Are you running or promoting a physical event in Melbourne that’s suitable for children 15 years old and under?
Create a free event listing in our What’s On in Melbourne for Kids Events Calendar and gain exposure to over 62,000 monthly users.
Interested in advertising your event on our website, social media and/or newsletter? We have various advertising packages to suit your campaign goals and budget. Find out more by clicking on the ‘Request Media Kit’ button below!
Events Calendar – Content Criteria
To be eligible, your event must meet the following criteria:
- Have a start and end date, not an ongoing event or permanent event;
- Located within the Melbourne metropolitan area OR 1 hour of the Melbourne metropolitan area if it is a major event designed to bring in visitors from Melbourne (not small, local events that are produced to serve the local community);
- Be suitable for children 15 years and under; and
- Have an event-specific URL to which we can direct our readers. Ideally, this should be an event URL on a website, but we will accept Eventbrite (or similar) URLs and Facebook Event URLs.
We do not list retail offers, retail events (unless there is a family-friendly element), accommodation, services, promotions and giveaways.
All listings are reviewed and edited to meet Tot Hot or Not’s editorial and content standards. We reserve the right to decline or remove any listing at any time without notice. Publication of a listing is not an endorsement.
Event Submission Form
Add New Event
Need some help? How to Submit Your Event – Video Walkthrough
What’s On Event Listings FAQs
Why should I create an event listing on Tot Hot or Not?
Our What’s On Events Calendar is a Melbourne-wide events calendar solely focused on events suitable for families.
Our website reaches over 1.2 million new users/unique visitors a year who view over 2 million pages. Melburnians and visitors alike consider Tot Hot or Not to be the trusted, go-to source for all the best things to do in Melbourne with kids.
By creating an event listing you can promote your events to our large, targeted audience at no cost. You also receive a valuable backlink from a high-authority website, which will help improve your search engine optimisation.
When do you accept event listings?
We accept event listings at any time of year. The portal is available 24/7 and the submission process can be self-managed by the submitter.
When will my event listing be published?
All event submissions are reviewed by our editors. If approved, your event listing will be published within 3 business days.
What are the photo requirements?
You can add up to a photo to your submission. Photos must be:
- JPG or PNG format;
- in horizontal, landscape format in a ratio of 4:3 – the best pixel size is 900 x 675px;
- less than 450MB in size;
- visually appealing and ideally free of logos or text;
- representative of your listing;
- approved for use by the copyright owner; and
- taken in a lawful, fair and direct manner.
We will not publish images that we consider to not be appropriate for Tot Hot or Not.
Note if people can be identified in an image, you must have their written permission. If children can be identified you must also have written consent from their parent/guardian.
If we publish your image/s they may appear on our website, social media and emails.
Can I edit or delete my listing after submission or publication?
Yes, you can edit or delete your listing at any time via the portal. Otherwise, please contact us at hello@tothotornot.com.
Past events are automatically deleted from the Events Calendar after 3 months.
Where will my event listing be published?
All events are published on our Events Calendar in chronological order from the event start date.
We also publish specific pages for the What’s On for each month (February, March, April etc), each school holiday period (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter) and seasonal events (Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween, Christmas).
1. Monthly What’s On
We publish the next month’s What’s On page on or around the 15th of the current month.
eg. What’s On in February is published on or around 15 January, What’s On in March is published on or around 15 February etc.
2. School Holiday What’s On
We publish our quarterly School Holidays What’s On pages 4 weeks before the beginning of the school holidays.
| VIC School Holidays | School Holidays dates | What’s On publish date |
| Summer holidays | Saturday 21 December 2024 – Tuesday 28 January 2025 | Friday 22 November 2024 |
| Autumn holidays | Saturday 5 April 2025 – Monday 21 April 2025 | Friday 7 March 2025 |
| Winter holidays | Saturday 5 July 2025 – Sunday 20 July 2025 | Friday 6 June 2025 |
| Spring holidays | Saturday 20 September 2025 – Sunday 5 October 2025 | Friday 22 August 2025 |
3. Seasonal What’s On
We publish our seasonal What’s On pages 4 weeks before the first date of the event, other than Christmas which is published the first week of November.
| Seasonal Event | Dates | What’s On publish date |
| Easter | Friday 18 April – Monday 21 April 2025 | Friday 21 March 2025 |
| Mother’s Day | Sunday 11 May 2025 | Friday 11 April 2025 |
| Father’s Day | Sunday 7 September 2025 | Friday 18 August 2025 |
| Halloween | Thursday 31 October 2024 | Friday 4 October 2024 |
| Christmas | Wednesday 25 December 2024 | Friday 1 November 2024 |
4. Top event in weekly eDM
Certain events may be selected for further promotion by our editors:
- in our Thursday eDM as one of the Top 10 events for that weekend; or
- in our Sunday Fast 5 eDM as one of the Top 15 events for that Monday to Friday.
What are all the different sections and functions of the Events Calendar?
Can my event listing be featured more prominently?
There is an opportunity to upgrade your free listing to a Featured Event if you wish to secure:
- a more prominent, specific position for your event in the full Events Calendar for 4 weeks;
- a more prominent, specific position for your event in the relevant Monthly/School Holiday/Seasonal What’s On page for 4 weeks; and
- guaranteed inclusion as a Top event in one edition of our eDM within the 4 weeks. Our bi-weekly eDMs are sent to 20k+ subscribers, all mainly based in Melbourne + Victoria.
Why was my listing declined?
We reserve the right to decline or remove any listing at any time and without notice.
Your listing will mostly have been declined because our editors determined that it doesn’t meet our listing criteria. If you require specific feedback please contact us at hello@tothotornot.com.
Why has my listing information been changed?
We reserve the right to modify any of the content submitted to ensure it meets Tot Hot or Not’s editorial and content standards.
I want to advertise on your website, social media and/or email. What are the next steps?
If you wish to:
- secure a more prominent, specific position for your event in our Events Calendar and relevant What’s On page;
- promote your event via our social media channels; and/or
- guarantee a feature in one of our weekly eDMs,
then there is an opportunity to upgrade your free listing to a Featured Event.
There are limited Featured Events spots available each month and each school holiday/seasonal period. Specific positioning is secured on a first come first served basis.
