given how much I’m either in the water, in the pool, or at the beach, I have very strong opinions about our favorite things.
like, at a bare minimum, each summer we go on an annual beach trip.
our full list of annual traditions + rituals explained here.
(and because I don’t always trust my brain to remember everything, our yearly tasks + expenses list reminds me to book the beach trip by March.)
and we spend all summer by some sort of water.
so by now, we know what we like.
consider this our list of things that always come to the beach with us. our beach must-haves.
but first,
our easter baskets are summer-themed
let’s talk about our easy-peasy way we make sure we have summer stuff that fits: our easter baskets.
know that I haven’t always been this wise. in fact, it took me trying to squeeze my nursing boobs into a pre-baby swimsuit - to which my nursing boobs were like LOLOLOLOL - to realize that I hadn’t invested in a new, good swimsuit in over eight years.
so I - ever the opportunist - decided we needed an annual reminder to make sure we’re prepared for the armpit that is Texas Summer. and my solution was to create a gift formula. (yes, you read that correctly.) every year, we’d receive a few summer essentials - things i’d probably be buying anyway - as our Easter basket. new swimsuit, new towel, new cover-up, new summer shoes, new sunscreen, new pool toy, whatever.
this way, I get an annual check-in to make sure I have pool and beach things I feel good in. (because momma and daddy get Easter baskets, too. it’s more fun that way.) and that way I won’t go another eight years without making sure I have a swimsuit that fits me well….and fits my current season well. (because based on my prebaby swimsuits, apparently prebaby haley didn’t have to run after a baby. or worry about string-pulling babies. LAWD.)
here’s my full post on our Easter baskets.
our routines we do before the beach trip
see the full post here.
basically the short list of everything I do before the beach trip (or any trip!) to make both our trip smoother and our coming home smoother.
and, like: for our beach trip, we enjoy a lot of gooooood take-out for dinner. so the post goes over what I do food-wise to make things easier on us on our trip. (and, similarly, what I do food-wise to take care of our Post-Vacation selves. because unpacking and laundry is rough.)
our general beach must-haves
an ocean-front property
we spend a little extra money to rent a place with both a balcony and a view. a place that I could both see and hear the ocean from the balcony. that way, even while KK naps during the day and when she goes to bed at 7pm, we still feel like we’re at the beach. we have a little date on the balcony, listening to the waves and watching the sunset. (or, we enjoy through the floor-to-ceiling windows.)
we also made sure we had an ocean-front property that met the following criteria: had a pool on-site, had a stocked kitchen we could use (even if it’s just for making morning coffee, but I like having the option), and was walking distance to the beach. check, check, check!
this travel crib + this white noise machine (or this travel version) + this sleep sack
bam. kk sleeps well at night.
also, we love our travel high chair.
a pretty penny, and luckily my parents gave it to us as KK’s first birthday gift. but GOD BLESS WE LOVE THIS THING SO MUCH.
we use our REI member coupons to slowly acquire any accessories we’ve been wanting. like, this past REI Sale, we used our 30% off coupon to get the retractable canopy.
we take this thing on trips, to the beach, to the zoo, on neighborhood walks, everywhere. we’re excited to use it in the years to come for trick-or-treating and soccer games.
another thing we received for KK’s first birthday! we’re so thankful and can’t wait to use it for years. we love this thing and how we can move it around or have it stand upright, depending on where the sun is.
holy moly. WORTH EVERY FREAKING PENNY.
we put it in the shade at the beach and add ocean water to it. kk loves playing in the water, and we love chilling nearby. (this is also why we LOVE to bring bath toys with us to the beach*, especially since KK isn’t always super into sand toys. more on that in a second!)
we also love having it for at-home pool play…and for tonsssss of other possible activities, as explained by Queen Busy Toddler.
good coolers
we’re slowlyyy working to have an assortment, thanks to our REI member coupons and various summer sales (particularly Dick’s). coolers to take to the pool, to take to the beach, to take to the farmer’s market, to take on a road trip, to take camping, to take hiking, to take as a carry on on a long plane ride.
right now we have the Yeti backpack cooler as really our only cooler and we love it. brett throws it on his back, we load up the wagon, and we head to the beach.
beach snacks
a whole slew of stroller fans
yeti colsters for mama and daddy’s beverages
our Bag o Sunscreen + foundation brush
our smallish, clear, leakproof, water resistant toiletry bag (similar to this), where I keep our collection of sunscreen, ready to grab for the pool/beach/camping/hikes/wherever. because we’re pale, and we live in Texas.
in our Bag O Sunscreen we also keep a foundation brush because of the brilliant hack that taught me a foundation brush is the easiest way to apply sunscreen to kids.
my favorite sunscreen is Supergoop. so easy to rub in and it doesn’t mess up my skin.
baby powder
I know coming home with gallons of sand is inevitable, but at least this helps remove some of it.
a biggg stack of magazines
one of my birthday traditions is to subscribe to a few magazines for the coming year - the best gift that gives all year round. and, inevitably, i sometimes fall behind in my magazine reading. so i bring them all to the beach with me - because I don’t care if they get wet/destroyed, they are quick, joyful reads, and I need something vacation-y to do while KK sleeps.
similarly, any books I’ve been dying to read get brought along, too.
our favorite toys
AKA THE GOOD STUFF.
We have a Year Round Wishlist for KK - explained more in this post! - and there we will add anything we’d love to have for our beach trip. So, for example, for her first birthday, we had our wagon, our beach tent, several of our ocean-themed books, and a whole slew of the following toys gifted to us from loved ones:
these beach toys
we put it in the shade at the beach and add ocean water to it. kk loves playing in the water, and we love chilling nearby.
we also love having it for at-home pool play…and for tonsssss of other possible activities, as explained by Queen Busy Toddler.
ocean-themed toys for indoor play, saved just for this trip
because part of KK’s daily routine is independent play. so this way, we can still start and end our days at the beach with some independent play. you know, so we can drink coffee and slowly wake up. and it also comes in veryyy handy when there’s bad weather.
so we save some of our ocean/beach-themed toys for our beach trip and our beach trip only. makes the trip even more special we think to have a set of toys that are only for the beach trip. yes, you read that right. the only time of year KK sees these toys are when we’re on our beach trip.
and also, let’s be real. our beach rental has floor to ceiling windows, so a lot of those ocean-themed suction-cup bath toys have a grand old time on those windows.
and remember, we have a Year Round Wishlist for KK - explained more in this post! - and there we will add anything we’d love to have for our beach trip. So, for example, a whole slew of the following toys gifted to us from loved ones.
toys like:
under the sea magnetic play scene
we use these on the fridge, too
we bring zipties and 3m hooks to hang this
jellyfish suction cup stacking toys*
*actually, come to think of it, a lot of these bath toys we don’t even use for the bath - they’re fun all the time. and oftentimes we take them to the beach with us, as sometimes KK isn’t super into sand toys.
we reserved the ocean/sea animals in this for our beach trips, and the others we use in our bath time at home
a summer-y puzzle for me and Brett to do at night
this year we’re bringing this one!
our favorite ocean-themed books
KK has a bookshelf in our den, and there we have a monthly rotation of themed books. given that our beach trip is in August, we make our July bookshelf allllllll about oceans, seas, beaches, etc. It gets us SO excited for our beach trip! We also choose a few to bring with us on our trip.
See our post with a full list of our monthly books here.
We keep a Year-Round Wishlist for KK - see more about that here! - and to there we’ll add books we’d love to receive for KK’s bookshelf.
Our July bookshelf has books like
aaaand I also love love love books from Usborne Books & More - not only is the quality amazing, but KK loves how interactive they are. all the flaps, things to feel, the finger trails, the sounds. Shop the entire UBAM catalogue here! here are my favorite titles for this month:
big book of sea creatures
1000 things under the sea
1001 things to spot in the sea
baby’s very first slide and see under the sea
colorful world: sea
lift and look under the sea
little lift and look under the sea
look inside seas and oceans
my very first seas and oceans book
peek inside the sea
under the sea
lift the flap sharks
1001 things to spot on vacation
see inside oceans
Shop the entire UBAM catalogue here! I super appreciate you shopping through my links since not only do I earn rewards and free books for KK’s bookshelf - YAYYY! - but you’re also supporting my dear friend, Kori.
Kori is the best independent consultant (and the kindest human ever) and was so helpful when I said I wanted to find books on colors, gardening, bugs, etc. she said she’d LOVE creating personalized book recommendations for you and your family - shoot her an email at ks.richter2019@gmail.com!
our favorite swimsuits + accessories
she has three of these and I will cry the day she outgrows this brand. they’re SO good. relatively pricey, but we get daily use out of these so it’s been so worth it.
it does not budge and it keeps her face so shielded. similar to her swimsuits, this thing is relatively pricey, but because we bought it in a color that matches her three swimsuits, she wears it almost every day and it has gotten serious mileage.
great big canvas bags
i actually have both this one and this one. both monogrammed, both extra large, both zippered, both extra long handles, both amazing. the llbean one withholds its structure, the lands end one is pretty floppy - both versions come in handy for various things.
and upgrading to these bags was definitely overdue, as up until now the only pool/beach bag I’ve had was a tiny, wicker thing with the words, “siesta! fiesta! tequila!” on the sides.
my go-to, flattering cover-up
I bought this in one size bigger (in both white and navy) and I love love love it as my go-to swim coverup. it’s SO darn flattering and comfortable.
sun shirts + rash guards + fishing shirts
for the pool, for the farmer’s market, for our annual beach trip, for fishing, whatever. we have a whole slew. basically anything that protects us from the sun, but doesn’t feel like wearing a sweatshirt in August.
i love these with all my heart - while technically a mens shirt, I love the oversized fit (and the good colors).
on the flip side, THIS IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE rashguard + sun shirt. I wear it in the pool, at the beach, on walks, whatever. right now I love wearing it with shorts as an outfit for running errands or hanging out. so freaking flattering.
brett loves long sleeved and short sleeved fishing shirts - magellan and columbia. and I love borrowing them.
I also love the UPF clothing from our university coop, Lands End, and Lily Pulitzer.
my favorite pool + beach shoes
this pair of birkenstocks. i have three colors.
good baseball hats to tame my hair
i believe you can never have too many. usually one can be found in my easter basket
this year I got one for my swimteam and this airport code hat.
in the past I’ve also gotten hats for our university, hats from places we’ve been, and a few Lilly Pulitzer hats. i also love looking for baseball hats on Etsy.
sunglasses
these. always and forever. since they’re so inexpensive, I have three or four pairs and keep them everywhere: the car, my purse, brett’s car, the pool bag, the stroller, the wagon. EVERYWHERE.
my favorite swimsuits
i love a good tankini. always have, always will. prebaby, I did the whole bikini thing, but now I’m ELATED to give myself permission to return to the tankinis. being a swimmer, I’m just naturally very active in the water, and I like that tankinis are more geared towards that. and the fact that I don’t have to worry about anything popping out while running after KK is an added bonus.
I love that a tankini means I can mix and match - I have a few neutral-colored tankini tops (mainly blacks and navys) in athletic cuts, and a whole slew of different bottoms in fun colors and patterns - all from different stores. below are some of my favorites, but I love anytime I see a fun bottom I like, I grab it and know that it’ll work with any of my neutral-colored tankini tops. easy peasy!
side note: when KK was brand new and I had just been cleared to get in the water, I loved this suit. it was easy to nurse in and the suit was like a comforting hug on my soft postpartum body.
I also love to search “Lilly Pulitzer bikini bottoms” on Poshmark. Such good colors. Take my money.
I think I also have some lingering Old Navy and Target bottoms from prebaby Haley that’ll also work with my tankini tops, but I couldn’t link those here. But some of those prebaby suits had to go. Like, no ma’am, prebaby Haley, NO MA’AM.
our storage system for beach things
we have four big ol tubs, each labeled Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. in these boxes, we store anything seasonally-specific that we may need during that season and that season only. consider it a big dumping ground of random seasonal things. like, to give you a better idea, here’s our Fall box and here’s our Winter box.
having these boxes serves as a nice seasonal landing pad for me - I know where everything is for the upcoming season and everything has a place. even if their place is just a fall-themed box in the garage.
in our Summer box, I have things like our beach toys, KK’s reusable birthday crown (her birthday is June 3rd), a garland we use to celebrate our family’s birthday (aka our wedding anniversary, June 24th), etc.
let’s be real, our Summer box is mainly our Beach box. so it’s nice that when it comes time to pack for the beach, I mainly just dump out the Summer box and off we go.
as always, this is just a list of things that work for us.
as we discover new favorites, the list will be updated.
you do whatever works for you.
happy beach-ing, y’all!
and, in the meantime, come say hi on instagram! there i’m always sharing our favorite systems, our favorite routines, and our - most importantly - our favorite dinners.
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