A Beach Trip With Only The Essentials
I can hardly claim to be a minimalist, but I do detest excess and clutter quite a bit. Growing up, my mother was quite the opposite. Whenever I would clean my room, I would want to get rid of things - she wanted to hold on to them. She is not a hoarder (she’s pretty tidy) but has always had difficulty getting rid of things and traveling lightly. Moving from apartment to apartment with her level of disorganization was a nightmare. Thankfully, I am now an adult and can make my own rules.
The fact that Summer is coming soon reminds me of one part of my childhood that could have been great but was mostly a huge hassle for me - beach trips. Living in Central Florida, we were always within 1-2 hours of a beach. We didn’t go to the beach super often, but we went enough times to make me hate going to the beach with my family. Family beach trips meant packing enough stuff to travel abroad for a week, lugging around huge coolers, having to prepare a truckload of food to bring with us (god forbid we just eat before leaving, and again when we got back), and trekking through the sand to bring everything to a good spot on the beach. Recalling these beach trips is giving me anxiety as we speak. The worst part was the end of the day when we were so exhausted but had to bring all that stuff back into the car. Even worse, when we got home half-asleep, and had to bring everything inside the house. I am never doing that again.
As a teenager and into my 20s, I started taking much shorter and less complicated beach trips with my friends. We would literally bring a towel and maybe a water bottle, and we would only stay for like, two hours max. Compared to the stressful beach trips of my childhood, this was heaven. But it couldn’t last forever, of course.
Now, as a 30-something with a toddler, beach trips cannot be minimal anymore. My little sugar plum needs much more than just a towel and some water to keep her safe, warm, and hydrated. However, I refuse to adopt my family’s tradition of bringing everything in our home to the beach. So, I’ve had to brainstorm how to take a beach trip with enough stuff for little kids, but no excess. It was a little tricky, but I think I’ve got it.
Here are the bare minimum essential items to bring to the beach if you have small child(ren):
Beach towels (one per person) - unfortunately, we can’t really get around this one if we want to stay warm after getting out of the water and keep the car relatively dry when we head out.
SUNBLOCK - the single most important item, in my opinion. If I could only bring one item, I would bring SPF 50 sunblock. Both my daughter and I burn up rather easily, so sunblock is non-negotiable for any outdoor activity. Don’t forget to re-apply every 1-2 hours.
A large flat bedsheet to put on the sand - if I didn’t have a toddler, I’d skip this one, to be honest.
A few bottles of water. Maybe a bottle of Gatorade/Powerade, too, in case anyone needs an electrolyte boost. If you have huge reusable, insulated water bottles like we do, even better.
1-2 snacks for the bab(ies)/toddler(s). The idea is to eat a full meal before leaving for the beach, let the little ones have 1-2 snacks while at the beach, and then have a full meal again once you’re home. Packing up full meals to take to the beach isn’t worth it, I’m telling you. And realistically, little kids rarely want to stop and eat anyway if they’re outside having fun near a body of water.
Depending on your budget and how much you’re willing to spend, you can also eat at a restaurant near/at the beach. This would save a ton of time and would give you a break from preparing/cooking food. As a teenager, we would typically hit the beach and then hit Taco Bell on the way home. It worked out great.
As for the kids’ snacks, I would recommend against bringing any items that would need to be kept cool or be reheated. Snack puffs, cookies, crackers, etc. would all keep your little one satiated for a little while.
Any baby/toddler supplies that you need - sun hat, swim diapers, floaties, little sunglasses, water shoes, etc.
…and that’s it. I can’t think of anything else that is non-negotiable. Overall, we would still be bringing a few things with us, but we would be able to fit everything into two backpacks, probably (one for me to carry, one for my partner to carry). The only thing the kids would have to carry with them is a good attitude (lol). We would not stay all day, either. 2-4 hours of the beach is more than enough for everyone. Of course, when Bebe gets older and doesn’t want to leave any body of water, I might be eating my words.
I would not consider an umbrella to be non-negotiable but I do think it would be useful to have, especially to shield little ones from the sun. I would recommend renting one at the beach if your budget permits. If an umbrella seems like too much, then sunblock, a sun hat, and eye protection should be enough to shield little ones for a few hours. If you’re planning to make it an all-day trip, then maybe get the umbrella. It’s up to you.
You could also bring a few beach toys with you, too, if you have the space for them. A small bucket and shovel probably won’t ruin your whole beach trip. However, if you skip the beach toys, there are still tons of ways for little ones to play with sand and water (and with each other if you have multiple), so I wouldn’t stress it.
Overall, the memories and quality time you’ll get from taking a trip to the beach with your family are worth much more than the items you will bring with you.
XOXO, Alexis.