Hello fun: Your activity guide for the school holidays

SINGAPORE – The year-end school holidays are here. It is a time for rest and relaxation, not just for children, but also parents.

Reset your alarm clock now that you do not need to wake up early to get your kids ready for school on weekdays and, well, tuition on weekends.

Let your kids figure out what they want to do. You should not feel the need to pack the school break with activities every single day.

Instead, the occasional outing to explore new places together and create fresh experiences at home will be more enjoyable for everyone in the family.

Here are some activity ideas.

For Hello Kitty fans

Changi Festive Village and Carnival With Hello Kitty And Friends

Hello Kitty, who is the height of five apples, according to Japanese company Sanrio, has transformed into an 8m-tall character at Changi Airport Terminal 3.

The installation at the departure hall commemorates the beloved British schoolgirl’s 50th birthday. She was born on Nov 1, 1974. And, yes, ardent fans will remind you that she is not a cat.

Located right behind the Hello Kitty display is a 7m-long slide. Join the line for free play, if your kids are at least 1m tall and five years old.

Hello Kitty is the star of the airport’s fifth Changi Festive Village, but your family can also spot figurines of her friends, including My Melody, Kuromi, Cinnamoroll, Pompompurin and Hangyodon.

On selected weekends, you can get up close and snap photos with the popular Sanrio characters. Spend $50 ($80 at supermarket and Jewel) in a single receipt, at participating outlets in the airport’s public areas, to redeem a meet-and-greet pass.

At the arrival hall, near McDonald’s restaurant, is the Carnival With Hello Kitty And Friends. It features nine zones, each representing a Sanrio character.

Try your hand at the game booths and stand to redeem limited-edition merchandise such as plush toys, bags and keyboards.

There are also Instagram-worthy rides designed for children who are 1.1m to 1.3m tall.

Go to

www.changifestivevillage.com

for details.

Monopoly: Hello Kitty

Bond over a game of Monopoly: Hello Kitty with your children. The special edition of the classic Monopoly property trading board game was released recently to commemorate the character’s 50th anniversary.

Recommended for kids from eight years old, the adorable set comes with six tokens such as Hello Kitty’s ribbon, bear and milk jug.

The classic Chance and Community Chest cards are renamed as Dresses and Bows cards. One message reads: Time to change your Christmas wardrobe. Collect M100 to shop for new clothes.

Buy it for $44.99 from Toys“R”Us stores.

Singapore Cable Car & Hello Kitty joint 50th celebrations

Cable car cabins plying the route from Mount Faber Peak to Sentosa have been refreshed with Hello Kitty-themed wraps inspired by a garden party.

Until Dec 31, they will sport one of five designs featuring the beloved character, her companion Dear Daniel, her sister Mimmy and their parents in garden settings.

This is the second and final Hello Kitty-themed installation. The first had kicked off in June, marking a joint celebration between the beloved icon and Singapore Cable Car as both turn 50 in 2024.

Tickets, which cover a round-trip journey on both the Mount Faber Line and Sentosa Line, cost $35 an adult and $25 a child aged four to 12. Kids three years old and below enjoy free rides. Enjoy unlimited rides for one day when you top up $10.

Find out more at

str.sg/9gfS

For sporty kids

Amazon.sg Holiday Playground

Your energetic children will have a blast at the two-storey indoor activity centre SuperPark Singapore at Suntec City mall. It has more than 20 stations, such as a flying fox zip line and pedal car track.

On Nov 22 at noon and Nov 23 at 3pm, enjoy a special admission fee of $4.99 a person for three hours of playtime and get free grip socks too. The usual price is $22.90 for children below 1m in height and from $30.90 for those who are taller.

The deal is part of Amazon.sg Black Friday Sale, which runs from Nov 21 to Dec 2. Show the Amazon.sg app to enter the park and pay in cash.

Entry is limited to 400 people for each session on a first-come, first-served walk-in basis. You can start queuing only an hour before the event.

During these sessions, the park’s activities will get a twist as the venue will be transformed into Amazon.sg Holiday Playground. For example, at the Ninja Track obstacle course, find two matching product images in 30 seconds to redeem a voucher for use on the e-commerce platform.

You can also decorate and take home a mini Christmas tree.

Find out more at

www.amazon.sg/blackfriday

Cosmic HydroPark

An inflatable water playground has popped up at Changi Airport Terminal 3. Until Feb 16, head to Cosmic HydroPark outside the arrival hall and near the coach bay area.

Children who are at least 1.2m tall can have a splashing good time on the slides. The main zone also has an obstacle course with swings, trampolines and balance beams for those at least 0.9m tall.

Meanwhile, the little ones aged two to seven and between 0.7m and 1.2m tall can explore a dedicated play area for them.

Tickets cost from $19 a person via the Changi app for 90 minutes of playtime, and $68 for a group of four.

Go to

str.sg/w3ra8

for details.

For nature lovers

Comic book The Rainforest Adventures Of Biogirl MJ

Wildlife adventurer Biogirl MJ and her cat Qwerty are back to uncover another mystery – this time at the Magical Rainforest.

Primary-school children can join their quest in science comic book The Rainforest Adventures Of Biogirl MJ and learn about animals and life in the rainforests of South-east Asia.

It is written by Kong Man Jing and Raye Ng, founders of Just Keep Thinking, a science and nature education account on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Kong, an environmental science graduate and former teacher, hosts the videos under the pseudonym Biogirl MJ.

Like their debut book, The Intertidal Adventures Of Biogirl MJ (2022) – which won best educational title at the Singapore Book Awards 2023 – the second title is also illustrated by Alan Bay.

“South-east Asia’s forests are among the top biodiversity hot spots, but I feel that a lot of our knowledge has been about the Amazon or some other region’s forests,” Kong says. She is attending the 29th United Nations climate change conference, better known as COP29, in Azerbaijan in November.

Through the book, the authors also highlight environmental issues, such as deforestation and poaching, but point out that some people are forced to commit such crimes.

“That’s when the antagonist comes in to share his side of the story,” she says. “It goes to show that some issues are not always black and white. We cannot solve them by legislation alone. We need to solve the root problems.”

Buy the book at $14.90 on publisher World Scientific Education’s website at

str.sg/wsQ7j

and from stores including Books Kinokuniya and Popular.

For the aspiring author-illustrator

If your little bookworms dream of writing and drawing their own storybooks, make that a reality.

Apple’s free 1½-hour workshop teaches kids, aged six to 10, to create interactive books.

As they explore the story theme of kindness, they will learn to draw, record sounds and add fun 3D shapes using iPad’s Pages app. Devices are provided onsite.

Sessions for Apple Camp: Create An Interactive Story Of Kindness launched on Nov 15. They are available at all three Apple Store locations in Singapore until early January.

Bookings open up to two weeks in advance and parents must accompany their child.

Register at

str.sg/Jz8b5

For young foodies

Children’s series Makan Skuad

Learn how to cook familiar local delights from Malay children’s series Makan Skuad.

In each episode, the young hosts – Mishall Kiara, 12, Shaqeel Jailani, 13, and Freda Mel, 17 – will introduce a different dish and its key ingredient before stepping into the kitchen with a celebrity guest.

The 13-part series, with English subtitles, airs on Suria every Friday at 8.30pm and also streams on mewatch (

str.sg/pXfd

).

In Episode 5, for instance, you will get to know the many types of bananas and how you can prevent the fruit from ripening too fast.

Then watch actress Siti Khalijah Zainal guide the hosts on how to make goreng pisang and give the traditional treat a modern twist.

Here is the recipe from the show’s production team Oak3 Films.

Goreng pisang

Ingredients

Method

1. Allow your child to add the flour, eggs, food colouring, limestone paste and salt to a mixing bowl.

2. Add water and mix well to make a batter, which should be slightly on the thicker side.

3. Dip the banana in the batter.

4. Tell your child that you will be in charge of the deep-frying. In a wok, heat the cooking oil to medium heat.

5. Fry the banana until golden brown.

6. Remove the banana from the oil and place the slices on kitchen paper to drain excess oil. Serve as is with sambal kicap dip, or top with sweet garnishes such as chocolate rice and condensed milk.

Sambal kicap (spicy soya sauce)

Ingredients

Method

1. Add all ingredients into a bowl and mix well. Serve as a dip with goreng pisang.

For craft lovers

Make shrink art

Guide your children to create shrink art using plastic materials that may otherwise be tossed into the bin.

Also, take the opportunity to teach them that not all plastics are equal. Some cannot be processed easily at recycling factories.

Products made of plastic are often stamped with a small triangular symbol that contains a resin identification code.

For this craft idea contributed by ArtScience Museum, you will need plastic containers – commonly used for food takeouts – labelled with the code number 6. It stands for polystyrene and can be difficult to recycle.

Upcycle the plastic waste into shrink art keychains or magnets, which make for cute gifts this festive season.

Shrink art keychains or magnets

Materials

Method

1. Clean the plastic containers.

2. Draw and colour your design on the flat surface of the plastic.

3. Cut out the design using a pair of scissors.

4. If you want to turn your shrink art into a keychain, punch a hole for the key ring.

5. Pre-heat the toaster oven to 160 deg C. Once ready, place the plastic cut-outs into the oven. In less than a minute, they will shrink to one-third of their size.

6. Carefully remove them from the oven using the spatula.

7. Due to the shrinking process, the cut-outs will curl up. Gently flatten them with the spatula.

8. Once they cool down, attach the key ring to the punched hole.

9. Alternatively, you can turn the shrink art into fridge magnets. Use superglue to secure a magnet to the back of your work.

Tip: Watch this video (

str.sg/duhc

) for step-by-step instructions.

Make a desk organiser

For more upcycled craft ideas, get your hands on the activity book For Home, From Home by pre-school teachers Noelle Khoo and Foo Yihn.

They encourage children to give a new lease of life to items at home by repurposing them.

Published by Marshall Cavendish International, their book retails for $13.76 before GST at major bookstores and includes 12 ideas, such as a desk organiser that uses toilet rolls. Create one with your kids inspired by their favourite animal.

Toilet roll desk organiser

Materials

Method

1. Decide on the animal design for the desk organiser. Using construction paper, draw and cut out the body parts such as the head, arms, legs and tail. If your kids like dogs, refer to the picture above for ideas.

2. The dog desk organiser uses four toilet rolls. Attach the rolls together using a stapler or double-sided tape.

3. Colour and paste the animal parts on the toilet rolls as desired.

4. On a piece of cardboard, trace the bottom of the toilet roll desk organiser. Cut the cardboard and glue it to form the base.

Tip: Your kids can add sequins, pom poms and ribbons to decorate their organiser. Get creative with what is available at home.