The school holidays are here and it’s time to come up with things to entertain the junior burgers.

But cozzie livs, right? It’s expensive out there.

After years of entertaining little boys in Newie, here’s my foolproof list of free or cheap things kids love. Noting that this is the winter edition, I have not included water activities but these suggestions are pretty good all ’rounders.

1. Speers Point Park

This place is an absolute mecca for children. And we all know how it works, right? One kid finds another kid their age to play with and suddenly they’re having the best day ever. Pack your bikes and scooters because there’s a cute little pump track up the back. There’s a cafe, there are toilets and there’s plenty to keep kids aged up until about 10 years occupied.

2. Catch the Stockton ferry

For the price of an Opal card top up, you can catch the ferry over to Stockton from Queen’s Wharf. The ferry runs regularly and takes about five minutes to cross the water. There’s a great food truck at Griffith Park Playground that does fish and chips, as well as ice cream and coffee, so you can stick around for lunch.

3. Revolution Sports Park

If it’s freezing and raining, what do you do? I recommend Revolution. It’s huge inside, has inflatables as well as a foam pit, a Zorb and a bunch of trampolines. It’s not especially cheap but it’s a lifesaver if the weather is crappy and your kids need to burn off some crazy.

4. Newcastle Museum

My son loves the science discovery centre side of the museum and can happily return there many times without getting bored. Another fun thing to do is to beef up the experience is to catch the tram into the museum. It’s only a few stops down the line but it adds an extra layer of excitement if your kids enjoy different modes of transport.

5. Urban Empire Collectibles

If your kids are into Pokemon cards – or any kind of trading card – this shop is a must. You can pop in and look through the huge collection. Prices are clearly marked and there are boxes of free cards that you can help yourself to. The guy that works there is super helpful and it’s open 7 days.

6. EMF Junior at Kotara Westfield

With an indoor ball pit and a bunch of climbing equipment, as well as a cafe and a downstairs gaming room, this place is handy for wet weather. It even offers a drop and shop option for a fee.

7. Hunter Wetlands

I was genuinely surprised by how much Joey loved this place. After all, it’s heavy on the nature and light on the Timezone-style entertainment. Nevertheless, he very much enjoyed looking at little tiddlers in a plastic container, wandering through the bush tucker garden, climbing on the play equipment and looking at the lizards and turtles in the reptile house.

8. Blackbutt Reserve bushwalk

If you want to take your little ones on a bushwalk but you’re worried you’re going to wind up carrying them, Blackbutt Reserve is an ideal place to test their mettle before you venture into the actual bush. Choose a short loop walk on the Richley Reserve side where you can park at the trail head. This way, if you do have to lug a whinging child, it won’t be very far. Bonus: There are playgrounds with toilets on both sides of the reserve, as well as turtles, ducks and colourful koi to spot in the ponds.

9. Cake Boi fancy morning or afternoon tea

Cake Boi in Hamilton has wildly delicious cakes. Pop in, choose a slice and tuck in. Not ultra-cheap as this is A+ cake but it’s wonderful and also very fun for mummies.

10. Op shops aka ‘treasure shops’

During COVID, I started taking Joey to op shops. I would give him $10 and tell him to go nuts. He loved it – it felt like a spending spree to him – and it wasn’t adding to the gargantuan amounts of plastic tat in the world. At the moment, he is besotted by rock ‘n’ roll CDs (my car has a CD player) so we buy CDs and go for a cruise in the Camry. It is literally the only time he is not mortified by how daggy my car is. We have been to op shops at Jesmond, Maitland and Toronto and we’re totally open to suggestions for other places to check out!

What are your favourite things to do with kids in Newcastle?

Looking for more family-friendly activity tips? You might like this story about Port Macquarie for kids.