Pack These 10 Items For A Fantastic Family Day At The Beach

Are you planning a family day at the beach this summer? Make sure to put these ten essential beach day items on your packing list.

Pack These 10 Items For A Fantastic Family Day At The Beach

(Links in this post are affiliate links. I will be compensated when you make a purchase by clicking those links. See my disclosure page for more information. This post was sponsored by LUNCIA; I have been compensated for the post and received product at no cost to me; however, all opinions expressed are my own.)

1. A Quality Cooler

I am starting with the most essential item on this list. A good quality cooler can make your beach day more economical and less stressful. Having a cooler filled with food and drinks by your side all day long ensures you spend your time enjoying the beach instead of waiting in line for over-priced concession stand food.

A cooler is one of those purchases where the saying “you get what you pay for” is undoubtedly true. Inexpensive coolers tend to have poor seals and subpar insulation. The result is food that doesn’t stay cold as long as you want it to and a big wet mess when the ice melts and leaks out around the opening if the cooler should get knocked over.

A family cooler should be seen as an investment–one that will last you for years and therefore save your family money in the long run.

5 Things To Look For When Purchasing A Cooler For Summer Days At The Beach

Big enough to hold plenty of food and beverages for your family for a day at the beach, but not so big that it is cumbersome to carry to that perfect spot.
An outer pocket for holding things like wipes for sticky fingers.
A shoulder strap to make it easy to carry to your spot on the beach (wheeled coolers are useless in the sand).
A good seal that will keep the cool in and the heat out.
A thick layer of insulation to keep things inside cool.

One cooler that meets all these requirements is the LUNCIA 18L soft-sided cooler.

Large capacity–The interior of this cooler can easily hold enough drinks and food for a day at the beach for most families.

Leak Proof & Water Resistant–No more wet messes to clean up in the car after the cooler tips over when going around a sharp curve or you break suddenly.

Effective Insulation—If you check out the chart on Amazon in the picture section of the description, you will see that the cooler can keep food cool effectively for up to 3 days, depending on the temperature you have it sitting in.

Can Carry More Than Just Your Food–The LUNCIA cooler has hitch bands in the front that you can use to stuff those items the kids keep passing to you, like towels, hats, etc. It also has adjustable straps at the back that you can use to store your beach blanket, leaving your hands free to carry other items. The slim pocket at the back can hold travel wet wipes for sticky finger emergencies.

Can Be Carried 3 Different Ways–You can use the padded handles on top of the cooler to carry it by hand. Need to keep your hands free for little ones? No problem! Use the shoulder strap to carry the cooler. Going on a family bike ride and want to bring the cooler along? Use the coolers buckle stabilizers at the front and back to hitch it to the bike.

2. Cooler Packs

Although you can use ice with little mess in a cooler like this one, you will find it more convenient and economical to purchase cooler packs that you can use over and over again. This will save you from making a stop for ice and over time will be cheaper as the packs can be used over and over.

3. Drinks

Water is a must, but it is also fun to have other items to drink at the beach. One thing to remember, however, is that wasps love sugary drinks so if they are present at the beach, you might want to keep the juice and pop in the bottom of the cooler and enjoy those on the ride home. The LUNCIA cooler has plenty of room for both cooler packs, drinks and any food you might need to keep cool.

4. Wipes

My three children have been out of diapers for well over a decade, and yet I still carry a travel pack of wipes with me in my purse. When we go to the beach, the purse stays behind but not the wipes, as those are a must for wiping off sticky fingers, thankfully the LUNCIA cooler has a back pocket big enough to hold a travel pack of wipes. (The pocket is big enough to hold the wipes and still zip-up, I just pictured them this way for image purposes)

5. Snacks

There is something about a day at the beach that makes little ones more hungry than they usually are, so pack more snacks than you think you will need. I find it handy to divide the snacks up into individual sized portions. Doing so means if a child spills their snack or goes to eat it with sand all over their hands, only one portion gets ruined and not the entire container.

6. Sunscreen

Sunscreen is a must for a beach day that ends well. No one wants to deal with the pain of a sunburn, not to mention the long term risk having one adds to your chances of skin cancer. In our family, we always coat ourselves in sunscreen lotion before we leave the house and then use spray-on sunscreen for easier re-application. I was thrilled to find out that a bottle of sunscreen spray fits securely in the hitch-bands located on the front of the LUNCIA cooler.

7. Shade

Having a shade cover of some sort helps reduce your chances of getting too much sun and ending your day with a case of heat exhaustion. A good quality beach umbrella will give your family a fair amount of shade to seek cover under between dips in the lake or ocean.

8. Towels

Our family bought a set of microfiber, fast drying travel towels and we have been impressed with them. Not only do they dry incredibly fast, but they also don’t hold onto the sand as ordinary beach towels do. Give them a few good shakes when you are done with them, and the sand falls right off. I was happy to see that our towels fit well into the adjustable straps on the back of the LUNCIA cooler. You could also store your beach umbrella here.

With the million things you need to carry from the car to the beach area, having one more thing attached to the cooler is such a bonus!

9. Blanket Or Chairs

In our family, mom and dad get a beach chair and the kids get a big beach blanket (moving blankets work well for this). Of course, it is a matter of personal preference. But our 40 plus-year-old backs prefer some support; however, when the kids were younger, we had little time to sit since we were so busy keeping an eye on them that we just opted for a large blanket to eat on and claim our spot on the beach.

10. Beach Toys

If your kids are little, bringing along a few beach toys will keep them occupied in one place longer. They don’t have to be anything fancy–a simple shovel and pail is all you need. For older kids who are skilled swimmers, snorkel sets are great.

With the LUNCIA cooler, you don’t have to worry about how to carry those beach toys along with everything else you are packing for your summer beach day. Place the toys in a net bag so that water and sand can fall off them on the way to the car when the day is done, and use a carabiner to attach the bag’s handle to the hitch bands at the front of the cooler–now you have one less thing to carry in your hands!

This list of 10 items for a family beach day is of course not all inclusive. For instance, children who can’t swim are going to need you to bring along a floatation device of some sort to keep them safe. You will need to add things to the list according to your family’s unique needs. However, this packing list is an excellent starting point for making sure you have the essentials for a fabulous family day at the beach. Start with a great cooler and continue packing for your summer beach adventure from there.

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