreation Centre from April 1st - 9th at 1525 Gold Coast Highway, Palm Beach. This jumping castle on steroids measures a massive 1,200 square metres and will keep kids of all ages entertained for hours. Cool off in Tallebudgera Creek afterwards and plan for an early bedtime because they are going to be completely worn out after all that bouncing.
Go Wild
Do your kids dream of becoming a wildlife ranger or just love animals? Give them the best school holidays ever, by signing them up to be Ranger For a Day at Paradise Country. They’ll need to be aged 6-13 to enlist, but can expect to find out what it's actually like to be a Wildlife Keeper for a day with duties including animal feeding, handling and park preparation for animals such as kangaroos, wombats, Tasmanian devils, dingoes, koalas, marmosets and meerkats. How cool is that?
Ready, Set, Roll…
If you haven’t already heard, the Gold Coast is home to a brand new self-guided art trail - aptly named - Art Roll. All you need is to bring the kids, some wheels (skates, bikes, wheelchairs or scooters will do), put on their comfiest kicks and roll. Following a free downloadable map, you can decide how much distance you want to cover. With the trail stretching from Southport to Coolangatta, there are over 100 colourful and contemplative street art murals created by local artists to admire. There’s also plenty of places to stop, play, swim and fuel up on food and treats along the trail.
Little Nature Lovers
From April 1st to 15th, City of Gold Coast’s Naturally GC Kids School Holidays Program is set to inspire budding Attenboroughs with workshops spanning locations from Upper Coomera to Currumbin and some are even free. With a focus on nature based learning while exploring the Gold Coast’s natural environment, kids can meet our curious creatures residing in waterways, discover Indigenous culture and art, beach comb along our coastlines and learn more about recycling. Sessions are designed to engage, connect and cultivate in kids a greater understanding of where we live, and how to love and conserve it.
Celebrations at Sanctuary Cove
Join the epic Easter celebrations at Sanctuary Cove with an egg-citing line up of entertainment. Take part in the Easter egg hunt, and for kids there’s a scavenger hunts where they can follow clues for the chance to win. The Easter Bunny will be visiting on April 6th from 11am with a fun-filled day of chocolates, giveaway and festivities. After all the excitement, enjoy a relaxed lunch at one of the waterfront restaurants and perhaps pop into French bakery, Rise, for some decadent Easter treats.
Art for Heart & Soul
For something a little special these school holidays, treat the kids to a session of two at The Craft Parlour. From mama and cubs clay play, pottery peace signs, ceramic mystic moon classes and sessions for teens where beading and racquet weaving will delight. Classes are held in a beautifully inspired space alongside a team dedicated to encouraging creativity. Prices and times vary per workshop - see classes for details.
Hop Til You Drop
Gold Coast shopping centres put on incredible school holiday entertainment, so hop on down to the Paradise Centre from 3rd - 8th April for roller skating Rabbits dishing out hot-cross biscuits or from April 3rd -5th, breakdancing bunnies the kids will adore called Hip and Hop perform free shows from 11am to 2pm daily. And from a Galaxy Far Far Away, Robina Town Centre is welcoming a Space Station when It’s Not Rocket Science lands as a space-themed school holiday program from April 3rd -12th. Kids can learn how to make jetpacks, build galaxy jars, model moon rocks and design alien headbands, while from April 12th -16th Forces and Flight arrives with rocket making guided by expert science educators.
Image: Paradise Centre in Surfers Paradise.
Say Hi to Hijinx Hotel
If your kids think they have done it all before - check them (and you) into the Hijinx Hotel where an immersive playhouse full of fun awaits. Ten rooms host between two to six players who will need to work together to solve challenges, engage in tasks, play games and score points. From candy coloured ball pits, mini basketball courts, giant scrabble and more. We won’t give it all away but you can add bowling, mini-golf, arcade games and dodgem cars to the school holiday fun card too - so the kids will be stoked!
The Most Egg-cellent Idea
It’s Easter after-all, so why not treat the kids to a staycation at JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa where mini in-house guests can join the chocolatiers (AKA the culinary team) to learn how to make edible masterpieces. From April 3rd - 5th and again on the 7th from 3pm until 3.45pm. Tickets are $25 per child and guaranteed to be an easter holiday and treat they will adore.
Free Fun for Tweens & Teens
For kids aged between 12 and 17 years old who are looking to make new friends while participating in a range of fun, free activities, Thrower House at Currumbin is the place. From basketball, Oz Tag, dragon boating, fishing in Currumbin Creek, arts, crafts and movies, there is something to suit everyone. Facilitated by Wesley Mission youth workers, the program is provided on behalf of the City of Gold Coast.
Park Life
Give the kids a spin on the brand new $5 million playground at Broadwater Parklands, complete with four level spiral tower, glockenspiel, binoculars, telescopes, suspended nets, rope tunnels, enclosed slide, jumping mats, a carousel and more. Or if pirates are more your tribes pace, Pirate Park at Palm Beach Parklands recent $1 million refurb has added more spaces to climb, swing, slide and even walk the plank on a playground resembling a giant Pirate Ship. Fuel up at Dune Cafe nearby and bring your swimmers as the sparkling waters of Currumbin Creek are right alongside.
Image: The Pirate Park, Palm Beach
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY
Destination Gold Coast acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we are situated, the Kombumerri families of the Yugambeh Language Region.
We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise their continuing connections to the lands, waters and their extended communities throughout Southeast Queensland.