Beach Bag Necessities for Your Trip

Many of us are headed to the beach, boat, or the pool for most of the weekend! I am packing everything up now so we are not in a mad rush (yeah, right)! As I was getting everything together, I thought it would make for a good post!

• First, you need a good beach bag. I have a large canvas bag with a big liner inside so it can handle wet towels and toys.
• Of course, the next essential is Towels. One towel to lay on and one to dry yourself with.
• Sunblock: Chapstick with SPF, Sunscreen with at least SPF 35, sunglasses, sun shirts, and hats are a must for everyone here.
• Next up, an umbrella and beach chairs. Many times, you can rent umbrellas and chairs, but they can cost close to $50 for the day, so you will have to decide if the expense is worth it or not. We recently bought a Cool Cabana that we use instead of an umbrella. It is really easy to set up and does not blow around like the umbrella used to. What is even better is we all get a nice amount of shade under i,t and it packs up into a bag that is not bigger than my umbrella used to be.
• After you set your sunshade up, you need some sort of beach mat. We recently bought a monkey mat, which works better than a towel because it is water repellent AND sand shakes right off of it. We also purchased the stakes so the wind does not blow them around.
• A Cooler and food are next on my list. We tend to go very early in the morning, before the sun gets too hot, and we stay till close to lunch time. Since everyone eats, early breakfast snacks are essential. Sandwiches/Wraps are always a popular choice, as well as hummus with veggies. We also take a lot of fruits such as Frozen Grapes, Strawberries, Blueberries, Apples, and Cherries with us. Pack lots of Water bottles and a few juice boxes so that you stay hydrated.
• Baby wipes are great for wiping sand off your hands, as well as getting salt off your body if there aren’t any showers to rinse off at.
• Also, think about taking a change of clothes for everyone so that you do not have to sit in a wet bathing suit the whole time. Flip flops are the easiest shoes to take on and off.
• Take some baby powder – there is a trick for getting off sand easily by using powder!
• Toys rank pretty high on the list, especially if you are traveling with kids. We take a long a couple of buckets, shovels, a soft football, a frisbee, a paddle ball, as well as a deck of cards and magazines.
• Lastly, a little emergency first aid kit is taken with me, no matter what is a small tub of aloe vera cream (in case of sunburn), band aids, and ointment. I think that just about covers it!

When packing the bag, I always start by putting the towels in first since they take up the most amount of space, then I put the dry snacks in along with the toys and miscellaneous items. I always take along a few ziplock bags for any shells the kids have collected, as well asa  large bag to put the wet bathing suits in.  Hope you get great weather at the beach !