The beach picnic and bouncy castle were both off limits but the children will still do indoor sports and laser tag, try cooking, play musical instruments and shoot nerf guns.
Seniors will be separated from juniors, and their upstairs area includes televisions, computers and musical instruments.
Two doors along, at Springvale Park, the Whanganui Boys' and Girls' Gym Club hosts 50 children from 8am to 5.30pm. When the Chronicle visited they were playing a favourite game - Capture the Flag.
Each team had a fort and was intent on finding and capturing the flag of the other. Anyone who had been pinged by a ball of scrunched-up newspaper was required to sit out, until released by another team member.
Covid-19 restrictions mean adults wear masks, parents don't get much further inside than the foyer and children sanitise their hands "10 times over," operations manager Annette Cox said.
All activities are optional, and the programme designed by Hana Haruru includes gym sessions, rugby drill, Lego play and arts and crafts.
This week The Eco School is offering its Nature Play holiday programme.
That runs from 9.30am to 3pm and costs $40 a day. With extra funding and one-on-one support, some children who wouldn't normally be able to join have been included.
Kaiako Dani Lebo was with 30 children at Lismore Forest Mountain Bike Park on October 4.
Looking around, she could see two six-year-olds making spears, another group damming the creek and a little girl lying in it.
Being outdoors meant there were few Covid-19 restrictions to worry about, Lebo said. Adjustments include more hand washing and keeping the children in whānau groups.
"It's safer out here, with lots of fresh air. We're having a good time," she said.
Under level 2, gatherings of more than 100 indoors are not allowed, and people in smaller indoor gatherings are expected to stay apart.
No big storytime sessions are possible at Whanganui libraries or the Whanganui Regional Museum.
Both are offering activity packs that children can take home. The Davis Library is hoping for fine weather, when story sessions can be held in the open air.
Both post notices about what is available on their Facebook pages.
For those keeping safe and dry at home, Auckland business Scratchpad is offering online courses for children from 9am to noon in both weeks of the holidays. Anyone in New Zealand and overseas can attend and register online, operations manager Monica Nangia said.
The four courses are coding, for children aged five-plus, Minecraft modding and Roblox programming for children aged nine-plus and 3D printing for those over seven. The cost is $49 per day and the children will need desktop or laptop computers, a camera and a browser for the interactive sessions.
There are fewer restrictions in the open air and lots of opportunities. Entry to the Bushy Park Tarapuruhi forest sanctuary is free and it has paths to explore and shelters. Families can also try a day at the beach or Bason Botanic Gardens, or a walk around Virginia Lake or a visit to Kowhai Park.
To make the Rotokawau/Virginia Lake walk more fun, Whanganui Messages of Hope has hidden 50 stones, painted with positive messages, at the lake and at Gordon Park Scenic Reserve.
Both places have picnic tables and walks of at least 30 minutes.
