The school holidays start 27 June and Templestowe is cold, dark by 5pm, and nowhere near the city action that every holiday roundup assumes you can reach in ten minutes. If you’ve got kids bouncing off the walls by day two and you’re staring down two and a half weeks until 12 July, this is a practical list — not a promotional one — for what actually works when the forecast says 9 degrees and showers.
1. NGV Winter Masterpieces: Cartier (NGV International, St Kilda Rd)
Ticketed — budget for two adults plus kids; free permanent galleries for all ages
The marquee wet-weather play this winter is the Cartier exhibition at NGV International, running 12 June through 4 October. It’s a legitimate destination for older kids and teenagers who respond to scale and craft — jewellery, objects, history. Allow 90 minutes inside. The permanent galleries downstairs are free and genuinely good for younger children: ancient Egypt, impressionist paintings, the fashion and textiles rooms. From Templestowe you’re looking at roughly 30–35 minutes by car depending on traffic, or Eastern Freeway in and park near the Arts Centre. Worth combining with lunch nearby rather than fighting the drive twice in one day.
2. Firelight Festival, Docklands
FREE — 3–5 July, nightly shows 6:30pm and 8:30pm, Harbour Esplanade
Three nights only, so put this in the calendar now. Firelight Festival is a free outdoor light and water show at Docklands. Yes, it’s dark and cold — bring thermals, bring a puffer, and the kids will not care because there is fire and colour. Food trucks are on site so you can eat first and stay warm while you wait for the show. This is a 30-minute drive from Templestowe on a clear evening, or take the Eastern Freeway to the city and tram across. The 6:30pm show suits primary school ages who won’t last to 8:30pm.
3. Queen Victoria Winter Night Market
FREE entry — Wednesdays 3 June through 26 August, 5–10pm
Every Wednesday through the holidays, the Queen Vic Market runs its winter night market — fire pits, street food from around the world, and a warm crowd. Entry is free. Budget for food. It’s an easy one to bolt onto a city day you’ve already made the drive for: do the NGV or Docklands in the afternoon, then head to the market for dinner. Templestowe to QVM is about 25–30 minutes in off-peak evening traffic via the Eastern Freeway.
4. Ice Skating, O’Brien Icehouse (Docklands)
Ticketed — book online; under-8s area and skate aids available
The Icehouse is a perennial school-holiday answer for good reason. There’s a dedicated area for younger kids and skate aids available so the under-6 crowd isn’t locked out. Sessions book up during peak school holidays — don’t leave it until the morning. It pairs naturally with the Docklands area (Firelight Festival is right there, the waterfront walk is free). The combination of Icehouse plus waterfront plus food makes a full day out of the one drive.
5. Lake Mountain Snow Day-Trip
Paid — toboggan approximately $33 for ages 6+; season runs 6 June–6 September
This is the one Templestowe parents have a real geographic advantage on. Lake Mountain near Marysville is roughly 1.5 to 2 hours from Templestowe — considerably closer than it is from the western suburbs. There’s a designated snow-play area and tobogganing for kids from about age 6. Be honest with yourself: it’s a full-day commitment, go early, check the snow report the night before, pack chains or check road conditions, and bring warm dry clothes to change into for the drive home. The payoff when it’s snowing is genuinely excellent. Mt Buller is an option for a longer trip, but Lake Mountain’s shorter drive and lower cost makes it the more practical school-holiday call.
6. Manningham Council Library School Holiday Programs
FREE or low-cost — book early on the council events page, sessions fill fast
Manningham City Council (which covers Templestowe) runs free and low-cost school holiday programs through its libraries — craft sessions, storytime, STEM activities. These run during school holidays and fill up within days of opening for booking. Go to the council website or their Eventbrite page at the start of the holidays and book immediately rather than assuming spots will be there mid-week. Your local Templestowe or Doncaster library is the first call.
7. Vacation Care (Manningham Council / YMCA)
Paid — book well ahead; runs 8am–6pm on school days
If you’re working through some or all of the holidays, Manningham’s council-run vacation care and YMCA programs in the area give kids a structured day with activities. These are not last-minute options — wait lists are real. If you haven’t booked yet, call this week.
8. Heated Indoor Pool or Leisure Centre
Budget — entry plus optional lessons
Templestowe and the surrounding area is well served by heated indoor aquatic centres. A couple of hours in a warm pool is a reliable school-holiday reset when it’s grey outside — swimming laps, water slides if the centre has them, or just letting younger kids tire themselves out in the toddler pool. Check your nearest centre for holiday aqua-play sessions or intensive swimming lessons, which some families use the holidays to knock over.
9. Indoor Play Centre or Trampoline Park
Ticketed — book online
The inner-east and northeast are stocked with trampoline parks and indoor play centres within a short drive of Templestowe. These are straightforward: buy a session, let the kids run, and sit somewhere with a coffee. Not the most imaginative item on this list, but when it’s raining on day four and you need two hours of guaranteed noise expenditure, it earns its place.
10. Hot Chocolate at a Local Cafe
Budget
Templestowe has genuine café options worth knowing — see our Brunch Tips for Templestowe and Cafes with Full Details for current spots. A slow Saturday morning with a hot chocolate for the kids and a proper coffee for you, somewhere walkable from home, is underrated as a holiday routine. Pair it with a walk through Butterfly Gardens Reserve or Albany Way Reserve — the cold-weather morning walk is calmer than the summer version, the parks are less crowded, and it’s genuinely free.
11. Christmas-in-July Lunch (Yarra Valley or Dandenong Ranges)
Varies — restaurants and wineries, check bookings in advance
Templestowe sits at an unusually convenient point for both the Yarra Valley and the Dandenong Ranges — neither is more than 40 minutes in winter traffic. Several restaurants and wineries in both areas run Christmas-in-July long lunches through the school holidays. This is more a parents’ outing with older kids in tow, not a toddler activity, but worth flagging as a half-day trip that feels seasonal and local rather than a drive to the city.
One planning note
The school holidays run 27 June to 12 July — that’s 16 days, and the free city events (Firelight Festival, Night Market) are concentrated in the first half. Firelight Festival is 3–5 July only. Council library programs book out fast, often within the first day or two of the holidays. Lock those in before the 27th if you can. Everything else — ice skating, the pool, Lake Mountain — can flex around the weather. Check the Lake Mountain snow report and conditions page before committing to the drive.