Seal Beach is a shopper's delight at Christmas time. The village is lit with white sparkling lights, the pier is decked in old fashioned colors and shapes, and there's even a Main Street Parade held usually the first Saturday in December. 

Your kids may be thinking about the North Pole during the holidays. Although mom and dad buy presents, it's Santa Claus, the fun guy, that gets all the credit.

Pictured above is a street scene from the quaint downtown shopping area of Main Street in Seal Beach. Old fashioned (they don't charge for parking), and user-friendly, Seal Beach in Orange County offers the ultimate, enjoyable small town feel with sand between your toes and friendly faces all aglow for the holidays.  Take the children exploring, go do some shopping and enjoy a lunch, dinner at an Irish pub, Javatini coffee bar, and pick up the Seal Beach Sun each Thursday to read what's going on in this slice of Americana at California Beaches USA.

For Christmas shopping, a very cute teen's beach store with Roxy and all the current styles, a shop with Hawaiian shirts, a musical instruments and funky gifts store, beach-themed cottages, clothing, candy and plenty of art with framed photographs of the old Long Beach Pike, and other treasures.  These are a few gifts you might enjoy in downtown Seal Beach. It's for people who like quaint charm minus big box store shopping. It's for people who like to meet clerks one-on-one and get help. Seal Beach has a theater where you can catch a classic flick (Bay Theatre), or stroll down to the beach and grab a bite on Ruby's on the pier, or go fishing. Stick around for sunset to see the beautiful Seal Beach pier takes on a new glow.

You won't get much holiday shopping done, but if you take the entire family, everyone can split up and meet back.