Summer’s a comin’ in less than a week, and I think I’m FINALLY ready
for it before it’s here. It took awhile to figure out what we would
need during the summer, and I’d love to share some of my finds.
1. Sunblock/Sunscreen:
I’m one of those people who have to go on the hunt for the perfect product, and I think I’ve found some great ones. I really like the Kiss My Face brand of sunscreen. A friend recommended it, and I don’t think I’ll buy any other until I find better. I absolutely LOVE the Face Factor sunscreen for the face and neck. I’ve been wearing it under my makeup lately, and it’s actually improved the quality of my skin. It’s not greasy at all, and it absorbs very quickly into the skin. I also like the Hot Spots stick for the face for the kids as it’s made from organic ingredients. I recently bought this for my nephew who has a sensitivity to products in some sunscreens. The Sun Spray Oil is a bit greasy when you put it on, but once it gets absorbed it doesn’t feel greasy. It sprays really evenly into a fine mist which makes it easy to spread all over.
2. Hats:
My favorite brand of hats is Hanna Andersson. I pick some up during their 50%+ off sales, and they’re some of the cutest hats around. I love the quality of their stuff, plus they have a very high resale value so if I decided to rehome them after the kids are done, they will still bring me at least 50% of its retail value as long as they’re in excellent condition. www.hannaandersson.com.
3. Swimsuits:
We usually end up buying new ones every season so we just buy the ones on sale at Old Navy, BabyGap or Target. For girls, we’ve found really cute Disney ones at Costco. They usually come with a matching terry cover up. Remember to wash the suits with fresh water to get the chlorine off, or it will eat away at the elastic and make it crunchy.
4. Bag for the pool or beach:
You can use any ol’ bag to take to the beach or the pool, but we’ve found some to be great. We have a Salt Water Canvas bag that’s made of really heavy mesh canvas. It has holes so you can shake the sand out of the bag. There are a lot of pockets on the outside to organize your things, and a leash where you can hang your keys. You can find them at www.saltwatercanvas.com. The whale is a huge bag for 3+ people’s things, and the dolphin’s for 2+ people. They have a sale going on for June: www.saltwatercanvas.com
Another bag that I use is the huge shopper tote by Lesportsac Artist In Residence edition. It’s got plastic zippers, and the bag is washable. It’s plenty big to put in lots of towels, food, and beach toys. If your bag smells like camp fire, just throw it in the wash.
5. Shoes:
Crocs are one of my favorites, but I also love Old Navy flip flops for women. Look for the kind that says “Made In Brazil” on the bottom. I was told the same company also make the expensive Havaianas. The ones made in China are not as good. I find them to be less expensive than Havaianas, which makes it really fun to buy all different colors to coordinate with your summer outfits. For the kids, Stride Rite water shoes are great since they can also wear them in the water and the Velcro closure makes it easy to put on and off. They usually have sales at the corporate stores.
6. Wetbags or small organizer bags:
I find these indispensible for summertime. We put clean clothes in the wetbags or organizers like the Ju-Ju-Be BeQuick bags, and when they need to be changed, just switch them out with the clean clothes and dump the wet clothes in the wetbags. We carry cute wetbags in our webstore at www.3treedesign.com. You can find the BeQuick bags at www.shopjujube.com or your local specialty baby store.
Hope this was helpful in getting you prepped for summertime!
*I have no affiliation with any of the companies (except for the wetbags I sell at my store) that I’ve reviewed here nor have I received any product in exchange for the reviews.
-Michelle S.
1. Sunblock/Sunscreen:
I’m one of those people who have to go on the hunt for the perfect product, and I think I’ve found some great ones. I really like the Kiss My Face brand of sunscreen. A friend recommended it, and I don’t think I’ll buy any other until I find better. I absolutely LOVE the Face Factor sunscreen for the face and neck. I’ve been wearing it under my makeup lately, and it’s actually improved the quality of my skin. It’s not greasy at all, and it absorbs very quickly into the skin. I also like the Hot Spots stick for the face for the kids as it’s made from organic ingredients. I recently bought this for my nephew who has a sensitivity to products in some sunscreens. The Sun Spray Oil is a bit greasy when you put it on, but once it gets absorbed it doesn’t feel greasy. It sprays really evenly into a fine mist which makes it easy to spread all over.
2. Hats:
My favorite brand of hats is Hanna Andersson. I pick some up during their 50%+ off sales, and they’re some of the cutest hats around. I love the quality of their stuff, plus they have a very high resale value so if I decided to rehome them after the kids are done, they will still bring me at least 50% of its retail value as long as they’re in excellent condition. www.hannaandersson.com.
3. Swimsuits:
We usually end up buying new ones every season so we just buy the ones on sale at Old Navy, BabyGap or Target. For girls, we’ve found really cute Disney ones at Costco. They usually come with a matching terry cover up. Remember to wash the suits with fresh water to get the chlorine off, or it will eat away at the elastic and make it crunchy.
4. Bag for the pool or beach:
You can use any ol’ bag to take to the beach or the pool, but we’ve found some to be great. We have a Salt Water Canvas bag that’s made of really heavy mesh canvas. It has holes so you can shake the sand out of the bag. There are a lot of pockets on the outside to organize your things, and a leash where you can hang your keys. You can find them at www.saltwatercanvas.com. The whale is a huge bag for 3+ people’s things, and the dolphin’s for 2+ people. They have a sale going on for June: www.saltwatercanvas.com
Another bag that I use is the huge shopper tote by Lesportsac Artist In Residence edition. It’s got plastic zippers, and the bag is washable. It’s plenty big to put in lots of towels, food, and beach toys. If your bag smells like camp fire, just throw it in the wash.
5. Shoes:
Crocs are one of my favorites, but I also love Old Navy flip flops for women. Look for the kind that says “Made In Brazil” on the bottom. I was told the same company also make the expensive Havaianas. The ones made in China are not as good. I find them to be less expensive than Havaianas, which makes it really fun to buy all different colors to coordinate with your summer outfits. For the kids, Stride Rite water shoes are great since they can also wear them in the water and the Velcro closure makes it easy to put on and off. They usually have sales at the corporate stores.
6. Wetbags or small organizer bags:
I find these indispensible for summertime. We put clean clothes in the wetbags or organizers like the Ju-Ju-Be BeQuick bags, and when they need to be changed, just switch them out with the clean clothes and dump the wet clothes in the wetbags. We carry cute wetbags in our webstore at www.3treedesign.com. You can find the BeQuick bags at www.shopjujube.com or your local specialty baby store.
Hope this was helpful in getting you prepped for summertime!
*I have no affiliation with any of the companies (except for the wetbags I sell at my store) that I’ve reviewed here nor have I received any product in exchange for the reviews.
-Michelle S.
Owner & Founder:
www.3treedesign.com | www.greenthumbfabrics.com | www.uhboohbahbaby.com