New Year's Eve

Flowing Into 2021 With the Joy of Jellies in Full Bloom

The Monterey Bay Aquarium's popular New Year's Eve sleepover is cancelled, but finding aquarium-style inspo for a home campout is on.

Yuran Shen/Eyeem

SOME REVELERS, come the final day of the year, like to see a spray of iridescent fireworks in the sky. Others? It's all about the music, whether it is a live performance or a favorite vintage album on the hi-fi. But if you're obsessed with the ocean, and "awww" over otters, and are seriously sweet on sardines, you might have a must-do in mind when it comes to New Year's Eve: an aquarium sleepover. For several centers of fishdom, in recent years, have opened up their glug-glug galleries and tank-lined halls to those families longing to snooze in the vicinity of sharks. Has this been a tradition in your own sea-sweet household, or have you been wanting to make your way to one of California's biggest NYE sleepovers, at Monterey Bay Aquarium?

THERE'S NO SLEEPOVER... scheduled for the night that crosses from 2020 into 2021, which is no surprise. After all, the Cannery Row-based aquarium is temporarily closed due to the pandemic. But you and your kids could find the fish-tastic fun at home, all while creating your own pop-up, aquarium-themed sleepover. You might tune into the ultra-soothing jelly cam, try out a MeditOceans session (super-calming as we head into a new year), or order a cute plush for your next living room campout (of course the aquarium's shop stocks soft otters, but you can find cuddly turtles, penguins, and more under-the-waves faves).

HAPPY 2021, to otter enthusiasts and octopus people near and far. Here's to more aquarium sleepovers down the road, and good times at a great oceanside landmark.

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