Summer Guide: amazing gear for the great outdoors
June 01, 2016
Heading outdoors... be it the beach, pool or any sort of land of water for any family, or heck, any person, is usually a task that involves lots of stuff. Mix in some big kids and a baby and I fear I'll need half my house! Trying to keep items to the bare minimum, here are some top gear picks .
Sun/wind protection:
Sport Brella - My nephews play a lot of sports and my sister has spent endless hours cheering them on - in all types of weather. Cold. Hot. Rainy. Windy. A few years back she purchased a Sport Brella and now can enjoy her cheering sessions a little more. I love that this isn't just a cold weather piece or a beach piece. This gear can get you through all 4 seasons. A great beach (or even a picnic in the park) pick!
Baby off the sand protection:
Not having to deal with a baby + sand has been pretty easy for me. Since my older two are close in age we had a summer or two where we just avoided the beach for the most part. Then, magically they were both at an age where they stopped eating the sand and could carry their own stuff! Magical.
But now, I'm sure they will want to hit the beach and I'll have to figure out how and where to put the baby so she doesn't munch on some sand while I try to keep her out of the sun. I recently went to a baby show and saw this cool chair by Little Partners (of learning tower fame!). The
GoTo 2 in 1 chair can both hold an infant car seat then it becomes and awesome travel high chair. I love multi use pieces of gear!
Similar to a camp chair - it folds up quickly, has a carrying bag, and sand will easily brush off. A great place to park a babe at the beach (and then hit a restaurant for dinner!)
Getting your stuff to the beach/pool/lake ....
Toys, towels, sunscreen, hats, snacks...... An endless list of items that you plan to bring. I am obsessed with bags from Baggu. They are lightweight - so they dry quickly if they get wet, they are easy to brush sand off, and great for kids to help carry because there is no added weight of a bag. Plus, they come in super cute prints. I love the 'big Baggu' for all my stuff.
Last summer as a family of 4 one bag fit towels and extras for all of us. I think we should be able to easily add another towel this year. ;)
Getting your gear there.....
Living in NYC space is always an issue. And even if I lived in a huge house with a garage, no one likes clutter or bulky items. I dream of a wagon. One that I love is the
Quest Folding Utility Sports Wagon. Hands down the number one reason I love it is because it folds. And for sure number two has got to be that it comes in a bunch of cool colors!
A cute, compact way to get your gear to the beach or picnic or even a day at a park. For let's be real if you are a city mom you live outdoors once the weather warms. And when not in use, you can easily fold up and store in a closet.
By Erica
It's official Summer is here which means school is almost out. In the next week we will be sharing posts for our Summer Guide. We broke it down this year and will share in individual posts then gather them all together in one click so you can revisit our (hopefully) helpful information. See Monday's post on summer shoes.
