pictured: street scene Seal Beach before holiday parade / pesto pizza from “Slice of New York Pizza” on main street in Seal Beach / wearing: sunglasses / earrings / stripe tee / jeans / sneakers / nail polish / handbag / tote bag /

My daughter was marching in two holiday parades, so I made a quick trip down to Long Beach to cheer her on! The first parade was the holiday parade in Seal Beach. We parked in the beach lot and walked to Main Street where people had already set out chairs two rows deep by 3pm. So, we went back to the car, got our chairs from the trunk, and set up our third row spot. This was a crowded and festive parade!

Thankfully we were right in the middle of the fun and across the street from a pizza by the slice place, so dinner at our chairs it was! The pizza was yummy and we waited patiently for four hours to watch the parade. We brought our heavy coats and blankets since it gets quite chilly once the sun goes down.

If you plan to go next year, get there early with your chairs!

pictured: holiday decorations Belmont Shores in Long Beach / sushi from @Sushi / cookies from Foodology / wearing: sunglasses / earrings / black tee / scarf / jeans / sneakers / nail polish / handbag / tote bag /

Holiday parade number two was in Belmont Shores, Long Beach. After learning from the night before, we got down there at 2pm. Although there were signs stating no chairs until 4pm, people had claimed the front row by 3pm. Thankfully we were prepared and right there with them! We enjoyed a sushi meal near our chairs and then warm, freshly baked cookies at our chairs. What a fun parade!

Pro tip: free parking outside the beach parking lots. Loved that!

wearing: sunglasses / earrings / sweater / nail polish / jeans / handbag / sneakers /

OK, no trip to Long Beach is complete without fan-girling just a little bit. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is one of my favorite movies, so we found Ferris’s house and snapped a quick tourist pic in front of it. Hopefully the owners don’t mind. We were super quick and stayed on the street.

What I learned from this road trip: Arrive to parades four hours early to get good spots for your chairs. Bring water bottles and enjoy eating at your chairs. Wear sneakers since you will be walking a small distance with gear from your car to the spot you squat in. Have fun and make sure your phone battery is charged!

Looking forward to next year!

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy the holiday parades this year in your area.

pictured below: phone case / coffee and brunch at Zuzu’s Petals in Long Beach /