It’s official WE LOVE SUMMER. We love every single part of summer and since the kids and I are living at the beach for a few months there is a good chance we are never, ever coming back. OK, school starts at the end of August so we’ll be back for that. Otherwise, we would just become beach bums. I’ve already shared with you my favorite beach parenting hacks and sanity savers and was ecstatic to share those hacks on the Today Show. So now I want to share a few things that have become a must for our days at the beach, plus a really fun giveaway. So here are the 5 new things you need for your beach trip.
1. Fine Foutas- Since the kids are spending 90% of their days in the ocean or the pool, we seem to have an endless supply of beach towels,. But this year those towels are simply taking up space in the linen closet because I’ve ditched them all for my first favorite summer product Fine Foutas. Fine Foutas (pronounced “foo-tahs”) are hand woven, 100% organic cotton towels that we’ve been using as a beach and pool towels, wraps, picnic blanket, throw blankets, and even a shawl on a chilly night.
At first I couldn’t imagine how a towel that was so thin could be so useful, but I’m telling you, friends, I’m a complete convert. We took the whole family to a waterpark and everyone else was unsuccessfully shoving big, bulky towels into their beach bags, but all four of our foutas folded up nicely and were perfect towels and coverups on a hot day. I love that they get softer every time they’re washed and they really hold up to the beatings of daily uses. Plus they are so pretty and I’m a sucker for anything pretty. When I told the owner of Fine Foutas that I’m a convert, she offered to give two Fine Foutas to one of my readers! Yay for giveaways!
2. Sunscreen Face Sticks- Before my kids head out the door, I cover them head to toe in sunscreen, but after hours of boogie boarding and cannonballs, that morning sunscreen isn’t enough. So when I can wrestle them out of the water for a quick snack or drink, I cover their faces and shoulders with a sunscreen stick in just a few seconds. No mess, no fighting, and I protect those precious faces. Right now we are using this one from Neutrogena.
3. Catch and Release Beach Aquarium- We’ve acquired roughly a million shovels, buckets, and random sand toys; however, the kids newest toy has trumped them all. The Catch and Release Aquarium is the perfect toy for catching sea creatures, studying them, and then releasing them back to their homes. The aquarium is plastic and floats (this has saved us when a big wave has taken it away) and the screen lid allows anything you have collected to still breathe. I love that we can use this toy at a lake or pond too. You can find the aquariums here.
4. Tailgate Tent- In the beginning of summer, a beach umbrella was just fine for a little bit of shade. However, now that we’re in full swing and heat of summer, sorry umbrella, our tailgate tent just kicked your colorful butt. We put the tent in line with all of the other umbrellas along the water and claim our spot for the day. Our entire family can take a break under the tent and it’s perfect for getting a little extra space when the beach gets crowded. Need one? Find it here.
5. Beach Chair With A Cooler for Your Phone– I’ll admit, even at the beach, I find it hard to disconnect from my phone. And while you can keep the sand out of your phone with a sandwich bag, I learned that if you leave your iPhone in the sun, it will lock until the temperature drops! I had no idea this could even happen. Did you? So this year my beach chair has a smaller cooler on the side that keeps my phone cool and sand-free. Here’s the one I’m using:
Hope you are having a great summer and good luck on the giveaway!
We pretty much spend our entire summers at the beach. As long as we have lots of snacks, drinks, towels and some sunblock – we are good to go.
These are all awesome ideas!!!!
I need some foutas! I’ve never heard of them before, but they look fantastic!
Do you have the brand name or a link for that chair?
These would all be great products for the beach. The sunscreen stick is a must have in our house. I always keep one in my purse.
A sunscreen stick is pure genius! Now we can be sure we’ve got every inch of ourselves covered.
I had not heard of foutas before. I like the pink color the best
The sunscreen stick is awesome. especially for ears, foreheads and along the hairline.
My kids will be heading to the beach with my inlaws next week and we will all be going as a family the week after. I could definitely use some fresh new beach towels as well as a handy solution for my phone.
These are some great ideas! Those Fine Foutas are really cool. Sunscreen is always on my list too.
I used to have a few Foutas and I think my daughter stole them! They are super soft and absorbent.
I must have that chair! MUST.
I would choose yellow–is that an option? 🙂
What a neat idea! I love the turquoise blue color.
Cool list! I never thought of taking our pop up tent with us and in retrospect I don’t know why I wouldn’t have!
This is a great list! I have never seen the foutas but they are really neat! I will have to look into those for our swimming times.
The towels look nice. Great list.
Those foutas are so pretty! I hope to visit the beach before the end of summer.
Such great ideas for the beach. I like them all.
Some great suggestions. The Fine Foutas would be a great gift idea for my hard to buy for sister who travels a lot and enjoys her time at the beach.
pacific blue
The kids and I were at the beach yesterday, having a blast. It makes life so much easier when you’ve got the right gear.
Oh I need to get a few of those foutas. We would put those to use for sure. I don’t have a lot of beach towels. We use them when we swim. My mother in law has a small set of lockers in her garage and she uses those for her beach towel storage. Well, one of them anyway.
We love to go to the beach. I have never thought to get a tailgate tent before. It is a great way to get a good amount of shade. These are all great products.
Love the Orange one. These would be so great for our upcoming beach trip, I hate lugging around a whole bag of bulky towels!
I need that face stick because I hate lotions and sprays. I also need that catch and release aquarium for my son, that’s pretty neat.
We need all of this! I love the beach aquarium and the chair with the phone cooler. Genius!
What a great list! I can’t wait to be able to take my kids to the beach!
Those fine foutas sound perfect instead of heavy thick towels. I always have more than enough sunscreen, can’t be too prepared, right?
I would get purple and green.
I’ve never seen the sunscreen stick, what a great idea for reapplying sunscreen at the beach.
I need one of those!!! The pink looks gorgeous
I would love to try one of the towels!!
Face sticks are a must for this momma! My toddler won’t let us apply sunscreen at all!