How to Select Beach Toys

The shore is calling you. You must go, but don't hit the beach without the good stuff. If you are vacationing for a fortnight or just enjoying a day trip, you need beach toys. Learn how to select the good ones.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Keep safety first when choosing a beach toy. Make sure all ocean floats have roping all the way around their perimeters and that all boards are equipped with wrist leashes.

2. Select toys that will give you and the kids a good physical workout while you play. The classics are volleyball sets and the ever-popular Frisbees. Shop for light-up Frisbees for night play on the sand.

3. Choose toys that are lightweight and easily carried to and from the beach. Inflatable toys are a nice choice, as they deflate and fold for easy portability. Another good beach toy is a sand toy set contained in a mesh bag.

4. Educate your family with beach toys designed for learning as well as play. One excellent product is the Beach Aquarium Play Set available from Beachstore.com (see Resources below).

5. Create a masterpiece with your beach toys. Sandcastles have come a long way, with intricate designs and sophisticated equipment for creating extraordinary exhibits. Get started with sand-sculpting products from Sandtools.com (see Resources below).

6. Select general toys particularly suited to the beach atmosphere. Kites are good, as the beach landscape is free from trees and other obstacles. Many types of games are also well suited for the shore, including rope games, beanbag tosses and water-balloon games.

7. Go technical with beach toys for gadget geeks. Look for waterproof cases for your digital-music players, such as the Otterbox for iPods at Otterbox.com (see Resources below). Take underwater pictures with the Pentax OptioWP available from H20camera.com (see Resources below).

Tips & Warnings

• Buy toys that can be used in a variety of games, so you will have less to carry.
• Always consider the swimming ability of the user when choosing a beach toy to play with in the ocean. Avoid anything that might put you or a loved one at risk.

Resources

• Beach Aquarium Play Set
• Sandcastle building supplies
• The Otterbox
• Underwater camera

[momof2]

on 5/28/2008 I bought the Beach Aquarium for my two kids. They loved it. Especially my son who caught so many hermit crabs the first time he used it. Kept him busy all day long.