Here’s a fun way to give a whole new dimension to sand castles:  add inhabitants.  The other day, we happened to have a friend here who had brought some playmobil soldiers along for a day at the beach.  You have to be willing to let them get sandy, but the upside is hours of extra fun.

A fun twist is to move all of the characters around when the kids go into the water.  Ours might come back to find that the dog was in charge, get the giggles, and run back to the ocean, “so we can see what else happens while we are down there!”