Here come a bunch of great ideas, amazing gadgets and a how-to explanation for your kid's next, most amazing sandcastle.
Whether it's a nice sunny day, the next summer vacation, Memorial Day or July 4th - a trip to the beach is always great fun for the whole family. With sand and water in abundance, what could be a better idea than building a sandcastle?
Amazing Inspiration
Building a sandcastle means buckets of fun, so why not make a few with your kids at the beach? All you need are sand, water, sandtoys or simple household items, and some helping hands. To be honest, sandcastles are not just for kids, they are great fun for every parent who is a secret constructor. Here are some ideas on what sandcastles could look like.
Real pros use knives, spatlulas and melon ballers to form windows, archways and stairs.
But simpler constructions with the easy bucket-on-bucket technique or sea shells as decorations have their beauty as well.
This is an example of a very futuristic sandcastle made out of sandy bricks.
Your castle doesn't have to be as big or fancy as these ones - we'll show you some techniques and you decide which ones you'll need to make your castle look just right. But first - let's look at some of the gadgets.
Amazing Gadgets
We all know the basic sand toys like spades, buckets and moulds. Here are a few great, new gadgets for your next trip to the beach that would also make awesome presents for the little ones.
Away with dull shovels, here comes shovel 2.0
Even better: transform your hand into a shovel with this cool gadget.
Every little construction worker needs bricks to start the castle magic.
These special stones won't be just another brick in the wall.
You could also save yourself some time and add whole towers with these moulds.
And after a long day at the construction side, spoil yourself with some home made cupcakes.
Don't forget the ice cream. Today's special: sandiatella and sandberry.
If you and your kids are going for the more individualized drip castles, this might be an interesting tool for you.
How to build the most amazing sandcastle
Form a large mound and pack the sides with the back of your shovel to form walls. In the center, form a little "bowl", add water and jump around until it all seeped into the castle walls to make your sandy stronghold stable and solid. Fill the pond with sand till it's an even plane.
Small buckets or the gadgets above are great for making towers. Just fill them with damp sand to overflowing, level off the sand, turn over in desired spot, and lift. The more sizes of buckets you have, the more varied your towers will be.
Once you have the basic castle shape, use the remaining tools to make the sides straight and add windows, doors, and other details. Be a real pro and use the melon baller to add decorations and dental floss for sharp cuts and straight walls. Since the sand has been tightly packed with water, it will maintain its shape.
Enough with the theory now. Take your family to the beach and make your kids little princesses and princes of your perfect sandcastle. Have fun!