Who are Columbia’s Family Favorites? Kidding Around brought our annual Family Favorite Contest, the KABOOM! Awards, to Columbia, SC for the very first time!

Find out who our readers love. What were your 2025 Family Favorites?

✔️ Ready for 2026?!
VOTE NOW for the 2026 KABOOM Awards!

Presenting the Kidding Around® Columbia Family Favorites (2025): KABOOM! Awards

What are the KABOOM Awards?

Kidding Around (K-A-BOOM, get it?) launched our annual contest in 2023. The KABOOM Awards are our reader’s opportunity to tell us who they love for all the important things in life like schools, preschools, birthday parties, summer camps, and more. The KABOOM Awards are also an opportunity for our community’s top businesses to shine!

Who’s the best in Columbia, SC? We asked our readers and they chimed in for the first time in 2025 on 5 different topics.

Best Preschool: Top 5 Preschools in Columbia, SC

Kidding Around Columbia offers a full guide to Preschools & Childcare in Columbia, SC. But our readers have chimed in with their favorites for this list of the top 5 preschools in Columbia, SC

1st Place: Gateway Preschool

Finalists:

• Union Day School
• Heritage Christian Academy of Lexington, SC
• Lake Murray Presbyterian Church Day School
• Riverland Hills Day School

Best School: Top 4 Schools in Columbia, SC

Kidding Around Columbia offers a full private school guide, but if you want to know about our readers top choices for schooling in Columbia, here are their favorites: Top 4 Schools in Columbia, SC.

1st Place: Lake Murray Elementary School – Chapin

Finalists:

• Piney Woods Elementary School
• Heritage Christian Academy of Lexington, SC
• Irmo Elementary

Best Summer Camp: Top 5 Summer Camps in Columbia, SC

Kidding Around Columbia publishes a really large Summer Camp Guide to Columbia, SC every year. But, our readers chimed in on their favorite summer camps for our annual KABOOM Awards. These are their choices for the Top 5 Summer Camps in Columbia, SC.

First Place: Riverbanks Zoo

Finalists:

• Crooked Creek Park Summer Camps
• ICRC Summer Safari
• SC Career Kids Safety Town & Career Camp
• Girl Scouts of South Carolina- Mountains to Midlands

Best Family Fun: Top 5 Places in Columbia for Family Fun

Looking for fun things to do with the family? While Kidding Around Columbia maintains a huge list of Things to Do in Columbia, our awesome readers voted for their favorites. Here are the Top 5 Family Fun Things to Do in Columbia, SC.

First Place: Riverbanks Zoo

Finalists: 

• Eudora Wildlife Safari Park
• Big Air Trampoline Park
• Finest Taekwondo and Fitness Center
• Stars and Strikes

Best Birthday Party: Top 5 Birthday Parties in Columbia, SC

Are you planning a birthday party in Columbia, SC and looking for the very best options? While Kidding Around Columbia maintains an extensive Birthday Guide to Columbia, SC with lots and lots of options, our readers voted for their favorite birthday party spots in our annual KABOOM Awards.

1st Place: Flight Adventure Park

Finalists:

• Stars and Strikes
• Twin Farms Mobile Petting Zoo
• Play Matters SC
• Empire Gymnastics

Find more great birthday party ideas!

Visit Kidding Around Columbia’s extensive Birthday Guide to Columbia, SC.