Besides what you have mentioned - are you considering some wine tasting? There are a couple good tasting rooms in town at Solvang - and a number of good wineries in the area, including the highly regarded Santa Rita hills area. If you haven't seen it yet - and it's still funny a 2nd time - watch the movie Sideways, or did that partially inspire the trip? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0375063/

And while I/we have never stopped by the Fess Parker Ranch/Spa - I would think they could show a little ingenuity - and if it's a nice day - set up some massage tables outside and bring in an extra masseur/masseuse or two?

Don't know much about Par 3 courses in the area - and it sounds like the lads have found a couple options - but there should be a few other golf courses to choose from and they could just play nine if they don't want the longer challenge.

And not sure if it's still in color at Thanksgiving - but you might check out the Lavender farm at Los Olivas. It's also a great place to take a picnic lunch - and they have tables overlooking the field. http://www.clairmontfarms.com/

And in Solvang - they have many good Danish options among other dishes - and I think we found the best deal at the Red Viking was it? Had the meatball/noodles? plate for lunch and loved it, and the Red Cabbage of course was marvelous. http://www.theredvikingrestaurant.com/

And Olsen's (on the main drag) is also great for your "morning Danish". http://mysolvang.com/inn/olsen/index.html

Thanks Tomsd! We do plan to watch "Sideways" again while we're there. I've heard mixed things on the Hitching Post restaurant that was in the restaurant (good steak, mushy veggies...), but maybe we'll go there for dinner one night.

Thanks for the food recs in Solvang - they sound yummy!

I hadn't heard of Lavender Farms yet, but will check it out. We might also take the kids to Ostrich Land one day.

We ended up just booking at Fess Parker Spa and will catch up during lunch. Anyone been to Petro, Sides Hardware and Shoes, or the Los Olivos Wine Merchant & Cafe? The weather should be nice, so I'm going to check them out for a nice outdoor spot.

And yes, we're going to try and do some wine tasting - I'll check out the link!

Sounds good. And don't really know much about the other places you mentioned.

Have fun.

Just a quick report back - we had lunch at Petros at the Fess Parker Inn and it was upscale, but tasty Greek food. The check in for the spa is in the same building, so that was handy. The "spa" is across the street, but really it's just 2 rooms next to each other, a restroom, and a self-service table with bottled water and a Keurig machine. The pool was lukewarm and there were lounge chairs all around, but no showers, so we didn't get in. No one else was in the pool and we only saw one other couple walking around while we were there.

There are no magazines and no poolside service, so we ended up taking turns walking around town while waiting for each other.

The massages with Joy were great (she also works at Chiffon in Solvang) and my friend enjoyed her facial.

We ended up not making it out to any wine tasting (too hard with the kids in tow), but we did have dinner out one night at Dos Carlitos which has great margaritas (come with your own little bottle of Corzo tequila, no simple syrup, just orange liqueur). The portions are huge, it's not too pricey, and they have a kids menu. It's also a pretty big restaurant, so they were able to accommodate out table of 11 despite last minute reservations.

The boys said Alisal Ranch's River course was nice, though they mentioned the service could be warmer.

And we watched "Sideways" again - I forgot how funny it was.

Thanks for the advice, Tomsd. Hopefully this info helps others in the future!