There's about a month or so left to get some good beach time before the summer ends. And the best thing about the beach is that you don't need to spend a ton of money to keep kids entertained. The water and the sand are like instant, free toys. And with a few extra items, we made a kid's summer beach tote ready to go with some playful essentials. The best part is…most of these items came from the dollar store so the full kit can be put together with just $5-8 bucks!

We found the visor, drink cooler, sand toys, frisbee, and the amazing neon tote all for $1 each at the dollar store. To make them a little fancier, we used puffy paint to decorate the visor, and washi tape and contact paper to decorate the frisbee and water cooler. And, I know you're about to say…"Joy is there anything you DON'T put contact paper on?!?" The answer is no. But seriously, how much cuter do these pieces look now, and the decorations are water-proof!

We added a little pom pom and one of our "R" Christmas ornaments to personalize the tote for Ruby. This little kit would be super special and fun to make for a gift, too!

p.s. a summer art kit!

{Photos by Casey Brodley and styling by Julia Wester for Oh Joy. All items from the Dollar Store except the sunglasses, sunglass strap, ornament, and beach towel.}