Beach Bag Essentials: Family Edition

Summer is in full swing, and if you’re like us, you’re probably planning a beach trip or two before the kids head back to school. Beach days are meant for fun in the sun, not for chasing down your kids to reapply SPF or to scramble looking for that one beach toy you forgot to bring. Make sure you’re prepped and ready for your next family beach vacation so you can actually have some fun and relax, too!

1. Food containers

• Try to avoid plastic baggies and wrappers because they tend to get blown away once you’re done eating. Put lunch and snacks inside glass food containers to avoid unnecessary waste!

2. A Tiny Pool For The Kids

• Maybe it sounds a little counterintuitive, but trust us on this one! Bring a portable blow up pool, use your kid’s toy bucket to fill it with ocean water, and set it far away from the shore so that your baby can play in the water without the risk of an accident happening in the dangerous waves. Plus you can set up a shade/tent over the pool to protect your kid’s from getting sunburned.

3. Umbrella and Chair Set-Up

• One of the best ways to upgrade your beach getaway is with an umbrella and chair set (style points if they match!). It’s the perfect way to control how much shade you want, and it’s much more comfortable than sitting straight on the sand.

4. Soft-Sided Cooler

• We’re team soft coolers because they’re easier to hold when you have 15 other things to carry at the same time. Plus you can usually stuff them more than a hard cooler because they’re moldable!

5. Water Proof Pouch

• These can be used for just about anything, from your phone, to jewelry, to first aid items! Throw them in a waterproof pouch and you don’t run the risk of getting them wet or sandy.

6. Sun Protection

• Bring enough sun protection for the whole family to make sure you’re not tending to sunburns later that night. Put everyone in Tutublue UPF50+ swimwear, then bring broad-spectrum sunscreen to apply on the areas that the swimsuit doesn’t cover!

7. Baby Beach Towel

• Protect the littlest member of your family with a UPF50+ beach towel that acts as a UV ray block and a warming blanket when it gets chilly in the evening.

8. Insulated Water Bottle

• Something we like to do is fill one entire bottle with only ice, then a few other bottles with just water. Bring a few cups with you and pour yourself a glass of ice water!

9. Turkish Beach Towel

• These dry faster and pack more tightly than your regular day-to-day towels, so pack a couple of these to lay on and dry off with!

10. Eco-Friendly Beach Toys

• Beach toys tend to get either left behind, blown away, or buried in the sand, so get sustainable, eco-friendly beach toys that you don’t have to worry about too much if they accidentally get left behind.