"Trick or treat, Stinky Feet, Give me something good to eat!"

This phrase will be announced joyfully by kids across the country this coming Halloween night as it has for generations.   But before your ghosts and goblins head out to trick or treat this year, parents  keep in mind these trick or treating safety tips to make sure the only howls are those of fun.  At Anything Joe's we love this time of year and wanted to pass

Trick or treating safety tips for Kids:

Halloween Costumes: 
Allow your kids the chance to be creative or in control of choosing their new "alter ego".  This is a wonderful time of self expression and imagination.  With this in mind here are some costuming tips.

• Your children should carry or wear something lit, such as a fun flashlight, glow bracelet or necklace, or flashing attire for visibility. The popular Light-up shoes are also practical, and easy to see on a dark Halloween night.
• Fancy shoes, while cute as part of their costume, kids planning to go trick or treat should wear sturdy shoes and not the princess high-heel or other types of shoes often shown with costumes. Save those for the costume parties or contests and not trick or treating. Their feet--and most likely you who may end up carrying either the shoes or the child--will be thankful.
• Avoid costumes that drag on the ground. While cute initially, costumes that drag can trip up little feet, get caught on bushes, and create a tussle that sometimes results in the child wanting to remove the costume. Remember, kids who trick or treat want to be costumed AND comfortable.
• Since you will be out for a while, pick costumes that are bathroom-friendly. On this same subject, parents should pre-plan a bathroom stop along the way (a friends' house will do and is a good time for a water break as well), or at a public facility if driving.
• Be sure a child's mask allows them to see and breathe.  SuperHero or Monster masks often have small eye slits and nothing for the nose or mouth. Parents should try on masks for size and not hesitate to cut out larger openings for a trick or treater's comfort. If possible, find a mask that "breathes" and is easy to put on and off. The types of mask that easily can slide up on the head and then pulled down are best.  If it is too hot, the child will not make the entire route with their mask on!
• Only carry flexible extras, such as wands, knives, swords, ninja items, etc., that can't cause injury if a kid accidentally falls or have them strapped on as part of the costume. No play prop should resemble the real item as some folks do not like seeing small children carry these items; and trick or treating should be a fun and positive experience for everyone.
• Be weather aware.  Be sure your child doesn't  get over-heated or overly thirsty.  Don't have your child dress in an adorable lions costume with heavy fur and hood if you live in Southern states where temperatures could still be in the 80s in the evening; by the same token, a fairy costume might be impractical for a cold northern evening. Be one of those creative parents who accessorizes jackets or thinks "cool comfort" for their kids.
• Think "practical" over "cute" when picking a trick or treat goody bag or container. Some of seemingly-fun ones sold in stores are heavy--before any treats are added; others are too long and will drag the ground or have sharp edges that could scrape against tender skin. We offer our rope handle Trick or Treat buckets and cloth Trick or Treat Totes that can be personalized that are lightweight, but hold LOTS OF CANDY!
• Choosing a Trick or Treat Route:
• Today, many schools have their own Trick or Treat night, as do malls, shopping centers, churches and private neighborhoods or civic clubs to make this easy.  First see if there is an event you can plug into.
• Plan out  your route in advance and check it during the daylight for obstacles that could trip up trick or trickers. Trick or treat in familiar neighborhoods or areas.  Check with area malls and shopping centers as these have become great places to trick or treat and they may also have Costume Contests and events in conjunction with the Trick or Treat schedule.
• Trick or treaters should walk, not run, and should never cut across lawns or driveways. Obstacles could exist that aren't readily visible in the evening.
• Only trick or treat at houses that are lit. Residents who do not wish to be bothered by trick or treaters often leave off their lights as a sign; respect their preference by only going to houses that are lit.
•  Keep track of time and don't trick or treat after 9 p.m. (general recommendation). That allows ample time for children to trick or treat, and by then, the excitement of the evening and the candy/treats means little ghouls will be tired, anyhow.

See all of our Halloween and Trick or Treat Ideas!

Every couple of years there is a new craze that hits the streets with kids.  The latest is the current Silly Bandz craze.    It started fall of 2009, escalated into 2010 and is still going strong. 

What you may ask are Silly Bandz??  Nothing more than colored rubber bands, worn as bracelets.  The neat feature is that they are pre-shaped into everything ranging from simple animal shapes to cars, princesses even college and team logos!

They originally were solid colors, but now are found in Jelly translucent, glitter, tie dye, glow in the dark and scented.   They have expanded their size and are now also available as rings.  The newest development are necklaces so you can wear your entire collection on a string around your neck.

They are generally marketed in packs of twelve ranging in price from $2.99 to $7.99.  There are the collectible varieties such as the college teams and Disney to more generic styles.  But all have value to kids from ages 3 up to 15.  They  are collected, traded, hoarded and cause the most fun parents to cringe.

As you can imagine the are source of concern for teachers as well.  Many now make the kids remove the bands during class.  So what do they do with them while in class?  We have a solution to Silly Bandz Storage:

Our Personalized Silly Bandz Box:  A small plastic box, personalized for silly bandz storage is a great way for kids to keep up with their silly bandz, take them off, throw them into their backpack or locker and put back on after school.  It is also a way to keep up with their collectible silly bandz. 

If the small backpack sized box is not large enough, they can move up next to our Snack Cup that can be painted with the same design or then if that is still not large enough, then try our Pencil Box which should easily hold several hundred.  These will make perfect Stocking Stuffers this upcoming Christmas gift season.

So good luck with your Silly Bandz and let us help you keep them organized.

Trick or Treat?!?!  We are just starting school.  But this is the next holiday that is meaningful and significant for your kids.  Will you be ready??

We have found THE CUTEST personalized Trick or Treat Bags for you this year.  Along with our personalized Trick or Treat bucket, your kids are sure to be ready for loads of Halloween Candy  when the hit the trail in search of  Trick or Treats this year.

While Trick or Treat times vary from city to city, more and more you are seeing malls and business districts become the center for Trick or Treating.  Kids go store to store in the safety of their local malls bringing with them crowds of parents and grandparents who love seeing their kids dress up.  Another fun place for Trick or Treating is at school carnivals and church functions who strive to have a safe place for the kids to enjoy this annual event.

If the crowd comes by your house, be prepared with your own personalized Trick or Treat bowl to pass out candy, but most of all be sure your kids are armed with their personalized Trick or Treat bucket or personalized Trick or Treat Bag.

So don't be afraid, be prepared this year.  Order early and miss the rush!

"My hair is washed, my sneakers squeak, I'm so excited, I can hardly speak!

New things to do, new friends to meet-- Hooray! It's the first day of school!"

Is this how your kids are feeling??  Maybe not, but there is definitely excitement in the air.   First day of school activities include a new classroom, desk assignment, roll call from a new teacher, new subject matter, making new friends and of course sizing up the kids around you....who's got what, who's cute and who's not. 

The school and teachers have prepared you with a list of needed school accessories, trying to make sure everyone is prepared and on equal footing, but you know you want your child to have the edge.   Not only are you concerned with whether their personalized backpack will hold up, but is it cool enough for them to be proud of how they look heading into class?  Don't fool yourself, these things are of great importance to kids of every age from kindergarten right on through High School.

For the parent, first day of school can be very emotional.  Your little one is heading off to begin the next phase of their life.  You are not able to be there to pick them up when they fall or make sure they are understood, you always know just what they mean, but will that new teacher?    Many parents would love to get to know the teacher from the start, but sometimes you are not able to meet them for more than a second and from this chance meeting decide if this person will be the best for your child.  Scary stuff for the first timer, but it will get easier.  You've given your child the tools they need, they know how to interact, they know how to behave (hopefully) and now it's up to them.  Of course, it never hurts to "get to know the teacher" by having a special teacher gift for this person who will become such a big part of their life.

At Anything Joe's we help parents select the bags and accessories they will need for the upcoming school year.  But we also help the parents find items to help build memories.  We have Grade School Memory Books and our First Day at School Frame is one you will cherish for years.

Best of luck to all Mom's and Dad's sending their little ones off to that very first day of school this year.  Remember that we are here to help you with your child's school needs whether it's personalize lunch boxes or personalized backpacks or just hanging on to the first day of school memories.

Creative personalized gifts, the best customer service and dependability pay off big time.  This summer has shown us that thirteen years of putting our customers first is continuing to pay off, even after closing our brick and morter store.

Last January we as Anything Joe's stepped out on a limb and decided not to re-sign our lease at Barefoot Landing, a tourist based shopping center in North Myrtle Beach, SC.  Summers were great, but the long winters with few customers made it impossible to actually feel like we would ever be profitable as a business in this new economy.  That's why when the time came to sign the lease,  we passed.

We felt we could make it on our web site sales and doing a few markets and craft shows.    We are excited to say this is working, but our loyal customers who have purchased from us for years wanted more.  So we compromised and opened a "Showroom" where we process our internet orders and paint our personalized gifts for shipping.  Here they can still touch and feel the products, make a decision, place their order and pick up the following day.

We have been overwhelmed with the response to this showroom and the visitors we are having come in love it .  There are no toys or extra things to distract, just our personalized gifts such as personalized Backpacks, Lunch boxes and school supplies that are a big need this time of year.  We also have on display our personalized piggy banks, personalized Christmas ornaments, personalized room decor and personalized baby gifts.

It has also been a blessing to hear all the comments of when folks began shopping with us for their kids and now are having Grandkids.  How their child's room is decorated with all Anything Joe's or how they have always used Anything Joe's Dance Bagsand are now headed to an audition for "So you think you can Dance!"

If you are one of our long time customers, thanks for the support during this move.  The biggest help you can be is to daily check our our web site and request that your friends do the same.  The more clicks the search engines see, the more obvious our relevance as a Shopping Site and thus our ranking.   Making links to our web site help also, for instance "We recommend Links"  on your Mommy Group page are a huge help.  Include us in your Facebook page. Include us in your Twitter.  We would be very grateful and would love to hear that you had done this.

If you are a new customer or might be a customer one day, we hope we can serve you as we have all of these for the last 14 years.

Please post responses!!

Back to school....dreaded, exciting, feared and anticipated.  The term means different things to all of us.   Back to school means one thing to a kid and another to their parent.  At Anything Joe's this is an important time of year to us...helping parents and their kids find the right school gear.

For the kids, a new grade, new teachers, new friends, new chance to start over each year.  To Moms and Dads it means expenses.  Buying backpacks, lunchbags, fees for teams, clubs and activities.  For many choosing school backpacks and lunch boxes is a summer long process.  It seems to begin the moment school is out for the summer.    Choosing backpacks for school  is an important part of preparing for the upcoming year.   It has to fit with back to school fashions and be durable to last the entire school year.

Since the pricing of school backpacks has increased, more and more Moms and Dads are taking a very close look at the construction and durability factor.  For the boys in the family it is less about find a "cute" bag that stands out and more about a "cool" backpack that will fit in.  For the girls, it is all about "trendy", cute and making a statement, "I'm girly, I'm not girly.  For girls the backpack and school gear is a little more revealing about their personality and maybe wanting to stand out.  For the guys, they just don't want to stand out at all, they just want to be one of the guys.

Here are some important tips when shopping for backpacks.

As a Personalized Gifts for Kids store, we are exposed to every name imaginable and some very unique baby names.   And we certainly enjoy seeing all the varieties that parents can come up with for their Baby Names.    Baby names are a big issue in the process of having a new child.  Some go with family names, some use the name of a favorite entertainer, and of course some name after Grandpa or Grandma.  And some spend weeks and months looking for just  that one unique name.

According to Parents magazine section on Baby Names, Aiden was at the top of the list for  Baby Boy Names  for 2007 - 2009 along with Jacob, Michael, Ethan, Joshua, Daniel, Alexander, William and Matthew.   Baby Girl Names were Isabella, Isabel, Bella has been the top girls name for the last two years followed by Emma, Emily, Sophia, Abigail, Elizabeth and  Chloe.  All classic names that have been around for centuries.  So obviously a name is a way to pass on heritage as well as uniqueness.

If we could spot a trend besides classical names in choosing baby names, it is that parents want a name that will be unique and give their child some individuality 'from the git go'.   Lately we have had many customers choosing the phonetic spellings or changing usual letters to different ones.  For instance choosing  Rel as their daughters name, (but it was pronounced Ariel like the mermaid.)   Another example of this would be changing the name Isaiah to Issaiyah.  Different and individual to be sure. 

While we don't have have favorite baby names we do know that choosing baby boy names or baby girl names will have an impact throughout their lives.  So take your time for this important decision.

As far as keeping the baby names secret until the time of delivery, this can be fun and add some intrigue to the event.  However keep in mind the grandparetns.  It is extremely frustrating to the grandparents ready to lavish gifts upon the next generations brightest star.  It is fun to go ahead and let everyone know so they can bring personalized baby gifts to the shower and you can begin personalizing your nursery and have their little room ready when they return from the hospital.  But the choice is yours.  Secrets are fun too!

Gifts like personalized piggy banks, door signs and canvas artwork are a great way to celebrate the naming of a new baby and making their room their own personalized haven from the very beginning.  It will also help when they begin learning their letters and spelling since the name is usually the first word we teach them to spell and recognize.

Best of luck in your search for the baby names in your family.  We hope to be able to put this carefully chosen name on a personalized gift for them in the future.

Tell us your unique names. we love to see what names you have for us to personalize with!!

We live in beautiful North Myrtle Beach, SC and right now it is about 100 degrees and the water is warm and perfect for afternoon dips and building sandcastles!  If you live at the beach, you know you receive lots of visitors to enjoy your surroundings with you.  We spend lots of time on the beach or by our pool ourselves with nieces, nephews and cousins.  If any are coming to visit, we have a few standard welcome gifts for each of the kids and the adults too.

When not on the beach we are serving our customers who have come to the beach for their vacation.  One of the essential beach items for young kids is their beach bucket.    Sometimes they build with it, sometimes they just dump water with it, but nevertheless, it is a must have.

There are two basic styles offered, the classic bucket with shovel or the more heavy duty Rope Handle Bucket.  They can be painted with any pattern and their name.  You can choose a beachy design or as shown above a pattern like butterflies and flowers that they can then use year round.

For the adults in the crowd a photo album for their beach photos or a cooler would make a great welcome gift for them to return home with.

Last winter, Anything Joe's Personalized Gifts for Kids, made the big decision to close their retail locations in Myrtle Beach, SC to focus on serving customers through their website,  and return to their roots, doing regional craft shows and "market shows" with the Junior Leagues across the south with a few Southern Womens Shows thrown in the mix.

"Closing a brick and mortar retail location with a twelve year history was a big decision, but with the economy soft, we felt it was a great time to take a break from the twelve hour days, seven days a week we had found ourselves trapped into being in the high traffic tourist resort town of Myrtle Beach.  Instead of re-signing our expensive lease option for another five years, we found a great space for our studio with enough room for a 'Showroom' so our loyal customers can still come in person to see the product, what's new and order just as they always have.  We are supplementing our online sales with the summer craft appearances while at the same time, continuing to market our web site, http://www.anythingjoes.com."

At the summer craft shows, more emphasis is placed on "crafty" gifts, so the artists spend extra time painting canvas artwork, bulletin boards and canvas door signs which can be personalized right at the craft show.   Many of the 1000 plus items we feature on the web site are not a fit at craft shows.  At these shows we focus on our hand painted canvas items.

The early spring was filled with at least two weekends a month at Junior League Spring Markets in Louisiana and Alabama and the Southern Shows, Southern Womens Shows took them to Savannah, Raleigh, Charlotte and Nashville.   This summer they are only doing about one large outdoor craft show per month.   Owner, Joe Bushardt says, "I love crafting, it is how I began when I was a teenager and I still love connecting with the people, painting on the spot, seeing kids smile!  But while the outdoor craft shows can a lot of fun, they are taxing due to the long day and heat.  It's worth in though because we also are telling folks about our web site and we always see repeat orders online from an area we have done a show.  It's all a part of building your brand however you can."

Summer shows are as follows:
 June 19      Ridge Peach Festival, Trenton, SC
 July 3-5      NC Fourth of July Festival,  Southport, NC
July 9-10     NC RibFest  Ashville/ Fletcher, NC
July 15-25  Water Festival  Beaufort, SC
August 6-8, 2010 Craftsmen's Classic™ Arts & Crafts Festival Myrtle Beach
August 13-14  Snead's Ferry Shrimp Festival  Snead's Ferry, NC  

The fall will begin another round of Junior League Markets and Holiday Shows in Raleigh, NC, Fayetteville, NC,  Columbia, SC, Florence, SC, Charlotte, NC to name the highlights.  The full fall schedule will be released soon to be available on their website, www.anythingjoes.com

When beginning to form ideas for decorating kids rooms,  you have a couple of issues.  One,  are you decorating for you, to match the flow of your home?  Or two, are you choosing a kids room decor that will suit your child and make them happy.    If you want to be a hero to your child, number two is the way to go!

There are directions available when decorating kids rooms.  You must begin with a theme or art design.  The decor for kids room is as varied as the number of kids in the world.  For boys sports room decor, fireman decor, cowboy, farm, Trains,  Airplane, hunting, surfing, fishing, skateboarding.  For girls, of course you begin with Princess decor, flower and butterfly, ladybug, ballet or dance with polka dots and evolve into groovy, zebra, big bright flowers and stripes or color blocks! 

Begin by letting your child express how they imagine their new room to be and keep them involved as you go by showing them fabric, paint colors and furniture.  Many first time parents decorate the nursery with a theme that is quickly outgrown, but the second go round, you should choose your kids room decor with the idea in mind that they will have to live with this awhile and be able to evolve rather than totally redecorate every other year.

Choose a color palette that can support other themes as they grow.  For young girl's a pastel room with flowers can easily be made to look "older" by adding bright color polka dots and then when in the teens, just paint one wall a bolder color.  Same is true for boys, softer pastels can be updated with stripes or color blocks and posters as they hit the teen years.  An easy way to theme a kids room is with a personalized pillowcase.  We have them with many different themes to suit your child's room.

Probably the most important aspect to your child is to establish to themselves and the world that this is THEIR ROOM.  This is easily done with with personalized gifts.  A perfect finishing touch to decorating kids rooms is the room sign.  A personalized door sign to match their theme will be the first thing they point out to visitors and over eager siblings and don't be surprised to hear, "see this say's Chloe's Room, so you better watch it".  If a door sign is not quite fitting a print or art with their name is another choice. 

As they become older another great way to have a room sign that doesn't hang on the door is a personalized bulletin board.  They are great and will even be a welcome gift for a high school grad, heading off to the first year of college.  Order one with their college name and logo incorporated and it will earn a place of distinction in their college dorm room.  Another hit with college girls are our Minky Dot Pillowcases and Travel Pillow.  So you see your job as decorator is never over.   And when these kids have their own kids, you will still be helping no doubt designing your Princess Grandaughters room!

At Anything Joe's we can work with you on choosing just the right design and items for your child's room.  We hope these ideas have been helpful in getting you started in your finding the best way of decorating kids rooms in your home.

What day is Fathers Day, it is coming soon, June 20, 2010.  And finding just the right gift for Dad on Fathers Day can be a challenge, but well worthwhile if you hit the right buttons!  

Advertisements for unique Fathers Day gifts are a dime a dozen.   In our society of having the ability to basically have anything we want or need, gift buying is getting tough.  It is hard to find a really unique gift in the mass market, even on line.

Kids will create Fathers Day Crafts which are always a big hit and something you will find years from now in the attic and say, "Remember when little Johnny and Lilly made these Fathers Day Gift Baskets and had it filled treasures they had picked up in the yard?!?"  Some Dad's actually save the Fathers Day poems they receive and pull them out around graduations and weddings for a heart felt sentiment and a good laugh.  We all have Fathers Day cards that are especially meaningful and we tuck in the back of our sock drawer if not in a scrapbook.

We think some great personalized Fathers Day Gifts are to be found in our Father's Day Gift Section.  Personalized frames for Dad and Grandpa are especially meaningful.  Every man loves a picture of his crew for his desk or dresser!  We think our pillowcases, for instance the camoflauge or his favorite college team would be special for those Sundays crashed in front of the TV watching the college games.  How about a six pack cooler he can keep in the car or take down to the beach.  Always a big hit is our Popcorn Bowl, we paint and personalize, you fill with his favorite snacks, movies and batteries for his remote and you've just created a unique Fathers Day Gift Basket.  These are just some of our unique Fathers Day Gifts.  To see even more Father's Day Gifts click here.

As our new operation continues to develop, we are looking to see if considering a home party plan direct selling program is of interest to our customers.  We can envision friendly home parties where our loyal customers who love what we do become our first home party consultants.

Our customers have asked us for years to consider shop at home party opportunities.  We are doing one ourselves this weekend in Charleston, SC to see just how this could operate for Anything Joe's.    We will keep you posted, but please post a comment on this blog or click on our Facebook Page to pass on your thoughts!

While we don't profess to be a professional party planners, at our house, my partner and I do throw some great parties.  We've done Moroccan Theme with Belly Dancers, Grammy Night, Dancing with the Stars, Hawaiian Luaua's,  X-Files for the adults and Princess, Easter Egg Hunts / Birthday,  Pool Parties, "Christmas Morning" where everyone had to show up in PJ's and we had pancakes, Mexican Fiestas, Fashion Runway, where you had to make your own outfit with the supplies provided and the list goes on.

BIRTHDAY PARTY PLANNING BASICS

So how do you plan?  The pre-preparation of coming up with the theme is where to start.  For kids, think about their age and what their favorite character, game, activities are.  If they are older than 3 you can let them help come up with the ideas, but younger you may as well just make the decision yourself.

Begin planning your party 4-5 weeks in advance.  Allow time for on-line shopping, cake orders and convincing any friends or family you may want to help. Pick a theme.  Whether it's an elaborate royal kingdom theme,  or something easier, like your child's favorite color, selecting a theme will  help you organize your thoughts.

Children remember what they did at a party, much more than what they 
  ate, what the plates and napkins looked like or whether the house was
  spotless. Don't sweat the little details!

The best party times are......1:00 - 3:00 or 2:00 - 4:00
  You won't need to serve a meal but a few finger foods are advised
  For little ones try 10:00am -11:30 to work around nap time.

BIRTHDAY PARTY INVITATIONS

The Invitation Equation:
Child's age + 1 = happy kids
For children under 8 years old, invite as many children as the child's age plus one. Some parents choose to add 1 or 2 to this equation. Only you can know your limits. Of course, as your child gets much older the formula will need revision.

Obviously this is just a guideline. Before you begin to plan your party think about your limits, strengths and weaknesses as well as the party area available to you.  Also how many folks will be a part of your team.  If it's an outdoor party and you have space in your backyard or at a park, then invite the crowd and make a event to remember, but if you are doing in your den and around the kitchen table, then keep it small and it can be just as special.

Who to Invite

At our parties, especially for the younger children, the adults now expect to stay and be fed.  So we include food for them and let them be entertained by watching the children and visiting among themselves. As your child gets older, invite only your child's closest playmates. They already know each other well which makes the party so much more fun! Think about friends from daycare, school, Sunday school, special relatives and neighbors.  Again up to age 5-6, expect the parents to stay and see what you have for them.  Older than this, they will most likely be glad to drop them off, take a break, run errands and pick them up at a designated time.  You may wish to include this in the invitation.

I don't want to leave anyone out!
This is a common dilemma, especially when your children 
begin to attend school. Try to be discreet by mailing the  invitations. Speak with the teacher about coming in for a brief and simple class party. Bring a small party bag (pencils, stickers, balloon) and treat for every student.

WIN or LOSE PARTY GAMES
No one should go home a loser!   We just attended a party for a five year old.  The parents had rented a bouce/slide tent and then what I thought was a great idea, brought in a "coach" from the school who had a round of "Olympics" set up.  A big circle with an obstacle course.  She talked to them and led them through the course once and then let them "compete" and everyone won a prize! 

Be Prepared!!!
Always have everything ready to place the day before.  Ask a friend , family member or neighbor to help with the party. It's likely you have a neighborhood teenager who would love to help, when offered a few dollars for their time.  Always have more than you think and have extra activities planned just in case the weather changes, or they go through the games too fast. 

Party Favors
In choosing party favors, it's always great if they can go home with a small item that makes them feel special, shows that you know they were coming and were a part of the plan.  Sometimes it can be a piece of art from an activity or prize from the Obstacle Course. 

One of our favorites for any age is a personalized item, such as a glass or placemat or treasure box of goodies that used as their place setting.  You have to have these items anyway, they can use them during the party and then make sure to clean them up to take home.  The birthday child should hand out the favors. This will remind her to say "thank you".

We have a great selection of party favors that can be painted to match your theme.  Cups, placemats, snack cups, beach buckets, all personalized make a useful party item and can become the favor at the end for them to take home.  Look under our Personalized Birthday Party Ideas and Favors to see our choices.  We also have Birthday Shirts for the celebration and Personalized Birthday Flags to greet your guests at the front door.

Have a great celebration on your child's day, and please add your party ideas.....we are always looking for a new one.  There's always a party just around the corner.

Every year we try to find really cute but useful tote bags for Moms and families to use on the beach.  This began when we were just a beach store, but has become one of our best selling items on our website.

To be a great beach bag, it first has to be roomy!  Heading off to spend a few hours on the sand, you never know what you will need to bring, so most folks tend to bring it all.....then it ends up spread out all over the towels, gets sandy, etc. 

Next it has to be easy to get into.  An open tote is the best so everyone can dig around and easily spot the particular item needed. 

While it doesn't have to be waterproof, it sure needs to be made of a material that can get wet and not fall to pieces.  We have several bags with a Nylon Canvas construction that may not be water proof, but dry quickly and are easily cleaned.

Then of course there are coolers and towels and beach buckets.  We have all of these summer gift items, all personalized.  These items also make great graduation gifts for the grad who will be spending most of the summer on the beach before they head off into their new academic career.

Check out our summer gear here:

If you do not see what you like, please add your comment to the blog!