Beach Bum Survival Kit
10 Hacks for a Beach Vacation with Kids
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Let’s be real for a minute here. Taking kids on a beach vacation can be more like wrapping a wild octopus in duct tape while simultaneously trying to balance a tray of margaritas on your head. You know I’m right! Cheers to you my friend. Trust me I know, I have FOUR. And I was always running to the beach last minute alone with them. There are things I picked up on the way that will save you, trust me! These little hacks and must haves are my love to you. Let’s be in this together and enjoy the beach this time.
- This may seem so simple and like a no brainer here. But trust me, you’ll be using this hack later in your beach adventures too. My daughter is now a lovely preteen and is picking up this hack like a pro. She’ll be well equipped when she has her own circus to wrangle. There is nothing I hate more than having tons of sand stuck between my toes. The only thing worse than that is feeling it grind against your skin after you put your sandles on. And you end up waddling around with sore feet, sand grinding in your sores and lugging all of the beach equipment and snacks up a hot hill to the car. Don’t do it! Put a bottle of baby powder in your bag and you’ll thank me later! It dries up the water and sweat wonderfully, allowing the sand to slip and fall right off of your skin. Sweet relief. You can buy any baby powder but I personally love Bee All Natural Organic Baby Powder.
2. Shade! Chances are you’re going to want and absolutely NEED shade with the little ones on the beach. I remember lugging around a massive umbrella my first trip. Boy was that a mistake. Not only was it next to impossible to hold their hands, the bags AND the umbrella, it was next to impossible to carry it back with tired babies. Get yourself a collapsible shade tent! Did I mention it was COLLAPSIBLE?! Seriously. The best invention ever. Fold that bad boy up and shove it in your beach bag. Boom. Done.
They are a little bit pricey but you won’t just use it for the beach. My kiddos loved popping these things up in the living room and playing. They would pretend it was their hide out and put toys and blankets in there. Hello nap station and entertainment! You can also bring it with you camping. We have a really big tent and sometimes the younger kids like their own privacy. We have quite of few of these bad boys for that reason.
I also like this shade option as well. It looks super portable and is nice and open to let the air through. Plus, it uses the concept of sand anchors instead of carrying extra anchors with you.
3. Okay, so I wish these were around when I had little kids. First of all, Hello UV Protection. Second of all…..SNAPS at the BOTTOM?! Oh yes please. I may even want one for me! How genius is this? Pulling a baby out of a one piece, sticky, wet, sandy, hot, awful swimming suit to change their diaper = instant meltdown. The kids might have a hard time too. ;0) But serioulsy, NO BUENO!
Sweet loving, don’t go for the one piece suit if you love your sanity.
4. The kids are going to get your stuff wet! I promise you. If you don’t think they will then… let’s laugh about it later while we cry together. The last thing you want is little Jimmy John spilling his sticky juice box all over your phone because Becca decided to pinch him. Please buy yourself a phone bag. PLEASE. Not only will it protect your phone from the kids, it’ll protect it from you too. Ha ha. Been there. Spilled that. Even if you avoid all spills while you’re at the beach, that water bottle is aching to explode in your bag. Or the sunscreen. Or the chocolate bar that you forgot you had stashed in there and it’s now a new chemically altered substance from being exposed to temperatures associated to the devil’s anus… Ugh.
These cuties also have the lovely attachment so you can keep your phone around your neck. You’re welcome.
5. Next up on my list of lovelies is the beautiful and so, so essential, foldable wagon. Why do you need a foldable wagon? Where do I begin?! For one, you need all of the space you can get. That packed van is going to be tight. If you don’t have a wagon that’s foldable, you’ll be tempted to ditch it. You absolutely need a wagon. The wheels are much better for sand than strollers. You can squish kids in it and not carry them. You can put sleeping babies in it. You can use it to lug a cooler and all of your bags. You can use it to carry chairs. Oh my, the list goes on.
Now this particular wagon is like the Cadillac of wagons. I love her so much I could cry. She’s a beauty. I’m ditching my old one for this sweetheart as soon as she arrives! She has a push and pull feature, canopy to shade the little babies AND an extra carry bag on front. I’m loving the storage. I’ll take as much as I can get! And look at those wheels. I could use this wagon for so many family trips. We’re taking her to the zoo, camping, the park, family reunions…
If you don’t want to splurge on that one, here’s a really nice option that is lower priced. It has cup holders! It also has the canopy, removable storage bag and can easily carry the kids with a 150 weight capacity. Gorgeous.
6. This one goes right along with the phone case. I like to lie to myself and say that the kids will be focused on nature the entire time and we won’t have any screen time. But quite honestly, they are going to get cranky. And sometimes, that tablet is a life saver. Ok, ok, not sometimes. So might as well embrace the inevitable and get them a protector too. They can use their sticky little fingers all over it and you can wipe the crap right back off. Genius.
7. So these toys that the kids want to bring to the beach are a lot. But if we can manage to make any of them compact then jump on it sister. I actually squealed a little when I saw these buckets. LOL I really did. I absolutely HATE carrying buckets. Why? I’m not entirely sure. They’re just always so awkward and always seem to have water in them even after I empty them 10 times. Maybe it’s just me ha ha. But man are these genius! Here I go with my collapsible obsession again. But seriously. Holy room saver batman. And you are going to 100% need buckets. You’ll need to wash the kids feet off, wipe sticky fingers and make a little mini pool away from the crazy ocean waves. So a bucket is a definite MUST HAVE. And these bad boys will flop right down to a manageable size for your bag. Voila!
8. Another thing that the kids really need at the beach is a mini pool to play in. This will save you too because you can keep your eye right on them while they play. Those ocean waves always make me nervous. Not to mention they get knocked over by the heavy waves and get hurt. If you have a pool, you’ll be able to let them play in the water and have loads of safer fun while your toes are in the sand.
This pool is certainly collapsible but I’ve never used it before. I find the concept intriguing because you don’t have to kill yourself blowing it up. The kids will have an instant pool that they just need to dump water into. It does look like it would take up some space though so use your own gut on this one. There are different sizes but you really don’t need anything too big to get the job done.
If you want to get the traditional blow up pool, that’s a good idea too. It will save you on space if you don’t mind blowing it up and the impatient kiddos.
9. Sand proof beach blanket! MUST HAVE. FOR SURE. There is nothing I hate more than trying to get all of the sand off of the blanket. Ugh. I found this amazing blanket that is not only sand proof but waterproof, scratch proof and has little ties to tie it down so the wind doesn’t take it. Not to mention, the best part is that it folds up really small! Compact travel and less to lug around. YES.
10. I could go on and on all day with ideas and tips but I won’t overwhelm your already overwhelmed brain! Last but not least, get yourself a rollable make-up case. If you have one you can spare, use it please! If not, this is the one I have. You can stash snacks, sunscreen, wipes, diapers, baby powder..etc. You simply roll it up and put it in your bag. Easy Peasy. Organized and great. All you’ll have to do when you go to the beach the next day is grab it. You won’t have to remember everything that needs thrown in your beach bag!
That’s it for my list for now. Have a great trip with the family and tell me how these hacks worked for you! If you have any other hacks that you’d like to share, comment and let us know! Have a great summer!