Looking to have your most epic, easy summer with kids yet? We have some helpful mom hacks for summer you need to know to create and enjoy all the sun-soaked memories.
Enter Summer Mom Hacks, from the mamas here at BabyPage. These summer tips will help take some of the stress out of your summer by enabling you to focus less on the endlessness of summer days and more on the “fun in the sun” goal of summertime. So screenshot or bookmark this page and get ready for the best summer ever.
BabyPage’s Best Mom Hacks for an Awesome Summer
1. Have a summer go-bag always packed.
Your go-bag should be repacked nightly and kept by the door so that you’re always able to head to the pool, a playdate, or the park at a moment’s notice. Once you get your bag the way you like it, keeping it ready to go is a breeze! Your go-bag should include:
- Swimsuits for the family (including you!)
- Towels for the family
- A change of clothes (including undies) for each kid
- Sunscreen,
- Bug spray
- Wipes
- Easy snacks (crackers, fruit snacks, squeezable applesauce)
- Hairbrush
- Diapers (as needed)
When you have a bag ready to go, you won’t have to think twice about getting out the door when the kids are climbing the walls.
2. Keep shower caddies in the car for the kiddos to eat mess-free on the road.
Heading out for the day and grabbing a kids’ meal in the drive-thru so kids can eat while you drive? Grab a shower caddy from the dollar store for each kid and voila- they have a place to keep their food, so it doesn’t end up all over the car floor. Keep the fries and drinks in the smaller slots and use the bigger slot for the entrée. Genius!
3. Use frozen water balloons in lieu of ice to keep drinks and food cold and you’ll (literally!) bring the party.
If you’re headed out to a party or get-together with a cooler full of perishables, freeze a few water balloons to keep everything cold (instead of ice cubes or reusable ice packs). As the ice melts, you’ll have water balloons for an impromptu water balloon fight. So fun!
4. The inexpensive item you never knew you needed for summer fun? Cupcake liners!
Pick some of these up at the store and keep them in the car and on the kitchen counter for a variety of great summer uses. Kids want popsicles? Slide these up the popsicle stick underneath the popsicle to catch drips. Need to dole out snacks to a group? Use cupcake tins! Turn them upside down and place them over drinks so you don’t get bugs in your summer beverages. Foil liners can even be used at the beach for kids to collect seashells and other trinkets in.
5. Leave the sand at the beach with these great tricks.
Use baby powder on legs, feet, and arms to eliminate sand that otherwise sticks to kids and adults. Store beach toys in a mesh pop-up laundry basket so you can give them a good shake-out before heading home. Use a fitted sheet, turned upside down and anchored by your larger items at all four corners, as a spot to relax and keep your sand-free items sand-free.
6. Invest in a small, personal safe for summertime peace of mind.
A small, personal safe is your must-have summer item so you’ll be worry-free with the kids no matter where you are. Your personal safe enables you to lock up your phone, watch, car keys, and slim wallet while you enjoy the beach, water park, or other spots with the kids. This safe fits in your summer go bag and requires a four-digit code to be unlocked, so no stressing about not losing the tiny keys. No more stressing about someone stealing your stuff or trudging across a waterpark to use the on-site lockers. This will be money well spent for summertime fun.
7. Stash a set of pajamas and a toothbrush for each kid in the car.
There will be days, hopefully, a lot of them, where your summer adventures last well into the evening hours and you’re not especially close to home. Having a pair of pajamas and a toothbrush in the car means you can get kids ready for bed before you hit the road home. Then you can transfer groggy kids directly into their beds without having to stir them awake and risk tantrums to enforce bedtime routines.
8. Download the BabyPage app and create beautiful books of your summer adventures.
Don’t keep all of your beautiful summer photos on your phone or only post them to social media just to be forgotten down the line. BabyPage, a free app, will send you prompts to help you remember to upload pictures and turn them into memory books as summer progresses. Create books of summer vacations, day trips or just day-to-day adventures that you can cherish for years to come.
9. Make a fun ice cube scavenger hunt when you need the kids to be busy and happy at home.
Have the kids pick out a bunch of trinkets at the dollar store (or do it for them). Focus on anything small and waterproof, such as mini creatures and figurines, bouncy balls, etc. Then freeze all these trinkets in a huge chunk of ice (think the size of a storage bin!) and add food coloring if you want to. Then set the kids up outside with small hammers so they can chip away at the ice and retrieve the trinkets. Fun and refreshing with a sweet reward at the end!
10. Sunscreen application made easy- use a makeup brush or sponge!
If your kiddos hate when you spread sunscreen all over their faces, or if you feel like you are always missing spots, try using a makeup brush or sponge to apply sunscreen. This makes the application easier, and you are more able to see what spots you’ve missed.
11. No more bugs at your summer BBQ.
Hoping to eat outdoors with family and friends but hate all the bugs that inevitably want to enjoy the meal with you? For a cheap, easy alternative to food covers, try shower caps. They fit snugly over most larger bowls and will prevent unwanted pests from ruining your summer meal.
12. Tired of wet towels everywhere?
Set up an inexpensive coat rack near your pool, porch, or even in the laundry room where kids can easily hang their wet towels. This way they won’t get stinky or worse, moldy, between washes. You can also easily DIY a towel rack with an old pallet and a few coat hooks. The kids can even help you create one that is customized for your family with a little paint and creativity.
Happy Summer, friends!
