Indoor beach party

Photograph: Imogen Brown, Models: Billy and Caroline Taylor

Pump it up
Set the scene with 14" beach balls ($10/dozen; other colors available) and a four-foot-high, inflatable palm-tree-in-a-pool cooler ($13; hand pump recommended), which you can fill with bath toys. orientaltrading.com

Permanent waves
Drown out the sirens and honking by downloading the Custom Sounds of Nature app to your iPhone or iPod Touch. Choose the “Calm Ocean” track to pipe in crashing waves, screeching seagulls and more—a soundboard tool lets you make your own mix. Free from iTunes

No. 1 fan
Turn off the AC, and create your own ocean breeze with a child-safe fan. Even without a grille, the Soleus soft-blade model is guaranteed not to amputate digits. $16 plus $9 shipping; brilliantstore.com (search: FT1-20-10DB)

Freeze, sucker!
Make some tropical ice pops with mango, guava or pineapple juice (or a cocktail of the three). Stick to the theme with sailboat molds ($24 for six; chasing-fireflies.com), or go with the tried-and-true paper-cup method. (Pops take a couple of hours to freeze.)

Sandy claws
What’s a day at the beach without sand castles? Combine 2 cups of sand (found at craft and hardware stores) with 1 cup cornstarch and 1 cup water in an old pan (the combo is a bit scratchy). Stir over low heat until thick, about 10 minutes, then let cool. When your little Auguste Rodins and Camille Claudels are done, let their fabulous sand châteaus and cabanas dry for a couple of days. You’ll have permanent mementos from your day at the faux beach.

Inner glow
Turn off the lights, close the curtains, put on some psychedelic music, and turn your luau into a full-moon party. Make up for the lack of lunar radiance with a scattering of Lite Cubes, which look like ice cubes but contain flashing colored LEDs. $2.40 each, glowsource.com

Couch surfing
Hand out lyrics to the Beach Boys’ “Surfin’ USA,” and belt them out with your kids while you play the song. Assign background vocals—“inside outside USA”—to tots with lesser vocal talents.

Play misty for me
What’s the beach without some water? Let the kids have a furniture-friendly water fight with plant misting bottles. The mist will cool them down without drenching your drapes. Add mint leaves to the water and enjoy the clean, post-housekeeper scent. mister, $2 at kmart.com

Sunken treasure
If the mister fight doesn’t satisfy your scurvy crew’s thirst for water play, send them snorkeling for doubloons. Fill the bathtub with cool water and toss in some pennies. Then hand out swim goggles, and let the undersea adventure begin!

Time travel
Finally, if the heat has taken its toll, and energy levels (yours and theirs) are low, put on a DVD that fools their internal calendar into thinking it’s January. Try Arctic Tale, Snow Buddies, Groundhog Day, Planet Earth: Ice Worlds (season 1, episode 6) or any of the Christmas Claymation classics.

Pools | Swim lessons | Fountains | Beaches | Cool places
Ice cream | Boat rides | Bowling alleys | Out of the heat | Indoor fun