It is not because we are dreaming of palm trees and beaches. We are usually busy planning activities for children to enjoy during their holiday break.

I am not sure when the practice of running holiday activites in libraries began. It certainly was in place when I was a raw library assistant in Brisbane some 20 years ago and the activities had proved to be a source of much enjoyment and amusement for us over the years.

If you can remember the old library on Quay Street, you also may remember the size of the children's section - about the size of a kitchen.

In this area, the library ran activities for up to 30 children during a period of 10 years. Activities ranged from stone painting and container gardening to papier mache dinosaurs.

When the activities grew to be rather popular, we moved upstairs to the top floor which was open to the elements. We joyfully skidded through cane trash in the winter months and sweltered under the tin roof in the summer months.

We tackled pressed flower pictures - and it was interesting to watch the care the tough boys took in placing their flowers on the page.

The holiday activities changed slightly when we moved to our new library - no more messy papier mache or plaster as we were now operating in a slightly cleaner environment. We became world experts on balloon craft and paper masks, although we did the occasional painting craft.

Our Christmas crafts took on the anticipation of the New Year sales, with people booking their children in to the sessions months in advance.

During the last few years, we have tackled hair ornaments, Pokemon wall hangings (very popular with the boys) and fishing games to name a few.

Last year we gave a free pruning to many trees in the vicinity as we collected enough twigs and branches to produce 50 Nimbus brooms for Harry Potter afternoons. And this year we sneezed our way through the Spy Kids activity, as we used wax and black pepper to write secret messages, and watched foam dogs and cats slink out of the library on wire leashes, to the great amusement of staff and customers.

I have frequently been asked where we get the ideas for our holiday craft sessions - some come from current fads and movies and many are inspired by pictures in books or items seen in our travels.

In fact, a number of the activities have originated from ideas in our craft books, and the library is continually buying new titles for the collection.