15 Things to do with your Kids for this Deepavali Long Weekend That Beats Staying at Home

With the upcoming Deepavali holiday, comes the final long weekend of the year. Whether you’re celebrating the festival of lights or not, there are plenty of kids-friendly happenings around Singapore that you can join in with your little ones that beats staying at home!

Here are 15 things you can do with your kids over the three day long holiday!

1. Soak in the Festive Vibes at Indian Heritage Centre!

Location: Indian Heritage Centre, 5 Campbell Lane, Singapore 209924
Date: 26 Oct – 27 Oct 2019
Hour: 10 am – 6 pm (26 Oct) | 11 am – 3 pm (27 Oct)
Admission: Free

Photo credits Indian Heritage Centre

The Indian Heritage Centre’s Deepavali Open House is held over this weekend and you can soak in the festive vibes with your little ones with Traditional Indian Games, live band performance, while munching on free snacks and tea. You can also write a Deepavali Card and get artsy with the Rangoli Coasters Craft Activity.

2. Join in The Grandstand’s October Playdate!

Location: The Grandstand, 200 Turf Club Road, Bukit Timah, Singapore 287994
Date: 26 Oct 2019
Hour: 9 am – 1 pm
Admission: $10 (Get it for just $5 here)

Photo credits The Grandstand

Sing up for The Grandstand’s October Playdate to try out an assortment of enrichment activities together with your little ones instead of simply choosing one activity! First 50 who sign up will be entitled to free goodie bags!

3. Discover Why Lamps are Lit on Deepavali at ACM!

Location: Asian Civilisations Museum, 1 Empress Pl, Singapore 179555
Date: 26 Oct 2019
Hour: 1 pm – 5 pm
Admission: Free

Photo credits Asian Civilisations Museum

Saturdays@ACM is a family-friendly event held on the last Saturday of every month, featuring different themes each time and this month, Saturdays@ACM happens to fall on Deepavali eve. Drop in with your little ones to catch an interactive drama performance based on a Hindu mythology of how good triumphs evil and find out why lamps are lit on this festival of lights. There’s will also be a craft activity where you’ll get to make and bring home your very own candleholder!

4. Behold the Evolution of Disney’s Animation!

Location: ArtScience Museum, 6 Bayfront Ave, Singapore 018974
Date: 26 Oct 2019 – 29 Mar 2020
Hour: 10 am – 7 pm (last admission: 6 pm)
Admission:

• Local Rate
• Adult: $15
• Senior (65 & above) / Student / Person with Disabilities / Child (2 – 12 yrs): $11
• Standard Rate
• Adult: $18
• Senior (65 & above) / Student / Person with Disabilities / Child (2 – 12 yrs): $13

Photo credits Lisa Keene ©Disney/ArtScience Museum

The ArtScience Museum has a new resident, Disney: Magic of Animation. Featuring over 500 art pieces, ranging from original drawings, paintings and sketches to concept art, the exhibit provides a look behind the scenes of your favorite films and characters like Mickey Mouse, Lion King and Frozen.

5. Admire the Rhododendrons’ Radiance at Gardens by the Bay!

Location: Gardens by the Bay, 18 Marina Gardens Drive, Singapore 018953
Date: 27 Sept – 28 Oct 2019
Hour: 9 am – 9 pm
Admission:

• Singapore Residents – Flower Dome & Cloud Forest
• Adult: $20
• Child: $12
• Senior Citizen: $15
• Singapore Residents (Flower Dome/Cloud Forest)
• Adult: $12
• Child: $8
• Senior Citizen: $8
• Standard Rate – Flower Dome & Cloud Forest
• Adult/Senior Citizen: $28
• Child: $15

Photo credits Gardens by the Bay

This long weekend is your last chance to admire the big, bright and beautiful rhododendrons at Gardens by the Bay’s Rhododendron Radiance. With over 80 varieties in white, yellow, orange and red colors blooming around the conservatory, it is quite a sight to behold. You’ll also be able to spot the Gardens’ adorable bear mascots “engaged” in different activities such as fishing, around the garden.

6. Get Hands-on with Freaky Fun Workshops!

Location: Causeway Point, 1 Woodlands Square, Main Atrium, Level 1, Singapore 738099
Date: 26 Oct – 28 Oct 2019
Hour: 12 pm – 8 pm
Admission: Spend $30 in a single receipt

Photo credits Frasers Causeway Point

Go shopping at Causeway Point over the weekend with your little tots and spend $30 in a single receipt to have fun with twisted balloon sculpting and creepy crafts!

7. Fight the Deadliest Monster at Singapore Zoo/Jurong Bird Park!

Location: Singapore Zoo | Jurong Bird Park
Date: 1 Oct – 31 Oct 2019
Hour: 8.30 am – 6.00 pm (last entry: 5.30 pm)
Admission: Free for kids (3 – 12 yrs)
Singapore Zoo: $35/adult | Jurong Bird Park: $30/adult

Photo credits Ayer Ayer Project

If you’re a little reluctant about visiting the same old place over and over again, don’t worry, there’s something else to do at both Singapore Zoo and Jurong Bird Park, aside from visiting our wild friends.

Singapore Zoo and Jurong Bird Park will be featuring an interactive art installation, Shore Debris Table, where you’ll get to pick really tiny plastic particles through the sand and use them to create artworks. Fight the Deadliest Monster, which will also feature an activity station and animal shows, is part of the parks’ efforts to spread awareness on plastic pollution. Also, why not make use of the ‘kids enter free’ while it lasts (which is until the end of this month)!

8. Learn About Traditional Indian Practices at GBB!

Location: Colonnade (Supertree Grove), 18 Marina Gardens Dr, Singapore 018953
Date: 14 Oct – 28 Oct 2019
Hour: 5 am – 2 am
Admission: Free

Photo credits Gardens by the Bay

Swing by the Colonnade at the Gardens by the Bay over the weekend if you’re interested in learning more about the various traditional Indian practices, from traditional crafts and trades to games, in Singapore. You’ll be able to observe the practices across the years and how they’ve evolved through interactive games and crafts at the Indian Heritage Centre’s travelling exhibit which will be at the Colonnade.

9. Visit the Istana Open House!

Location: Istana
Date: 27 Oct 2019
Hour: 8.30 am – 6.00 pm
Admission: Free (Singaporeans & PRs) | $2 (all other visitors)

Photo credits Presidents Office

The Istana will open to the public for the last time this year and if you missed it you’ll have to wait until next year February. You can look forward to live performances, paid tours of the main building and Nature Guided Walk, Food & Beverage and retail stores (including Udders Ice Cream Booth), balloon sculpting, and face painting. Aside from that there will also be a display of reptiles by the Wildlife Reserves of Singapore.

10. Eat, Play & Party at the Parks Festival!

Location: Esplanade Park | Empress Lawn
Date: 26 Oct – 27 Oct 2019
Hour: 11.00 am – 10.30 pm (26 Oct) | 8.30 am – 12.00 pm (27 Oct)
Admission: Free

Photo credits NParks

Packed not just with retail stalls offering an assortment of goodies from plants to handmade jewellery, and Food & Beverage stalls to keep your energy levels up, NParks’ Parks Festival also has plenty of activities and programs for families, including workout sessions. Little ones will love the Kids’ Play Zone and ActiveSG Imagination Playground where they’ll get to swim in a ball pit and build fortresses, respectively!

This year’s Parks Festival is held in conjunction with Pets’ Day Out and Car-Free Weekend.

11. Bring Your Tots on a Stroll Through Car-Free Streets!

Location: Telok Ayer | Civic District
Date: 25 Oct – 27 Oct 2019
Hour: TBU
Admission: Free

Photo credits Car-Free Sunday SG

You’ll be able to stroll through traffic-free streets at several streets in Civic District and Telok Ayer Street this weekend. There will be live performances, interactive art installations, exhibits, guided tours, pop-up markets, as well as activities such as movie screening, trishaw rides, old school games that you can indulge in with your little ones along the streets at the Car-Free Weekends.

12. Explore the Neon Jungle at Youths Celebrate!

Location: Supertree Grove, Bayfront Plaza & Colonnade
Date: 18 Oct – 27 Oct 2019
Hour: 4 pm – 11 pm
Admission: Free with some paid activities

Photo credits Gardens by the Bay

As the sun starts to set, a whole other world comes to live at Gardens by the Bay’s Youths Celebrate! Walk into a Neon Jungle with brilliant light art installations, pick up some tips at the upcycling workshops, go shopping at the Neon Night Market, and enjoy live performances and movie screenings in this enchanted realm.

13. Celebrate Plaza Singapura’s PrettySweet45 with Pretty Sweets!

Location: Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Rd, Singapore 238839
Date: 6 Sept – 27 Oct 2019
Hour: 10 am – 10 pm
Admission: Min spending required

Photo credits Plaza Singapura

Plaza Singapura is celebrating its 45^th birthday is a pretty sweet way! Till 27^th Oct 2019, when you spend a minimum of $45 (terms and conditions apply) in a single receipt, you’ll be able to redeem either a pair of tickets to The Dessert Museum (which is as the name suggests a museum with dessert-themed rooms), a $5 game voucher for The Dessert Carnival, or 1 workshop pass for The Dessert Workshop.

14. Have a Funtime with Ben 10 & the Powerpuff Girls!

Location: Eastpoint Mall, 3 Simei Street 6, Singapore 528833
Date: 26 Oct – 27 Oct 2019
Hour: 2 pm | 5 pm
Admission: Free

Photo credits Frasers Eastpoint Mall

If your little ones love Ben 10 or Powerpuff Girls, you can head down to Eastpoint Mall this weekend where you’ll be able to meet and interact with your favorite characters!

15. BYKidO Halloween Party: Kids Night Out

Location: The Yards, 406 Joo Chiat Place, Singapore 428084
Date: 26 Oct 2019
Hour: 5 pm – 9 pm
Admission: Free (activity charges apply)

You’ve probably already bought our trail card but don’t worry if you missed out, you can still join us for a movie under the moonlight!