Term-time favourites

Fast 5

Your top weekday events guide + the best posts for under 5s

Event Picks

🌟 Featured Event

​Ballet of Lights: Cinderella (Saturday 12 Dec) Glowing costumes and illuminated sets bring this beloved fairytale to the ballet stage. 📍CBD

🗓️ Melbourne CBD ➝ More CBD picks

​Storytime with Seeing Eye Dogs (Wednesday 7 Oct) Celebrate World Sight Day with tactile books, Braille stories and a visit from a future Seeing Eye Dog. 📍CBD

​Baby Bounce (Mondays + Wednesdays during term) Weekly rhymes, books and songs for your youngest library visitors, no bookings needed. 📍CBD

​Stompers (Tuesdays + Thursdays during term) A weekly storytime program built for toddlers, running right on the Docklands waterfront. 📍Docklands

🗓️ Melbourne NORTH ➝ More north-side picks ​

​Dino Days (Wednesdays) Story time, a dino disco and sensory soft play await young dinosaur lovers at Melbourne Museum. 📍Carlton

​Bush Playgroup at Gresswell Forest (Thursdays during term) A gentle, all-weather nature playgroup with sensory bush play, animal spotting and mindful nature crafts for ages 0 to 4. 📍Bundoora

​Toddler Time (Fridays during term) Roaring, stomping, singing and stories, built for curious toddlers and the grown-ups who bring them. 📍Reservoir

🗓️ Melbourne SOUTH ➝ More south-side picks ​

​Very Young Voices of Melbourne (Tuesdays) Singing, movement and musical play build early language and rhythm skills, using the Kodály approach. 📍Caulfield South

​Young at Art Preschooler Program (Thursdays during term) Hands-on art activities inspired by the current exhibition, plus a take-home art box each week. 📍Mornington

​Baby Rhyme Time (Fridays during term) Free action songs and finger rhymes build early literacy skills for bubs not yet walking. 📍Sandringham

🗓️ Melbourne EAST ➝ More east-side picks ​

​Art Babies (Tuesdays – Fridays during term) Sensory play, story time and gallery exploring for newborns through to one, with grandparents welcome too. 📍Bulleen

​Rainbow Storytime (Thursday 8 Oct) Stories, songs and activities celebrating rainbow families, welcoming LGBTQIA+ families and allies of all ages. 📍Camberwell

​Edendale Farm Activities (Various dates until Wednesday 28 Oct) Gardening, worm farming and Indigenous plant learning at a working community farm. 📍Eltham

🗓️ Melbourne WEST ➝ More west-side picks ​

​Coach Mon’s Baby Wonderland (Monday 5 – Tuesday 13 Oct) Gentle lighting, puppetry and singalong songs guide a lost star home in this sensory musical adventure. 📍Moonee Ponds

​B Minor Music for Kids (Wednesdays during term) Singing, puppetry and instruments make up this term-long music program for babies through to preschoolers. 📍Taylors Hill

​Little Kids Day In (Friday 9 Oct) STEM-based play and hands-on science fun await curious little minds at Scienceworks. 📍Spotswood

New + Noteworthy

​Strawberries + Smiles​

Beat the crowds with an early start at this strawberry farm, open daily from 9am during strawberry picking season (Oct – May).

rgvPd46WyQAABKhKDJwSLp

​Lock in Your Leave​

Every Australian school holiday and public holiday for the next few years, ready for planning your next hols.

​Beaches Unleashed​

The best Melbourne beaches where your four-legged family member can run free this summer.

​Get Outta of Town​

From nature walks to picnic spots, this is our pick of the best spring day trips.

7hFfojC3Jrv77nfvZ9nq8A

​Scare-Free Halloween Fun​

Trick-or-treating, shows and spooky fun return for families – no scares included.

Hot Off the Feed

5 kid-approved adventures ⭐

The kids have spoken, and these spots pass the fun test.

Hands-on play, animal encounters and indoor adventures for every kind of day out.

From sensory play to saying hello to the elephants, there’s something here for every under-5.

​Save this reel for your next day-out inspiration!

About Joyce Watts

Joyce Watts is a former intellectual property, IT and media lawyer turned serial entrepreneur.

As well as being the founder of TOT: HOT OR NOT she helps businesses with their SEO, email marketing & social media as BrightSmart.com.au; she owns an online bike store CycleStyle.com.au and develops and produces creative experiences for families via WheelieGoodFun.com. She used to publish another popular lifestyle and food blog called MEL: HOT OR NOT The decisive guide to Melbourne.

She lives in inner-city Melbourne with her husband, two children and seven bikes.

We see you, scrolling straight to the bottom!

You got to the end of the page without signing up to receive our weekly tips for the best things to do in Melbourne and surrounds with kids.

Stop hunting and pecking all through Google or scrolling through social media….and start creating more happy memories with your family. 

Enter your info below and receive the best 5-minute read every week for creating quality family time! Promise.