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Every summer it feels like I’m having to buy new crap to survive my family’s weekly beach trips. We live in the San Fernando Valley (a suburb of Los Angeles that reaches highs of 110 degrees Fahrenheit on a regular basis), so there’s a lot of beach trips. The one product not listed here, and it’s a complete oversight is baby powder. Now I know that baby powder has over the years got a bad reputation, but I’m here to tell you that it’s the game-changer. After a long day sprinkle that on your feet and watch the sand effortlessly fall to the floor.

  Below are 3 pieces of advice that will help get
you through any remaining beach trips

Number 1: Don’t do more than you can or want to do.

This starts and ends with getting yourself a wagon that can handle sand. I’m not talking about those Costco wagons with the thin ass wheels. No, I’m talking about a wagon like the one pictured (get it here). It’s lite enough to carry but sturdy enough to hold my shit and not get bogged down in the sand. This also means that my kids need to carry their own things, I’m looking at you sand toys. Beach trips can be cumbersome enough trying to juggle multiple bags, coolers, and toys. A wagon does the work for you.

Number 2: You’re not stronger than the sun, bring your own shade.

The best beach trips are usually defined by exhausted sun-kissed kids passed out in the backseat. There can be a very fine line between sun-kissed and sun-damaged, this is why shade is a must-have for beach trips.

When it comes to shade it really depends on who you’re going with and more importantly how many of them are you responsible for keeping shaded and not burned. When it comes to large groups we generally want to be prepared so we will bring our large pop-up tent that we also use while camping, sporting events, etc.  But as The Boss will point out, sometimes the pop-up is overkill. More often than not, this is true and we can get away with the more preferred personal pop-up (we’ve had a couple, our favorite is here).

Number 3: Invest in multigenerational beach entertainment.

If you’re thinking, “what the hell is multigenerational beach entertainment,” you’re probably not alone. This is just an asshole way of saying, “buy shit you like that your kids will also like”. Personally, I’ve been playing drinking games with my kids as long as they’ve been able to throw a ball or slide a shuffleboard puck. Needless to say I’ve made to sure to incorporate this into our beach trip entertainment, starting with this ladder ball.

The other invaluable learning I can share. DO. NOT. SKIMP ON A SHOVEL. It will make all the difference in your back, speed and depth. We’ve gone through 8, this is the one we’ve used for the past two years.