We recently went on our second beach trip with our two toddlers, ages 4.5 and 2.5. We went to Anna Maria Island, FL this year and loved it so much. I will be making some posts regarding this location and recommendations there as well. For this post, I wanted to share a few beach items that our kids loved and sometimes these items saved our sanity!
Collapsible Sand Buckets
These collapsible sand buckets were perfect because they are super durable and they collapsed to fit in our luggage so we didn’t have to leave it there. (We flew to our location so we could only take things that fit in our luggage.)
See my Instagram reel here to see the buckets in use.
Popsicles in Yeti cup
This one is more of a hack. This was life changing on our first beach trip. It seemed like my boys were never in sync. One was having fun, the other was crying or needed a nap. Insert popsicles in the middle of a beach day without having to go all the way back to the condo. This is what we did. We took the largest Yeti cup we had. You could use Stanley or any other thermal cup. I cut the popsicles in half. I placed ice in the bottom of the cup and then put the popsicles on top. Put the lid on and they stay frozen for hours.
Paint Sets
We stayed at the beach for 7 nights. As fun as the beach is, it can get tiring for littles. I saw this hack on TikTok and thought my kids would love it and they definitely did! We found lots of seashells during our beach time. About half way into the trip when the kids were bored but needed a break from the sun, I took them outside and had them pick a few seashells to paint. They really enjoyed it and it took up barely any space in our luggage. I just looked for the cheapest paint sets I could find. The ones I got were on Amazon, $8 for a pack of two. You could even buy some from Dollar Tree probably.
See my Instagram reel here to see my boys painting their shells.
Spray Bottles
This hack seems silly but if you have toddler age kids, it keeps them engaged for a bit. Spray bottles. That’s it. That’s the hack. I have taken spray bottles on nature walks, in our backyard, and now to the beach. My little 2.5 year old especially liked it. I got this cheap set of spray bottles on Amazon.
See my Instagram reel here to see my 2.5 year old playing with his spray bottle on the beach.
Shower Curtain
If you have little ones, this hack can be helpful because a lot of littler kids are too scared to go into the ocean or you as a parent don’t want them going in. Our first year at the beach, we dug a shallow whole in the sand and placed a shower curtain in it. We carried a few buckets of ocean water to the shower curtain and our little one really enjoyed just sitting in it and playing. We got this shower curtain on our Walmart pickup order for $3
Other Items and Hacks for Going on a Family Beach Trip
- Groceries: If your rental will have a kitchen, place a grocery order to pick up on your way to your condo/house. It’s a life saver not having to go grocery shopping with littles after a long trip.
- Beach toys: When we picked up our Walmart pickup order, we went inside and let the kids pick out a few beach toys. They had fun deciding on the nets and shovels they wanted.
- Tent: we ended up purchasing a tent while we there to be able to get out of the sun without having to go back inside. We were even able to fit it in our luggage to take back home with us and will be taking it with us next year.
- Baby Powder can be helpful for wiping sand off of your body
- Sun screen
- Goggles
- Mesh bag or mesh laundry basket to hold beach toys/items. It shakes the sand out really well.
- Binoculars are a fun item to have so you can look for dolphins and other ocean life.
- Flashlights are a must if you want to go searching for crabs at night.
What other items have you found that are a must-have beach item?? Check out my post on how to make DIY popsicles here!
