Tell them to check out the tram that goes up to the mountains from Palm Springs. Its so pretty up there. Also, there used to be a really good Mexican Food restaurant on the main drag there. Maybe Lars can somehow know which one, lol.

Joshua Tree is a good day trip from Palm Springs,but they should stay on the west side of the park, and enter and leave from the west entrance in the town of Joshua Tree. There are good restaurants in Joshua Tree, including a Thai restaurant, as well as the Joshua Tree Saloon:

Even though it is a saloon, I believe they allow children in because it is mainly a restaurant that just happens to serve beer, etc.

Just north of Joshua Tree is the Integraton, but it will be closed for Christmas, and so that might not be an option.

If they are foodies, they should visit La Copine in Yucca Valley just south ( I think) of the Integraton, but best to get reservations. There was a long line when we went.

In the Palm Springs area, best to avoid Mexican restaurants - I don't know of any that I would recommend. If the restaurant at Shields Date Farm in Indio is open, then I highly recommend that, but I think they have switched to private parties only - like wedding receptions. However, it is still worth visiting Shields to buy dates and have a date shake, and their restaurant has the best Mexican food in the area.

For a family restaurant, breakfast, lunch, and dinner, we like Elmer's, which is an Oregon based restaurant (do not order anything Mexican here - it will be pathetic), and I especially like their Cobb salad. It's rather ho-hum but very popular for breakfast/brunch and much better than Lulu's on South Palm Canyon Drive downtown.

Up the street from Lulu's (just a few steps up Palm Canyon Drive) is Zin American Bistro, which has much, much better food than Lulu's, but is smaller and gets a lot fewer tourists. The one Mexican restaurant I would recommend is Las Casuelas, but more for the atmosphere than the food. It used to be open for breakfast, but that is no longer the case.

For hiking, I recommend a short hike in Taquitz Canyon, preferably in the early morning as soon as it opens. It's a short hike but very historic and interesting, and it will give you a lot of time to do things in for lunch and afternoon. You can expect to see big horn sheep while there.

I also recommend taking the tram up Mt San Jacinto, but in December, it will be very cold at the top (around 40° during the day), and there will be snow. You can ski or toboggan while there (if you have your own skis/toboggan, and you will definitely need winter clothes at the top. The restaurant at the top is very good but can get crowded, and so I recommend going early for lunch (11:30 at the latest), if you want to eat there.

You can also drive around the mountain and stop for some short hikes, including a hike at Cahuilla Vista Point

which is very scenic

The restaurant at Shields Date Farm in Indio does have very good Mexican food, but it is the only place in Coachella Valley I've been to that does. I went to what looked like a good Mexican restaurant on Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs and ordered a grilled fish with adobo sauce, and when I got it, the sauce tasted like a very sweet BBQ sauce (which I hate), and I told the waiter that the "adobo" sauce tasted like BBQ sauce, and he told me that that was what it was! I gave him a list of the ingredients for adobo sauce:

• 2 whole chipotle chilies
• 2 whole Pasilla chilies
• 1 whole Ancho (or Guajillo) chili
  1/4 cup onion, chopped
  2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
  1-1/2 cups water
  1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp cumin
  1 tsp dried oregano
  1/4 tsp salt

and he told me that they could not make that.

I make adobo sauce frequently from memory and know how it is supposed to taste.

Indio has a tamale festival in the winter, but I buy tamales at Cárdenas market all year. None of the Mexican restaurants on Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs (that I know of) have tamales on the menu - at least not the last time I checked.

My favorite Belgian restaurant (Maison des Crêpes) appears to be closed 😥, but there is a seafood restaurant that I like in Palm Springs, Fisherman's Market, and there are a couple of decent Greek restaurants.

Note that they will be going during peak tourist season, and there will be lines to enter Joshua Tree National Park. There are a couple of western entrances, and they can check their phones to find out which one will have the shortest wait. Cell phones will have no coverage in the national park.

If they want to hike on Mt San Jacinto, I recommend visiting the ranger station in Idyllwild before going on a hike. Weather will vary, according to the altitude of the trails, and most will be cold in December, but there are some at lower elevations that will be more temperate. We only go up the mountain in the summer or early autumn.

Thank you so much! I'll pass this info on...it's excellent and I'm sure will add to their enjoyment!

Just to avoid confusion, her kids are unmarried adults, no children involved.