Holiday Essentials!

Tis the season to get sunburnt! Yes it's summer time and this means it's holiday season so I thought it'd be a great time to do a summer holiday essentials post! These are the things that I think are essential when going on holiday and ensure that your holiday is as best it can be!








When we get into summer we (supposedly) get to see something we don't see here in England very much... SUN! With this elusive thing popping out for a while, sunglasses are essential in making sure that your eyes aren't damaged by the UV rays from the sun and- if you're like me- help avoid headaches from squinting too much! Sunglasses are a great accessory too and can really add to a look if the right ones for your face are chosen! But be aware! Make sure that your glasses block most of the UV, how much they block is shown by a percentage. Make sure that this percentage is very high to ensure that your eyes are as protected as they can be!


Good beach shoes like flip-flops or sandals are a definite for an outing to the beach! There's nothing worse than coming back to the campsite to find your favourite pair of Converse ruined because they're filled with sand! It's the worst feeling because you end out with sand in your socks and shoes for the rest of the year! So a good pair of open sandals or flip-flops are perfect as you can get them wet in the sea and walk all day on the beach without having to worry how you're going to deal with all the sand later, they just brush off and hey presto, A clean pair of shoes! Flip-flops aren't the most practical for walking in though, so I suggest a pair of sturdy, comfortable (no point in having good looking shoes if you can't walk for a week after wearing them, especially on holiday!) sandals that support your foot and can be brushed off really easily! I got my sandals from Tally Weijl when I went to Germany and they were really cheap! They look really nice with a  dress and they're really comfortable but the sole is a bit thin and you can feel pretty much every pebble underfoot which is the only downside to these shoes!

There's nothing worse than getting burnt on the first day of your holiday and aching for the rest of the time because you couldn't be bothered to put any sun cream on. Believe me I've been there and I have definitely learned from my mistakes! Sun cream is essential for many people and does need to be applied throughout the day on sunny days. It may be windy or cool but this has no effect on the sun and the rays WILL burn you still, sometime even worse as you are unaware how much damage the sun is doing. Again it's a case of the UV rays, these dangerous nasties can cause freckles, dark spots and can lead to skin cancer so it's really important to block them out. But don't stay inside to avoid these risks, the sun influences the body to produce Vitamin D and Serotonin which make you feel happy! So as long as your skin is covered from UV rays then sunlight is actually good for you! As I am very fair skinned I need to wear factor 50+ to stay safe from the sun so make sure you use the right factor to protect yourself!

Following on from that, if you do end up getting sunburnt, after-sun is a very helpful thing to make sure the rest of your holiday isn't ruined! It puts moisture back into the skin and cools down the burning, it's best applied 2 or 3 times during the day to speed up the recovery! I use Lacura's after-sun which is very cheap but still great for cooling and restoring the skin!

If you're going to the beach for a day you will probably end up going in the sea. This means you will need a good towel to dry yourself of with! It's best to have a big beach towel as this way you can also use it to lie on while you relax! You can get all different designs and some are really cool. This picture shows one I have with a kilt design on the front so it looks like you're wearing one! I think it's so funky!






Now, I don't recommend going into the sea or a pool fully clothed, but there are solutions, bikinis and swimsuits! Yes, some people think that because they're in a beach town they can go around in the shops wearing basically nothing but underwear and even though I think this is stupid and undignified, these pieces of clothing are great for sunbathing, swimming and relaxing on the beach! I'm not going to go into any more detail about these though because I'm pretty sure everyone knows what they are! I bought mine recently off Amazon from Ocean Pacific for just under £12 for both pieces!



Relaxing on the beach is great but it can get a bit monotonous if you're just lay there. What can cure this boredom?! A good book that's what! I love going on holiday and lying outside just reading, sometimes I can get through 2 or 3 books per holiday! If you don't read as much then you can just take one but if you tend to be like me then having multiple books in your suitcase or bag can take up quite a bit of space so I recommend a kindle or some other kind of e-reader because it can hold thousands of books but only takes up a tiny bit of space. Even though I think e-readers are ingenious inventions I'm a 'lil old fashioned and still prefer the feel of a good book and the interaction of physically turning the page, but, if you're low on space in your bag then these are great for taking away! I'm really into my vampire books and I love the Sookie Stackhouse novels (the books True Blood is based on!) but the book I'm reading at the moment is 'The Taker' by Alma Katsu and so far it has been really intriguing. I've just finished 'The Carpet People' by Terry Pratchett and I LOVED it! It was such a great story!

A beach game is also really good as just relaxing and reading is a one-person activity and people don't tend to go on holiday on their own, so a good game of Frisbee or Velcro tennis is great fun that can include everyone else on the hol! It gets you active and can help create some great memories... especially if someone ends up falling in the sea!...hehe...







Now, if you end up taking all of this to the beach you will probably need about 6 arms to carry it all! This is why a good, big, sturdy beach bag is great to take! All of these things can be popped into a beach bag and taken anywhere easily. You can get some really good quality bags quite cheaply from places like Primark. Make sure not to take a really expensive bag though too as the same thing could happen with the bag as with the shoes; as soon as sand gets in it it's going to be really hard to get out!

So! Those are all of my holiday essentials and I hope that this has helped you decide on what you should take to the beach! I'll be doing some more summer related posts both on my YouTube channel and on here so keep checking back on both for more! Please take the time to follow my blog and comment and please check out my YouTube channel Darkeowl!