Beach toys

[naomi's mama]

We will be going on a cruise and will spend a few days at the beach. Yay! We live in the pacific nw and have beaches but rarely go since its always so cold. I'd like to get the kids, ages 3 and 6, some fun transportable beach toys. Thoughts?

[AzulMariposa]

I discovered less is more. We went last year, and the biggest hits were the wakeboards. I hit up the dollar spot at target before we left though, and we had a basic sandcastle making kit, a couple cheap kites, and scetchbooks. Each day we took a different beach activity in the morning, and then wakeboards always came with us in the evening. My niece and nephew didnt carry the sketchbooks around but my older two have some beautiful beach sketches.

[Icryinbaseball]

We found a sandcastle kit at Costco that we keep in the van because even though it is winter we wind up at the beach often just walking around or having a picnic.

[WVflipflopmama]

We usually go to the beach twice a year. We've found that less is more. There are so many exciting things to do at the beach, my kids love to play in the sand and surf. We usually give them each a small mesh bag ( think lingerie bag for laundry) to collect shells or treasures in. I get the bags 4 for $1 at the dollar tree and they work well because all the sand falls out and when not in use they easily fold up to fit in my pocket. We also take a small net to "catch" things in the surf. The kids can spend hours doing this sifting through shells and rocks etc.

[naomi's mama]

Good ideas, esp. the nets and bags for rocks/shells! Keep the ideas coming!