Enjoy your summer and time with your family by heading to the beach or pool. Here are some tips for making it easier.
A great day at the beach doesn’t just happen. Oh, when you’re ten you think it does. But, no, there was a parent or other adult working behind the scenes to plan for something. Even if it was the thought to bring enough towels or change for the parking meter.
But, planning for a day at the beach or pool doesn’t have to take extreme forethought. It really can be easy. Here’s how:
Beach Planning
Have Bag, Will Travel (or Go to the Beach, or the Park, or on a Picnic
Make it easy to have spontaneous trips to the beach, pool, or park by prepping some bags with the essentials so that you just have to grab the bag and go.
What to Take to the Beach – Plus a FREE Printable
It’s a bummer when you get the crew to the beach and realize that you forgot something at home. Think through what you need and keep a list. Grab this free printable to make your list-making easier.
How to Get the Sand Off
Keep the sand in your car and home to a minimum after a beach trip with these tips for getting the sand off little bodies.
Bring Food
Here are some recipes that travel well to the beach or pool.
Snacks:
- Breakfast Cookies
- Cherry Limeade Muffins
- Maple Spiced Pepitas and Almonds
- Nut-Free Monkey Munch Trail Mix – If you use chocolate chips, you’ll want to make sure this stays cool or you’ll have a melty mess.
- Fresh Fruit — choose things that travel well like apples, oranges, and bananas. Otherwise, pack fruit into hard plastic containers so that you don’t have berry or stone fruits squashed all over.
- Cheddar Coins (aka Healthy Cheez-Its)
Salads: To make dishing up salad a bit easier, package it to go in individual portions. Mason jars with lids are great for this. Don’t forget the forks!
Sandwiches:
- Egg Plus Salad Sandwiches – keep the vinaigrette separate in a mason jar until ready to serve so your sandwich doesn’t get soggy
- The Spring Street Club
Have a plan for dinner.
A day spent in the sunshine at the beach or pool can take it out of you. Have you dinner plan ready to go so you don’t have to worry about it when you are wiped out from the day’s adventures.
- 5 Great Ways to Prepare for Quick Summer Meals
- Make Some Simple Summer Meals (Free Printable Plan)
- Weekly Meal Plan to Print & Cook #15: Simple Meals that Kids Love
- Weekly Meal Plan #31: All Slow Cooker Meals
Most importantly, have fun and don’t sweat the small stuff. What you put importance on, your child will learn to prioritize. Make enjoying the outdoors and each other your priority.
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We ALWAYS took at watermelon when I was growing up. What a relief from the oh so salty Atlantic! Sigh…I miss the day trips to the beach. We just don’t have any ocean in Tennessee! Good thing the pool reopened this year.
That’s fun! Did you cut it there or bring it carved?
We took a knife and cutting board in the cooler.
We don’t live near a beach, but we go to a creek all the time, and prepare much the same way you do. Supplies – towels, chairs, buckets, etc. are kept together and ready to go. Snacks are a must for my growing boys so they don’t get grumpy. A dinner plan is essential. Not once have I come home from a fun day playing in the creek and wanted to cook a meal. Something must be in the crockpot or I must have some pizzas ready to toss in the oven. One thing I like to pack that I don’t know if you mentioned are ziplock baggies. I put my phone and keys in one to protect from grit and water, just in case. My son collects rocks, so I need a bag to save those for him, too. 🙂
I loved this line: Not once have I come home from a fun day playing in the creek and wanted to cook a meal.
Yes. You’re absolutely right!