Kids are amazing, and there’s nothing like sharing your favorite vacation destination and making memories with children. Kids are also busy, and whether you’re a first-time parent or a veteran, then you know that your vacation destination needs certain things in order for those new magical memories you imprint to be as pristine as the sand on which you play.
Washer and Dryer
Since we’re already talking about sand, let’s go ahead and address that. Sand is wonderful. Destin’s crystalline sand (made from actually quartz crystals, by the way) is powdery and lovely…but it’s also sand. When combined with salt water, it gets sticky. It adheres to children’s downy flesh like baby powder. It cakes inside of their swimsuits.
Kids (most kids) love sand. They love to roll in it, play with it, make things, throw it…until play time is over. Immediately upon leaving the beach, children (as a general rule) become hysterical to discover they are “dirty” and that they are sandy.
Some children will attempt to strip off their swimwear before making it to the boardwalk shower or the home where you’re staying. (Parents who have taken children of a certain age have likely had a nude, sandy toddler running around on the beach at some point.)
You need the resources to act fast.
Step 1: Remove the sandy garments with discretion (holding up a towel helps).
Step 2: Rinse the child with a shower or hose. Wrap them in a towel, and usher them into a proper bath or shower.
Step 3: Shimmy and rinse out the sandy clothes. Immediately deposit them in the washer and start the load.
Step 4: Pour yourself a refreshing beverage. You are nailing it.
The washer dryer is also invaluable for the many times your child will change clothes or get them wet either due to accident or rain or pool or ocean. Even though you’re on vacation and laundry is likely the bane of your existence at home, the presence of a washer and dryer on vacation when traveling with children is like showing up to find Alice from The Brady Bunch (or Rosie from The Jetsons) eager to make your life as a parent easier.
Things to Play With
Parents plan family vacations to the beach picturing the happy, fun moments that do, of course, happen: the moments when children are building sandcastles or frolicking in the waves or holding hands as you stroll down the beach…the moments when they’re playing Marco Polo in the pool or bobbing around learning to swim. These are wonderful memories that can sometimes lead us to forget the…challenging moments.
If you have multiple children, then you have—at least once—experienced taking your children down to the beach or the pool for the day only to have one of your children, within five minutes of arrival, announce that they are miserable and want to leave. They will remind you of this revelation every few minutes. This is where “things to play with” becomes more the best weapon in your arsenal.
Obviously, you’re not going to pack sand pails and shovels and beach chairs and umbrellas and such in your suitcase, and you don’t want to buy them because then you have to take them. This is why you want to find a beach rental that comes fully stocked with a beach closet full of complimentary beach chairs, boogie board, umbrella, and sand toys for your convenience. These items give your little ones lots of options for making the most of that day on the beach.
Crisis averted. Commence beach reading.
A Golf Cart for Getting Around
Another aspect of traveling with kids is getting them around. It doesn’t matter what age they are; extra people piling in and out of the car takes time. This is why rental properties with golf carts are an absolute gift to parents. Why?
It’s easy to hop in, set the bags in, and go. Zip to the beach. Go eat (never let your kids get hangry). Go shop. Go have adventures…whatever. Golf carts get you where you’re going, and because they’re fast, they easily accommodate every child (okay, and adult’s) attention span and eagerness to see what’s next!
Private Pool Access
While you might be thinking that private pool access sounds like a frivolous amenity to call a necessity, ask yourself to remember how you feel at the end of a long day…or at the beginning of a day where you didn’t get enough sleep.
You being the parent are the MC of entertainment for your kids when on vacation. Enter the private pool. When you’re tired, all you have to do is announce it’s a pool day. Five minutes later, you’re mellowing out in a lounge chair reading page two of that beach read you started on day one of your trip and the kids are having a blast…they have no idea that you’ve phoned it in for a day of the vacay (you deserve to rest).
So, the kids will think the pool is for them, but it’s actually for you. No worries. We won’t tell.
Like we said, vacations with kids are so much. The memories you make are priceless, but there are certain amenities that are vital for making sure everyone has an actual vacation. If you’re traveling with kids and want it to be picture-perfect, then contact us at My Vacation Haven; we’ll help you find exactly what you’re looking for.