In Southern California, you’d think summer would be simple, but, believe it or not, kids do sometimes tire of the beach. Even if your little ones never grow weary of the sea, it’s good to mix things up sometimes for the parents’ sake as well. To help you have an amazing summer, we’ve compiled our annual list of fun things to do right here at home. Try something new—or tried and true—from our list of 101 ideas.
1. Visit Dana Point’s newly expanded Ocean Institute. The public is now able to visit the facility seven days a week to enjoy new experiences such as a three-story-high kelp forest and pop-up experiments with educational interpreters. (From $5.) Ocean-Institute.org
2. Ride every carousel in Orange County. You will find them at the Irvine Spectrum, Orange County Great Park, South Coast Plaza, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure and, the state’s oldest, at Knott’s Berry Farm.
3. Turn your driveway into a chalk art masterpiece. Spend an afternoon creating an entire chalk Orange County with the kids, complete with beaches, mountains, and a mousecentric theme park.
4. Head to skimboard school. Solag Skim School in Laguna Niguel offers camps, lessons and even birthday parties designed to teach kids how to skim board. How O.C. is that? From $25 per person. SolagSkimSchool.com
5. Have a spa day at home. Let the kids pick out their favorite scented candles to burn, give each other pedicures, drink homemade spa water and laugh at each other’s silly, mask-covered faces.
6. Play while you eat at Mendocino Farms. This family-owned restaurant’s new Irvine location in University Center has two indoor cornhole courts, a foosball table and a whimsical grass kids room with a kid-size communal table and chalkboard. MendocinoFarms.com
7. Explore a new playground. Michele Whiteaker from OCPlayParks.com says these three are worth a visit: Baker Ranch Community Park in Lake Forest; the universally accessible and brightly colored Pavion Park in Mission Viejo; and the new sensory garden at Courtney’s SandCastle (universally accessible as well) in San Clemente.
8. Teach your kids some manners. The etiquette classes held at The Resort at Pelican Hill are designed to teach kids social, travel and dining manners so your little hooligans can become proper ladies and gentlemen in no time. ($125 per kid, per class) PelicanHill.com
Fun Festivals and Fairs
8. Spend time at Laguna Beach’s Sawdust Festival. It is home to the Children’s Art Spot, which offers free classes, as well as the Ceramic Center, where kids can have their very own creation glazed and fired. From $4. Children under 12 are free. SawdustFestival.org
9. This year marks the 125th anniversary of the OC Fair, and this year’s theme is “One Big Party.” Celebrate July 17- August 16 by visiting the farm animals, eating your family’s share of deep-fried food and taking a spin on a few carnival rides, but hopefully not in that order! OCFair.com
10. Consume one of the 14,000 ears of buttered corn at the La Habra Corn Festival August 7-9. Don’t forget to save room for the festival’s famous funnel cake! LaHabraCornFestival.com
11. Eat your way through 15 ethnic-themed areas at the Orange International Street Fair, which takes place every Labor Day weekend. Kids especially enjoy the street designed just for them, complete with crafts and games. OrangeStreetFair.org
BOX 6 Spectacular Staycation Ideas
12. Get soaked riding Grizzly River Run at Disney California Adventure, run up to your room at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel to change, then head back into the park using the exclusive guest-only entrance. Disneyland.com
13. Camp under the stars at one of Orange County’s campgrounds such as O’Neill Regional Park, Caspers Wilderness Park or Crystal Cove State Park. OCParks.com
14. Let water be the theme of your stay at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa. Watch the kids splash the day away at the resort’s Slyders Water Playground, enjoy a relaxing treatment at Pacific Waters Spa and wave farewell to the sun as it dips below the water at the beach across the street. HuntingtonBeach.Hyatt.com
15. Head down the road to Legoland to check out the new Heartlake City area, inspired by the popular Lego Friends sets. Make a night of it and stay at the kidcentric Legoland Hotel, which features all sorts of fun surprises, including a disco party in the elevator! Tickets begin at $82. California.Legoland.com
16. Enjoy a bit of luxury at the St. Regis Monarch Beach, which offers guests perks such as whale watching, tide pool exploration at a private beach and bedtime stories featuring RisiBisi the stuffed sea monster with the Ocean Explorer family vacation package. StRegis.com/MonarchBeach
17. Head 26 miles across the sea to Catalina Island, where clear water, a thrilling zip line and excellent mini golf are among the experiences that await.
BOX 5 ways for your kids to do good this summer
18.Help pick food at Second Harvest’s Incredible Edible Farm at the Orange County Great Park. ocgp.org
19. Assemble food boxes for children and seniors at the Orange County Food Bank. ocfoodbank.org
20. Participate in a local creek or beach cleanup.
21. Trade in those long tresses for a summery bob and donate hair to Locks of Love, an organization that makes wigs for children in need. locksoflove.org
22. Set up a lemonade stand and donate the earnings to Alex’s Lemonade Stand, an organization that helps children battling cancer. alexslemonade.org
23. Have a hula-hoop contest with the kids.
24. Create a wind chime out of driftwood and shells collected at the beach.
25. Learn to scuba dive. Have your kids mastered snorkeling? PADI offers “Discover Scuba Diving” courses to children as young as 10 at five locations in Orange County. Courses are $335. Padi.com
26. Go wild at the Coastkeeper Natural Play Garden at Santiago Canyon College, the first public nature garden in Orange County. Kids will love wandering on tree stump paths, climbing through willow tree tunnels and playing hide-and-seek in the tall deer grass. Family workshops are held on the third Saturday of every month. Coastkeeper.org
27. Hang with the jellies at the Aquarium of the Pacific. They have no heart, brain or lungs but they sure are fascinating. This summer, the aquarium will celebrate the sea jelly with new exhibits, films, education programs and 10 types of jellies on display, including moon jellies, which guests will have the opportunity to touch. Admission is $14.95 for children and $28.95 for adults. AquariumofPacific.org
28. Pick strawberries and sink your teeth into fresh-off-the-vine watermelon at Tanaka Farms in Irvine. Wagon tours ($18) around the organic farm are offered all summer long. TanakaFarms.com
29. Foster your child’s inner bookworm by participating in an Orange County Public Library summer reading program. Goals and prizes encourage kids along the way. Too young to read? Check your local library for story times. ocpl.org
30. Visit an O.C. zoo. The Santa Ana Zoo is known for its train, farm and impressive monkey collection, while the Orange County Zoo in Irvine Regional Park focuses on animals that call our region home, such as cougars, snakes and the endangered Channel Islands fox.
32. Take them out to the ball game. Head to Angel Stadium, where the kids can run the bases on Family Sundays, watch the fireworks at Saturday night games and score Angels-themed goodies from bobbleheads to rally monkeys at various special-event days held throughout the summer. Angels.com
33. Watch life imitate art at the Pageant of the Masters. Debuting July 8 and running nightly through August 31, Laguna Beach’s iconic pageant features volunteer actors creating living pictures based on famous works of art. It’s a must-see for the art and theater lovers in your family. This year’s theme is “The Pursuit of Happiness.” From $15. foapom.com
34. Build something. Lowe’s Build & Grow program offers free projects for kids every other Saturday at 10 a.m. At Home Depot, the first Saturday morning (9 a.m.-noon) of each month is free workshop time.
35. Hop on board the Regal Summer Movie Express and enjoy nine weeks of $1 movies. Kid-friendly favorites such asAnnie, Paddington andThe Lego Movie are shown at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at participating Regal Cinemas. regmovies.com
36. Watch the night sky explode with color. Nineteen Orange County cities have fireworks planned for Independence Day, Angel Stadium puts on a display every Saturday home game, and Disneyland will run its new “Disneyland Forever” fireworks spectacular all summer long.
37. Join the Dana Wharf Kids Club. Membership ($39) includes a free half-day fishing trip for one adult and one child, a free two-hour whale-watching trip, T-shirt and several other discounts. Dana Wharf Sportfishing also offers free fishing clinics to children every Sunday at noon. danawharf.com
38. Get to know Newport’s Back Bay at the Muth Interpretive Center. Fun programs at the center are designed to bring together parents and children, ages 2-8, through experiences such as nature walks, crafts and stories. Tydeland Tykes ($5), and its sister program Wild Tales ($5), take place at 10:30 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays , respectively. NewportBay.org
39. Watch the best surfers in the world compete at the US Open of Surfing. Head to Huntington Beach July 27-August 2 to watch the big names in surfing compete on some of Orange County’s finest waves. Don’t be surprised if the event inspires your kids to want to try the sport for themselves. VansUSOpenofSurfing.com
40. Learn to surf. Are they inspired to ride the waves? Programs all over O.C. such as Surfriders Academy in Huntington Beach and Girls in the Curl in Dana Point offer surf lessons.
41. Help your child embrace her inner Michelangelo or Gauguin and sign them up for an art class. The Palette Station in Tustin teaches kids how to draw, paint and sculpt using media such as charcoal, oil pastel, acrylic and watercolor. PaletteStation.com
42. Take a gondola ride through Newport Bay. Can’t make it to Italy this summer? The kids will love feeding the ducks, waving to passing paddleboarders and taking in the sights as a gondolier paddles your family around the bay in an authentic Venetian gondola. Cruises for two begin at $135. Additional guests are $25. Newportbeach.gondola.com
43. Stay up way past bedtime. Watch movies, make shadow puppets, play flashlight tag and eat your body weight in popcorn.
44. Round up the neighborhood kids and organize an epic game of tug of war.
45. Freeze a bunch of plastic toys from the dollar store into a big block of ice and help your kids use a hammer and a screwdriver to excavate their treasures.
46. Create the ultimate backyard obstacle course using things like inflatable kiddie pools, traffic cones and pool noodles.
Speaking of pool noodles, here are 5 fun ways to transform the humble pool noodle:
47. Cut a pool noodle in half and turn it into a marble or Matchbox car racetrack.
48. Duct tape three pool noodles together and slide them over a couple wooden stakes to transform them into a backyard goal post.
49. Weave four pool noodles into a hashtag shape, grab a couple bean bags and enjoy a game of lawn Tic Tac Toe.
50. Head to ZiggityZoom.com to get instructions on how to transform a pool noodle into a foam bow and arrow.
51. Give each kid a pool noodle, throw a balloon into the mix and let them have at it!
52. Tour O.C.’s only chocolate factory. ChocXO at the Irvine Spectrum offers 40-minute behind-the-scenes factory tours where families learn about the chocolate-making process from bean to packaging. Kids will love sampling chocolate in various stages of production, including raw cacao pulp, cocoa nibs and fresh liquid chocolate. A shop with a wide selection of treats is located on site. Tours and experiences range from $5 to $25. ChocXO.com
53. Climb and splash on the Moe B. Dunes Aquatic Park’s obstacle course. Day passes ($15) are available for the colorful inflatable waterpark situated on the Back Bay in Newport Beach. Paddleboats, surrey bikes, electric boats, hydrobikes, catamarans and private beachside cabanas are also available for rent. NewportDunes.com
54. Watch movies on the beach. Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort hosts free family movies projected on a massive screen on Fridays and Saturdays at dusk. Families are encouraged to bring beach chairs and picnic dinners. NewportDunes.com
55. Start a container veggie garden. You don’t need a lot of space to have your own bountiful harvest. Kids will be much more likely to eat their vegetables after planting carrots, radishes, cherry tomatoes and lettuce in small pots on the patio. Potatoes can easily be grown inside of Rubbermaid storage bins with holes drilled in the bottom for water drainage.
56. Visit the Titanic exhibit in Buena Park. Explore recreations of various rooms on the ship, view wreckage and learn about what happened on the day the Titanic sank. Audio tours specifically for children are available. Admission is $18 for children and $22 for adults. PremierExhibitions.com
Eat your way through Orange County’s ethnic neighborhoods
57. Head to Anaheim’s Little Arabia to eat the Arabic version of pizza (manakish) at Al Amir Bakery and sample Middle Eastern sweets at La Mirage.
58. Slurp down pho in Westminister’s Little Saigon and then stop by Long Phung Bakery to take home one of their famous fruit tart cakes.
59. Wash down your carnitas from Taqueria El Zamorano in Santa Ana with a glass of aguas frescas. Follow that up with tres leches cake from El Metate Panaderia.
60. Spend time in Garden Grove’s Little Seoul. Cham Sut Gol has great Korean barbecue and refreshing green tea ice cream.
61. Visit Irvine and enjoy a steaming bowl of ramen from Santouka Ramen inside Mitsuwa Marketplace. Don’t leave without picking a fun flavor of mochi ice cream to bring home. Bonus points if you take the kids to Daiso next door and let them pick out a $1.50 treasure.
62. Build a sandcastle. Take it to the next level and hire Dig it! The company provides instruction on building the biggest and craziest sandcastles you can think of.
63. Fly a kite at the beach.
64. Snag a fire pit at Aliso Beach, Corona del Mar or Bolsa Chica State Beach and roast marshmallows near the crashing surf.
65. Flag down an ice cream truck.
66. Make a living room fort out of couch cushions and blankets.
67. Get messy at Adventure Playground. Located in Huntington Beach’s Central Park, Adventure Playground lets kids ages 5-12 raft in a small pond, navigate a rope bridge, slide down a mud slide, and build forts. Open June 22- August 21, a $3 admission fee is charged. HuntingtonBeachCA.gov
68. Soar above Orange County at the Great Park. Children under 18 ride the balloon for free (with paid adult). After your flight, ride the carousel, play soccer on the great lawn or stroll the stalls of the Sunday farmers market. ocgp.org
69. Spend the day exploring Irvine Regional Park. The county’s oldest park features a zoo, railroad, pony rides, trail rides, playgrounds, hiking and paddle boating all in one scenic 477-acre location. Entry is $3 on weekdays and $5 on weekends. OCParks.com
70. Explore California’s oldest neighborhood. San Juan Capistrano’s Los Rios neighborhood sits adjacent to the train depot and is home to a petting zoo, historic adobes, a cute park and quaint restaurants. Make time to include a visit to Mission San Juan Capistrano, which offers a variety of activities and a special audio tour just for kids.
71. Take advantage of the Kids Bowl Free program at participating bowling alleys across Orange County. What’s better than free? Sign up and your kids can bowl up to two free games a day through the duration of the program. For a small fee, a season-long shoe pass and bowling pass for adults can be purchased. kidsbowlfree.com
72. Celebrate Disneyland’s 60th anniversary. Disneyland is marking its 60th birthday with a Diamond Celebration that will feature a new fireworks spectacular, an updated World of Color show and the “Paint the Night” parade, which includes more than 1.5 million, brilliant LED lights. Single-day tickets begin at $93. (Look for more details in the July issue of OC Family)
73. Beat the next heat wave at Knott’s Soak City. Orange County’s largest water park has something fun to offer kids of all ages whether your children are content getting splashed in tot-friendly Gremmie Lagoon or enjoy the thrill of the 63-foot drop of Old Man Falls. (From $27) knotts.com
74. Spend the day at Knott’s Berry Farm. Fried chicken, boysenberry pie, classic coasters and the new interactive 4-D ride,Voyage to the Iron Reef. What’s not to love about Knott’s? (From $37) knotts.com
75. See some stars. Due to light pollution, kids in Orange County don’t grow up seeing many stars. Download the free Star Chart app to your phone, get out from under the city lights, (Caspers Wilderness Park is a good spot), and look up! Bonus: The Perseid meteor shower puts on a show in the Northern Hemisphere from July 13 through August 26.
76. Take the car ferry across Newport Harbor. A Ferris wheel, arcade, pier, chocolate-covered bananas and a gorgeous stretch of sand will be waiting for you on the other side.
77. See the OC Blues score a goal. Do you have a kid who loves soccer? Take them to UC Irvine’s Anteater Stadium to watch our local pros show their stuff. OCBluesFC.com
78. Snag an attraction pass for Boomers. $59.99 gets you three months of unlimited mini-golf, rides, video games and water play at the Buccaneer Cove water park at Boomers’ Irvine location. BoomersParks.com
79. Take a hike. Several wilderness parks in the OC Parks system offer great hikes for families. Favorites include hiking to the red rock of Whiting Ranch, wandering through Sycamore Canyon in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and spotting wildlife along the trails at Riley Wilderness Park. OCParks.com
80. Watch the grunion run. Hundreds of silvery fish come ashore to lay eggs across Southern California beaches. Kids 16 and younger can collect grunion without a fishing license. Head down three to four nights after a full or new moon to Doheny State Beach, Salt Creek or Bolsa Chica State Beach.Grunion.org
81. Learn to play ice hockey for free, courtesy of the Anaheim Ducks. This four-week program is offered to children under 10 at the following rinks: Westminster ICE, Yorba Linda ICE, Huntington Beach Inline and Irvine Inline. Check program dates and signups. Ducks.NHL.com
82. Go whale watching. Blue whales have been congregating in the waters off Orange County during the summer months for the past few years, and outfitters like Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari in Dana Point are eager to show your family the largest animals on the planet. (From $39) DolphinSafari.com
83. Dance the day away at free concerts in parks across Orange County. Most cities have a variety of musical events on their summer calendars. Check city websites for individual event details.
84. Let their imagination run wild at Pretend City. This hands-on museum encourages kids to shop for groceries, cook dinner, go to work and drive a car. This summer, the exhibit “Heart and Seoul: Growing up in Korea” will feature an animation studio, K-Pop Stars studio, and a Korean classroom and apartment. Admission is $12.50. PretendCity.org
85. Encourage your kids to embrace their inner sleuth at Discovery Science Center. This summer the Cube hosts “The International Exhibition of Sherlock Holmes,”which features original manuscripts and artifacts, investigative tools and crime-solving opportunities. Admission is $12.95 for children and $16.95 for adults. DiscoveryCube.org
86. Take a beachfront bike ride. It is a 6-mile round-trip ride between Huntington State Beach and Bolsa Chica State Beach, and the terrain is as flat as a pancake. Bring bikes from home or rent a surrey at one of the bike stands dotting the sand.
87. Fulfill their need for speed at K1 Speed go-kart racing. Kids 48 inches and taller can race in the 12-lap junior races in Anaheim and Irvine. Purchase multi-race packages for deep discounts. (From $19.99) K1Speed.com
88. Attend a family program at the Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach. Full-moon hikes, campfires and star parties are among the evening offerings. (From $5) ENCenter.org
89. Embrace art at the Bowers Museum’s Kidseum in Santa Ana. Kids will love riding the magical Wells Fargo stagecoach through time in the “Green Screen Time Machine,” making art in the new “Glow Cave” and digging up fun in the museum’s new archaeology lab. ($6) Bowers.org
90. Find fun in Downtown Disney. If kids created a shopping mall, it would look like Downtown Disney. With interactive restaurants like Rainforest Cafe and shopping experiences such as Ride Markerz and Build-a-Bear Workshop, this entertainment district is a destination unto itself.
91. Catch air at a trampoline park. On Thursday nights at Sky High Sports in Costa Mesa, a family of four jumps, eats and drinks for $30 (extra people are $5 each). JumpSkyHigh.com
92. Fish off one of Orange County’s piers. If you choose Huntington or Balboa pier, treat the kids to a shake from Ruby’s.
93. Watch the broncos buck at the richest two-day rodeo in the nation. Head to Rancho Mission Viejo for this annual rodeo, which takes place August 22-23. Popular events include saddle bronc, team roping and bull riding.rmvrodeo.com
94.. Visit a self-serve car wash. The kids will delight in the spray gun and giant foaming scrubber. But don’t use the hose at home during the drought. A home car wash can go through 80 to 140 gallons of water, whereas a garage wash typically uses closer to 30 to 45 gallons .
95. Take a ride on the Mackerel Flats and Goat Hill Junction Railroad. This railroad is operated inside Costa Mesa’s Fairview Park by the Orange County Model Engineers, and they give free rides on their 7 1/2-inch gauge railroad every third Saturday and Sunday of the month. All aboard! ocmetrains.org
96. Have a pajama day. Watch classic Saturday morning cartoons with the kids, have a pillow fight and eat breakfast for dinner.
97. Take a guided kayak tour of Newport’s Back Bay. Kids as young as 8 can take this tour of the Back Bay’s salt-water estuary, offered by the Newport Bay Conservancy. ($25) NewportBay.org
98. Head to Holiday Skate Center in Orange for Family Skate Night. Discounted skating packages, which include skate rental, are available Saturday and Sunday nights. Skate Saturdays from 7-9:30 p.m. for $7 per person or Sundays from 6:30-8:30 p.m. for just $5.50. HolidaySkate.com
99. Spend the day at Irvine Lake. Whether you rent a pontoon boat and relax on the water or take the kids to the lagoon to catch their first fish, this nearby escape to the great outdoors is sure to satisfy.IrvineLake.net
100. Have one final barbecue to celebrate a successful summer vacation.
101. Create a Shutterfly scrapbook of all the great memories your family made during your best summer ever!
