My family just returned from a wonderful vacation in Cape Cod, specifically the town of Wellfleet. Perfect weather and a great location added up to a week full of treasured memories. We stayed in a tiny cottage across from the harbor, just a few rooms with a kitchen. But when you spend most of the time outside, the tightness of the quarters doesn't matter that much. That is, until you bring your sunscreen-covered, sand-encrusted toddler home and realize there is no tub, just a narrow shower. And your toddler hates the shower. Hmm, this should be interesting.
We gave the shower a try the first few days but it was miserable for everyone involved, and for some reason the sprinkler and hose loving girl we knew all summer decided that the hose at this place was no fun at all. So I looked for some type of container to use as an impromptu bath tub and came up empty, until my eyes lit upon our cooler. It was too small for sitting, but we could at least give her a standing sponge bath. It was worth a shot.
Much to our surprise, she loved it, and even more to our surprise, she immediately squeezed herself into a cozy sitting position. Just like that, instant tub. What had been a stressful time for the first two days turned into a relaxing way to end the day for the rest of the trip.
If you've ever had to improvise a tub or anything else to keep the family happy on vacation, let us know in the comments below.
(Images: Richard Popovic)
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Wow you put a smile on my face.
While camping last summer, we used a dishpan for my son. He was ~9 months.
We were at the Cape this summer, too, and the indoor standing shower was no bueno for our 20-month old. For some reason she enjoyed the outdoor shower, though!?
So cute! :) Was there no kitchen sink? The cooler is much... well, cooler, anyway.
Awww, what a cutie ;-) It's been a while since my kids were that small although I do remember lugging the pack-n-play on vacations and them never wanting to sleep in the thing. They always ended-up in our bed and I don't know why we bothered.
Awesome. I wish my kids were still little enough to sit in a cooler. :)
What a little sweetie! Something about sitting in small spaces seems to make wee children happy. Kind of like cats:)
Wellfleet is an amazing place.
How precious!
Having survived vacations with both my own toddlers & g-kids, I have a list of improptu tubs, lol.
beach cottage - I pack beach blanket/beach towels & food for the wk in a decent sized rubbermaid storage container. Instant tub. Bonus: food's gone at the end of the week so it houses damp/dirty towels & clothes on the return trip.
camping: a tiny inflatable toddler/baby pool saved the day (no kitchen to unload the storage container into)
at the lakehouse: a large red kid's wagon on the deck was a big hit w/the wee ones
Hey, where there's a will, there's a way!
:
We are campers, and we carry the toys in a large Rubbermaid Container. When empty, they are the bathtub. Dual purpose!
*impromptu*
There is a photo of me as a toddler having a bath in a lobster pot. It was from a family vacation at a cottage in Maine. It didn't have a bath, but did come equipped with a lobster pot!
she is soooo adorable.
We use our tubtrug for everything: as a baby/childeren's bath, to collect dirty/clean laundry, to put a dripping wet tent in after a rainy camping holiday and to chill drinks in. Both at home and when travelling. It is a pity we cannot get a bigger one: they stopped importing it to the Netherlands.
We just returned from a beach trip with a toddler who hated having sand stuck to her. Her parents (who own the beach house and are there often), started bringing a 5-gallon bucket and she "bathes" in it often on the beach to wash the sand off.
We used the sink at camp and on warm days, at home, we have a big gardening bucket (the flexible plastic type) that the kids like to use.
Hey E From Amsterdam - you might be able to order tubtrugs from the UK at http://www.containerama.com/
Those things are good for EVERYTHING
that is so cute!!!! she is so cute.
we forget how small the little ones are and they happy in a little box of whatever it is.
@SCGOBLE, baby powder repels sand. You can either bring a bottle of it to the beach or fill a sachet with it. Works for grown ups too. (Corn starch too)
@yonella: forgive my ignorance but how does that work????