Mom Bag Essentials for Summer Fun |

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Summer is a season of spontaneity + on-the-go fun. Friends may pop up with an unexpected invite to the pool, beach, or local water park.

If you’re a busy mom of kids who doesn’t want to miss the action, it can definitely benefit you + your family if you get organized!

I always have these 10 mom bag essentials for summer fun stocked at all times.

What Are My 10 Mom Bag Essentials For Summer Fun?

I am glad you asked. These are the items you want to keep in your bag of tricks 🙂

#1 Swim Gear

Since you never know when an impromptu swim time or water play opportunity may present itself, keep one swimsuit per family member in your bag.

#2 Sun Protection

Always, always, always have sunscreen in your bag.

A clean sunscreen with a high SPF (sun protection factor) protects skin from the harmful rays of the sun.

Brimmed hats such as baseball caps, fishing hats + bonnets for babies will all help to shield tender skin from UV rays that cause sunburn + can lead to skin cancer.

#3 Extra Clothes

Afternoons spent at the beach, unexpected dinner invites after a day at the pool, meet-ups at the park post-swim lesson (+ just the yuck your kids tend to get all over them throughout the day) are all good reasons to bring an extra change of clothes for kids when out + about in the summertime.

Hey, Mama, don’t forget to drop your own bathing suit, cover-up + an extra set of clothes to make a quick change into dry clothing + move on with the fun without skipping a beat.

#4 Summer Footwear

Typical summer footwear includes flip-flops for the beach, pool, camping showers + just hanging around on a hot day.

You may also want sneakers with socks so that kids can play sports. Water shoes, too, are another good addition to your mom bag essentials.

Since all of these shoes can really weigh down the bag you carry, you can also store a bag of shoes in your car so they are handy if you need them.

#5 Small Toys + Books

Younger children may require toys, games, books + activities to occupy them on long or long-ish car trips, or during down-time on a day at the beach, in the park, or on summer vacation.

Items you can keep in your mom bag:

Books
Deck of playing cards
Small games
Crossword puzzles
Mad Libs
Coloring books
Sticker books

Change out the activities periodically to keep things fresh + interesting.

#6 Snacks

No mom bag would be complete without kid-friendly snacks.

Popular favorites that you can throw + keep in your bag include wrapped + sealed snacks such as:

Crackers
Chips
Cookies
Graham crackers
Cheese-and-cracker packs
Peanut butter-and-cracker packs
Dried fruits such as raisins
Chewy fruit snacks
Granola bars
Cereal-and-fruit bars

If you’re stocking your bag for the day you can include items such as:

Sliced fruit
Cheese
Cut veggies

A smart solution for perishables such as watermelon chunks, carrot sticks, celery sticks, berries + other fresh produce is to purchase a reusable vinyl “food bag” that you can drop into your mom bag before you head out with the kids each day.

#7 Drinks

Along with snacks, another mom bag essential is drinks.

#8 Bug Repellent

You’re also going to include some bug spray as part of your mom bag essentials.

For moms who prefer safer, environmentally friendly products, there are a growing number of chemical-free choices in insect repellent.

You can find essential oil + Neem-oil based options you can put in a take-along spray bottle, or as an oil that you can apply directly to the skin.

You can even mix your own insect repellent at home using:

Clove oil
Peppermint oil
Lemongrass oil +/or citronella or rose geranium

There are also stretchy bracelets that come wrapped in sealed plastic packaging, which have been soaked in an essential-oil based mixture. Pop a few of these in your mom bag on your way out for the day.

#9 Plastic/Wet Bag

Keep one or more plastic bags or a wet bag in your mom bag.

Use them to store wet bathing suits + towels while traveling home from the seashore, lake, or pool. A plastic bag comes in handy to dispose of trash, such as food wrappers from the kids’ snacks.

#10 Hair Ties + Small Brush

With three girls, I also keep a supply of hair ties + a small brush in my mom bag. Perfect for pulling hair into ponytails for swimming + brushing out the snarls from wet hair before it dries into a matted mess.

If all of this sounds like too much to fit into one tote bag to lug around all summer, don’t worry.

You can stow away items in your trunk + swap them in + out of your mom bag, as needed.