Eco-friendly Beach Toys Portland OR

Currently, W likes to troll the beach for cigarette butts and old potato chips, but I imagine (read: hope), that he will expand his scope beyond litter and actually begin to play. Since we brought him home from the hospital, tiny and wailing in our arms, we’ve been fantasizing about a couple of childhood rights-of-passage: taking him to see the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History and building a massive, complicated sand community—one castle is so passé—at a summer beach outing. Clearly, we’re not there yet—W spent most of a Fourth of July visit to Florida eating handfuls of sand and throwing our flip flips into the water—but I can’t imagine that day is too far off. Right? Right?

When he’s ready to start digging in, these are the beach toys he’ll have by his side:

There’s nothing like a classic bucket and shovel to get you (I mean, your kid) inspired to become a sandy architect. Green Toys’ Sand Play Set ($15.78 on Amazon) revamps the classic with a super cool bucket, shovel, rake and castle mold made entirely from recycled plastic milk containers. This set get points from me not only for its environmental awareness, but also because it looks good in action. I’m not ashamed to admit that I want my beach toys to look sharp, to become one with the aesthetic experience that is my beach field trip. These toys are light green and blue—a welcome break from the primary color assault that is the average toy store—and the tools are a minimalist shade of brown. Simplicity is chic.

Imagining the ultimate sand community is one thing, but having the means to transport all that sand is another. Everyone knows that you can’t build a sand building next to the water or all of the sand inhabitants will lose their homes as soon as the tide comes in. Sprig Toys Hollow DuneBug’s Sand Truck Playset ($17.99 Amazon) comes with a roomy dump truck equipped with a bucket, shovel and r...