Speaking of boards, French sporting goods supermarket Decathlon announced in May that sales of surfboards and kayaks at its Ballymun store were the highest of its 1,700 stores worldwide. See? We love a fashion. Here are the things you’ll need to sell your Grandma to get your hands on this summer.

A pizza oven

2021 should be the summer to invite people to your backyard and pretend you own a pizzeria in Naples.

Do you have a barbecue? Great, just like in the 90s. What you really need in June is a wood-fired pizza oven.

We’ve heard of contests between neighbors for the best pizza dough, and we know people ordering wholesale pizza boxes for that authentic restaurant vibe.

Unfortunately, if your Ooni oven isn’t already on order, the chances of getting one for this summer are slim.

Imagine the shame of having to bake pizza in your normal oven. How embarrassing.

Egg chair, Lidl

One of the things we missed the most during lockdowns 1, 2, and 48 was shopping from German retailers, down the center aisle, so when Lidl’s egg chair was considered an essential buy and was put on sale at the end of April, queues formed from 5:30 am. in car parks across the country.

Stock for the chair at € 219.99 was limited, and sadly, as with almost everything this year, many people were disappointed that they didn’t get their hands on a chair and will have to spend their summer in regular chairs.

All garden furniture

At first glance, some great patio furniture is available this summer, but when you get to checkout it turns out it’s actually available for pre-order and will be ready for delivery in October.

Plus, that corner sofa, fire pit, and sun shade sail that you smugly ordered in March got trapped in the queue, behind the ship Ever Given in the Suez Canal, and is , literally, still on the slow boat from China.

Don’t worry, they’ll always arrive in time for Communion, which was postponed to September, anyway – that kid better not grow up by then, because they’ll still be wearing that costume.

Someone to build you a pergola

Do you even live in a three-bedroom semi-detached suburban home if you don’t have a Pinterest-worthy wooden pergola hanging from scalloped lights?

Gerry the Builder can certainly pull a set for you, but it’ll cost five thousand dollars and he can start it up in August.

Jacuzzi

If we can’t go to Portugal for two weeks in August, we will take us to the Algarve.

Long, lazy summer evenings spent in the garden, beer in hand, butt in the hot tub, sounds pretty perfect.

While actual hot tubs are currently quite difficult to get your hands on, there are some excellent inflatables available.

Just be careful not to bust it while you’re at it; you don’t want to have to call Declan down the road to get you out of a semi-deflated hot tub in your soaking wet bikini.

Family vacations

At this point, the only half-decent family rooms available are in the hotels on the Ring Road roundabout.

No sight, no calm, but, look, aren’t you at least out of your home?

If you laugh at people trying to get a hotel room because you always fill the car with sausages and are self-employed, be warned: every chalet, Airbnb, shed, and barn within 10 miles of a coastline is reserved and since February.

Luckily Ireland isn’t that big so if you need to book the last self-catering accommodation in the country and it’s in Laois, it’ll take you less than two hours to get to the seaside and your sandwiches will be fine. barely soggy by the time you get there.

French wine

If you like a bottle of Bordeaux or a glass of chilled Chablis, you better stock up. A late frost has decimated the harvest in parts of France this year and connoisseurs are clearing the shelves before the wine disappears and prices skyrocket.

If you thought this famous Aldi rosé was hard to find last year, you haven’t seen a thing yet.

Children’s pool

Don’t be that person who waits until a heat wave is forecast to try and find a fun kids’ pool.

Be like Fionnuala on the road, who told you about the incredible one she bought on sale in February that has slides and doors and a built-in lifeguard.

You just know she has an electric pump too. She’ll be happy to lend it to you, but is it worth it to give her satisfaction?

Summer camp location

You want your kids to have a fun summer, but you also really want them to get out of the house!

Summer camps have quickly booked this year and you’ll be taking any Covid-19 compliant camp you can get your hands on now.

Folk dance in a forest? Of course, your soccer-obsessed 12-year-old will love it.

Roller skates

As if hospitals weren’t under enough pressure this year, there’s a new roller skating craze.

We are not talking about children here, we are talking about adults, who should know better.

Honestly, if you were on a trend the first time around, you should be forever banned from trying again.

At least we’re still working from home. It’s hard to get one of those starter throws on the bus.

Combination

What goes hand in hand with surfboards and swimming in the sea? Suits, of course, and we’re out of stock.

It’s understandable enough: if you’re going to be doing all your vacation water sports in the frigid Atlantic, you definitely need frostbite protection at the tips!

A quick glance online shows that sizes are limited and if there’s one athletic garment that you want to make sure it fits properly, it’s a jumpsuit.

Remember: too loose is just as bad as too tight when it comes to something that can fill with water!

Baby sitter

Grannies, grandfathers, godparents, aunts, uncles, friends, acquaintances and all the teenage girls you have met will be in high demand for babysitting duties over the coming months.

While it is usually not too difficult to find someone to look after your children so that you can enjoy a night out, this summer everyone is “out” and they have no time. for your darlings.

Look, the bars and restaurants are filling up with retirees delighted that their children have grown up!

Sports equipment

Kettle bells, badminton nets, ping-pong tables, and yoga mats are all hot commodities this summer.

It’s great that we got into home fitness during the pandemic, but if you don’t already have your own gym, you may need to take a HIIT class with two bottles of wine and a bag of flour. .

Luckily, you’ll get that from your pizza making and French grape hoarding!

Dreaming about summer 2022

A few things would make this summer perfect, but it might just be a little out of reach and so will have to move on to next year’s dream board.

We fantasize about a tan – the type you get from a 10-day package vacation eating paella – and drinking cold beer in a busy plaza. We don’t need 10 days. A long weekend with friends or a partner would do the trick, but with little to no babysitting advice and with grandparents out of practice, getting away from it all without the kids might be on the list. from 2022.

We’d also like two days of dancing in a field, and hopefully, by the time it all opens up, a savvy music promoter has created a new festival for people in their 40s who want to relive Witnness, even Féile.

Comfortable, bouncy mattresses, ’90s dance classics, and a freestanding tent with a reformed Oasis battling the blur for the title slot: these are the things of middle-aged dreams.