Need family friendly activity in Orange County - Los Angeles area for Dec. 24

December 23, 2005 7:31 PM

Help! Need family friendly activity in Orange County - Los Angeles area for Dec. 24. Otherwise, wife will kill me.

Family plans fell through. The wife has demanded that we ... do ... something ... for the day. I need an idea for an activity of some kind (either day or night) that is fun, family friendly and at least somewhat Christmas-y.

Please help. Don't let my wife kill me.

posted by frogan to sports, hobbies, & recreation (19 comments total)

You could go up to Pasadena and watch them work on the floats for the Rose Parade. Info here.
posted by zsazsa at 7:39 PM on December 23, 2005

Oops. That's only open on the days before New Year's. Sorry!
posted by zsazsa at 7:41 PM on December 23, 2005

Rose Parade -- awesome idea.

But according to the site, it doesn't start until Dec. 29.

I need something tomorrow, the 24th.
posted by frogan at 7:42 PM on December 23, 2005

Have you thought of Disneyland? I don't know if you're visiting or have kids, but that was my first thought because of the 50th anniversary shows and stuff.
posted by snsranch at 7:42 PM on December 23, 2005

Disneyland or Knott's Berry Farm.
posted by scody at 8:32 PM on December 23, 2005

If you go to Knott's Berry Farm, there's a "Ripley's Believe or Not" museum AND a Wax Museum, right down the street!

Me and my g/f are in our early 20s, and those places appealed to both the kid and adult in me. I heatily recommend.
posted by chudmonkey at 8:42 PM on December 23, 2005

Sorry , the wax museum closed earlier this year.

Disneyland is open Christmas day, too.
posted by DandyRandy at 9:25 PM on December 23, 2005

The Gamble House in Pasadena might be open. That's neat for kids who are, well, snooty stuck up elitists, I guess.

LACMA has all kinds of awesome ancient egyptian stuff that kids will get a kick out of. And the tarpits are right next door! You can have brunch at Campanile, get a snack at La Brea bakery and check out the giant Calders.

Santa Monica Pier and the promenade would be cool. Venice Beach is fun. The Getty is neat but maybe the kids would get bored quick up there.

Too bad Griffith Park observatory is closed .. However there is the zoo at GP, and there is a satellite telescope on the edge of the park (in Los Feliz) that may be open tomorrow. Kids would totally love that, I bet.
posted by luriete at 9:58 PM on December 23, 2005

DIS-ney-land!
DIS-ney-land!
DIS-ney-land!

(everybody!!)

maybe Universal if you were there for, um, Thanksgiving?
posted by mwhybark at 10:28 PM on December 23, 2005

Disneyland is going to be a zoo. Packed, Packed, Packed. It used to be a good choice on Christmas before the word got out that it wasn't that busy. Now it's ruined.
<grinch>although I haven't had fun at Disneyland for 20 years</grinch>
posted by soundslikeobiwan at 11:09 PM on December 23, 2005

LACMA has all kinds of awesome ancient egyptian stuff that kids will get a kick out of.

The King Tut exhibition is actually closed now, though the Boone Children's Gallery still has some Egyptian-themed art activities.
posted by scody at 11:14 PM on December 23, 2005

How about the Getty Museum in LA? Parking is $7, no longer requires a reservation, and admission is free.
posted by jaimev at 2:17 AM on December 24, 2005

My only knowledge of the O.C. comes from "Arrested Development," but on a few different occasions they have mentioned going to Legoland...
posted by SashaPT at 3:21 AM on December 24, 2005

Go to the movies and see Zathura, Narnia, and King Kong one after the other.
posted by Mo Nickels at 5:27 AM on December 24, 2005

Go to the El Capitan theatre in Hollywood with the kids. They have holiday stage shows prior to the movie, (Disney owns it). It's listed as Pacific El Capitan in the movie listings. It's an old theatre (with balcony) that have been nicely restored.
posted by 6:1 at 6:35 AM on December 24, 2005

The Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana has a "Science of Snow" exhibit and they are open today.

It is that huge black cube along the 5 where it meets the 55.
posted by sciatica at 8:02 AM on December 24, 2005

Traffic will be bad throughout SoCal today so staying close to home would help. I second (or third) Knotts Berry Farm. Less crowded than Disneyland and very child-friendly.
posted by Taken Outtacontext at 11:44 AM on December 24, 2005

Good fun at the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City. Not all that Xmasy, usually, but maybe they have something special today. Guess this is probably too late.
posted by Aknaton at 12:45 PM on December 24, 2005

I would suggest a walk this evening in the Naples area of Long Beach. The homes are built on canals and are all decorated out the wazoo for the holidays. Very fun for young and old and althought technically it is in Los Angeles County, it's not too far from much of OC. Coming west on 2nd street, after you cross that bridge on the map, turn left into the homes and park wherever you can.
http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=33.755958,-118.121395&spn=0.024270,0.037019&t=h&hl=en

I know it's late, but maybe someone will be able to make use of this and I know the decorations stay up for a few days more.
posted by jvilter at 3:58 PM on December 24, 2005