Beach Holidays for Fun in the Sun

Everyone loves beach holidays!  The little ones can dig in the sand and splash in the lapping waves.  The older ones can swim, get a tan, or just relax.  The inquisitive types can explore for sea life, tide pools, and drift wood.  The warm breezes and natural beauty are invigorating and restorative.  Any trip, however, can cause discomfort if you do not plan well.  Here are things you can do to make your beach holidays easier, safer, and more meaningful.

In many parts of the world, people head for their beach holidays in the family car. When planning a trip, it's always a good idea to give the car a good cleaning out first. This will give you more room for your luggage.  Stock you glovebox, too, with a few first aid and comfort items, such as sunblock, acetominiphen for headaches, a roll of antacids, a few cough drops, and a few bandaids.  Don't forget a couple of scrunchies or pony-tailers for long hair. Get the tires checked and replace any that are likely to go flat.  Get an oil change if it's getting close.  Road trips are not much fun when they include breakdowns.  And whatever you do, make sure you have a map and a place to keep it handy.

Travelling with kids is always a challenge.  They may be particularly excited and impatient when they know they are going on beach holidays.  Make sure they have cool water bottles and healthy snacks to munch.  Try a simple car game to make the time pass.  Many kids like looking for letters of the alphabet on signs.  If several people get involved it can be quite fun.

With beach holidays particularly, there is always a need to provide for skin safety.  Be particularly careful about being in the sun for long stretches of time between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.  Use a sunblock with a high SPF rating and replace it after getting wet or drying off with your towel.  The towel you choose can make a difference too.  Thick towels get heavy and tend to trap a lot of sand.  You may find you like thin towels at the beach.  Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes and some sort of foot protection to keep your feet from being burned on the hot sand.

With a little preparation your beach holidays can be enjoyable and problem-free.  When you arrive home you will be relaxed, refreshed, and ready for work. Take a minute to unpack and get your laundry going.  It won't belong until the kids will be shouting, "When can we go on beach holidays again?" 

Dance for Fun

We all have things in life we love to do. Some of these things we love more than others. Dancing is something that many of us, as we age, forget to make the time to enjoy. However, dancing is one of those simple pleasures in life that can also remind us to smile, to play, to spin around until we get dizzy, and most importantly to enjoy the simplicity of having fun without the worry of work, family, or finances getting in the way.

It costs very little in most homes to simply turn the radio on, draw the shades and dance. You can dance with your significant other, your lifelong partner, and even your children. You do not have to worry about anyone watching and if they are watching you should take pity that they are spending their time worrying about what you are doing rather than dancing around and enjoying life to its fullest.

Native Americans had the right idea when it comes to dancing. Let the beat be your guide and simply dance. They danced as a means of worship, to express submission to their gods, to exalt their gods, to display their joy, and as an outward expression of grief. They danced for love and they danced for war. Dancing to them was as natural as walking is to many of us and important means of expressing themselves not only as individual people but also as part of a larger and unified group.

If you have never danced for fun, it's time to check out the various styles of dance and see what appeals to you as a style of dance. There are many types of dance and many different styles of music for those various styles. 

Line Dancing

Line dancing is a style of dancing in which dancers line up and dance together by making the same dance steps at the same time. It has swept not only the nation but is quickly making its way around the world as an excellent source of dancing fun. It's also a great way to socialize and meet new people. While line dancing was primarily limited to country music in the beginning it has quickly made its way into other styles of music as well. Many bars, dance halls, and clubs will offer line dancing lessons on slow business nights in order to encourage extra business. Line dancing can be enjoyed by both men and women.

Square Dancing

This style of dance has a rather long history and has experienced a good degree of evolution over the past couple of decades. While it was once reserved for hoe downs and such square dancing is quickly becoming a hobby for many people across America and a great way to spend an evening and get to know others who share this hobby. This style of dancing is best enjoyed by couples and can be such great fun if you let your hair down a bit while participating.

Belly Dancing

Belly dancing can be enjoyed by men and women though it is most commonly associated with women. Unless you include the appreciation that goes alone with watching rather than participating and in that case the men may actually outnumber the women. Belly dancing is a very exotic and erotic form of dance that is almost always an audience thriller. It may take years to perfect your belly dancing moves and many study this style of dance their entire lives but it is a great physical activity that is a lot of fun.

Dancing for fun is not only the best reason to dance by far, but it is far too often not the reason that people dance. People dance for competition, for exercise, and for many other reasons but not nearly often enough do we make the moves simply for the pleasure of doing so. If I could make one suggestion to everyone reading it is this. Go out and dance for the sheer joy of dancing.