Enduring a winter in Michigan quite often has me dreaming about a sunny beach vacation. With our vacation scheduled I could not stop thinking about sticking my toes in the warm sand and getting vitamin D from the actual sun rather than pill form. The glorious thought of becoming a beach bum for a week (with two small children in tow) spun me into preparation mode. Here are some of my favorite beach trip finds as well as products that just made beach bumming easy and carefree! Here are my reviews on what to pack!

Beach Packing

My beach bag this year was more about having a bag that I could easy fit inside my luggage (since we flew from Michigan). I used a large tote bag for towels and one of my kids everyday beach bags for my gear (since I refused to bring my Tory Burch diaper bag to the beach). I hung the small bag on my beach chair and kept large bag in our wagon. After seeing my youngest throw sand into my large towel filled tote I was beyond thankful that my small bag was not affected. Our next beach trip I will be sure to get a small beach bag with a closable top for extra sand security.

By the end of the trip my beach bag packing skills were on point! If you have little ones don’t forget multiple swim diapers and wipes. I also purchased a waterproof cell phone protector this year so my phone was safe and sound.

Having healthy snack options available was something I wanted to be consistent with. Prior to beaching I cut up fresh fruits, veggies and cheeses for beach side dining, so I highly recommend some type of storage container. This particular container is from Called the Spencer Bento Box from Pottery Barn Kids and I was very happy with it. It was monogrammed from an outiside source. Yogurt and cold waters in a cooler are also something to keep in mind. To keep this process beach easy we had one person prep beach snacks and waters while the other applied sunscreen and swim suits for the kids. Food and water prep just worked better when done systematically and kept my beachside stress levels low.

Beach Wagon

I will never go to the beach without Mac Sports Heavy Duty Collapsible Folding All Terrain Utility Wagon Beach Cart (Blue/Black with Table) again. Ordered this Mac sports wagon off amazon! I loved the cup holder option. This wagon was fairly priced and just made things so much easier. Mot to mention, my boys loved the wagon rides back to our condo after a few hours at the beach.

Enjoy the Sun, Safely

For my kids we use copper tone water babies in the pink bottles. Consumers reports tested this sunscreens ability to protect against UVA and UVB rays. This sunscreen rated as “excellent” in regard to protecting what it claims, SPF of 50. As for natural or organic sunscreens for kids I have not done any research and I am open to suggestions.

Because my ever so smooth anti-aging creams have completely made me feel like a diva, the thought of applying greasy sunscreen on my face makes me cringe. So you can imagine how delighted I was while shopping at Sephora and I came across a powder form of sunscreen!

I loved the supergoop setting powder (shown left). The above pic (shown right) was taken after an application of supergoop setting powder/sunscreen on top of my makeup. I also applied it on top of my head along my natural part. I would reapply every two hours or so and I never burned. It does tend to sweat off a bit but I will take that over feeling greasy any day. So if you go this route make sure to bring it with you to the beach or pool to reapply when needed.

Other ways to protect our skin included beach hats! Keep in mind that most floppy hats or sun hats will blow right off your head with beach wind. My one and a half year old did very well with a hat that has a chin strap. Baseball caps worked well too, once tightened.

Beach Umbrella

With two young kids it was just easier for us to rent beach chairs and umbrellas on the beach, from the resort. This saved us time and energy. Our chairs were always waiting for us and we never had to worry about finding the perfect spot on the beach. Our resorts’ policy was all beach chair renters got a front row ticket to the beach.

Beach Entertainment

This year I decided to keep things very basic and I’m so glad I did. Two water guns, a bucket kit that came with a few random beach toys/shovel and a net. I must say that my youngest really enjoyed the baby pool (much like this one in the link provided) and it kept him cool. Best advice: Don’t go to the beach without a net! We caught crabs, clams, small fish and awesome shells. on that same note, if you want to go looking for crabs at night don’t forget a flashlight. I also kept glow stick necklaces on my boys so they were easy to spot in the dark.

Photo -op. You Won’t Regret It!

With all the beach relaxing and wearing comfy clothes it was really fun to have one night to dress everyone up for professional beach pictures. We scheduled our beach pics mid trip so that we could lessen the risk of looking like Burt lobsters and not be overwhelmed with packing up and getting ready for pictures. We got some amazing beach shots! My only regret was that we did not take any pictures sitting next to the sand dunes. I will cherish these pictures forever! Below are just a few of my favorites.