I am a little late in writing this blog since summer is almost over, but refer to my previous blog and you will know why. Life got a little in the way. However, I felt like it was still a good one to right in case anyone has some last-minute beach vacations—or heck even tuck it away until next year if your little one is not a toddler just yet.
This year my family and I were fortunate enough to go to the beach twice this summer with our two year and while I was so excited to see Nora on the beach for the first time, I wanted to make sure I had the appropriate things to make the trip fun and stress free. What I learned is toddlers honestly don’t need much. As most moms know you could have all the toys in the world, but your toddler wants to play with your keys or remote. However, I did find some must have items to help make the trip a little easier and to help our little one have a blast.
- A good beach bag – I found this beach bag from Amazon that is big, but not too big and has plenty of pockets. What I like the most is I could easily fold it up in my suitcase for the time we flew and since it mesh the sand shakes right out of it.
- Waterproof zipper bags—These little bags have come in handy even after the beach. They work great to hold wet swimsuits after the pool or water days, but also to hold snacks, sunscreens, extra swim diapers, and more on beach days. They helped keep the sand out and family members were even borrowing them for their phones throughout the week.
- Wagon—We actually did not have this during our first trip, and I will say after having it the second I wish we had it for both. It was easy to throw the coolers, bags, beach toys, and towels in it for the day and then pack it back up. This one in particular rolled well in the sand.
- Microfiber Towel—These towels were great because the sand just falls off. In all honesty they do not soak up water as much as regular beach towels, but shaking off the sand was so easy I preferred them. They also were great when our little one was getting used to the sand. The first day she sat on this to play and get accumulated to the feel of sand.
- Beach Clips— These are adorable but also super practical. I always hated when my towel would fall off my beach chair. These kept the towel in place even with a toddler climbing all over it.
- Blow Up Boat — This was such a hit for our daughter. We would fill the boat with water and she would splash around and clean off her shells in it. We also used it to get water for sandcastles near our chairs. This helped keep her cool while we sat without having to be in the ocean or pool all day.
- Sun Hats – These were great for shade for our daughter, especially for her faces as she played in the sand for hours.
- Shade – A shaded tent or event umbrella was great to shade the kids during snack time or event nap time if it wasn’t too hot out.
Simply Schasch 