Going to the beach likely means you will be swimming with your children. Younger children may enjoy wading in the shallow water or playing with water toys near the shore. Older children may want to go deeper and use masks to see the sea life. Certain areas of Hampton Beach feature tide pools, which are ideal for young children because they are warm and shallow and often contain sea creatures. Always watch your children closely near the water to prevent mishaps.
Hampton Beach is a good place to look for shells because of the diverse amount of wildlife that lives in the Atlantic Ocean. Grab a bucket and walk along the water and keep your eyes open for shells in the sand. Bring a shovel for sifting. A collection of seashells is a great souvenir for your child that will remind her of her time at Hampton Beach.
The sand on Hampton Beach is soft and easy to construct castles with. Hampton Beach does not allow glass containers or pets, which makes the sand a clean and safe place for your children to play. Bring a sand castle building kit from home or use a collection of different shaped containers and pack them with sand before turning them over and dumping the sand out. Use shells to decorate the sand castles. Take pictures of your children's creations for your scrapbook or for a souvenir.
During the summer months, Hampton Beach puts on several festivals that are geared toward families, making them an entertaining activity for your kids. Fireworks displays during the summer are put on every Wednesday night and family movies are shown on Mondays through the warm months; both events are free. A rodeo, regatta, sand-sculpting competition, beach pageant and talent competition are other events that occur during the summer on Hampton Beach. Each summer there is a children's festival, which features magic and puppet shows, a costume parade, stories, contests and prizes. Most of these events are free, providing fun memories for your children without spending too much money.
