I'd call it a (plastic) shovel. A spade is a very specific type of shovel.

spade = Spaten

The use of "spade" for a small hand shovel with a pointed tip is archaic. I would also go with "shovel"

Die britischen Spielzeughersteller benutzen offenbar beides, aber mit einer deutlichen Präferenz für "shovel":

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=de&tbm=shop&sclient=psy-ab&q=sand+toy+shovel&b...

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=de&tbm=shop&sclient=psy-ab&q=sand+toy+shovel&b...

It's usually "spade" in British English.

Raudona, searching on google.co.uk doesn't return only UK hits. To do that, you have to specify "site:uk". Repeating your search with "site:uk" gives 93,800 hits for "spade" as against 42,5000 for "shovel":
http://www.google.co.uk/#q=sand+toy+spade+site:uk&hl=en&prmd=imvns&psj=1&ei=FuJq...
http://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=sand+toy+shovel+site:uk+&oq=sand...

telegraph.co.uk
"bucket and spade" beach: 320 hits
"...........shovel".....: 1 hit (and it's about going behind a horse with a shovel!)
guardian.co.uk
"bucket and spade" beach: 307 hits
"...........shovel".....: 0 hits

http://www.google.de/search?hl=de&source=hp&q=bucket+and+spade&gbv=2&oq=%22bucke...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucket_and_spade
"Bucket and spade sets are traditional British seaside paraphernalia that can be bought cheaply from any beachside vendor. They usually consist of a small plastic bucket with a handle and a small shovel, both of which can be decorated with a variety of bright colours and patterns."

und singen die sieben Zwerge nicht auch etwas von "with a bucket and a spade / and a hand-grenade /..."?


edit: im Wörterbuch steht es ja auch: http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/spade
"... (British English) The children took their buckets and spades to the beach."

#4: searching on google.co.uk doesn't return only UK hits. Well, it does if you specify "shopping" ...

Aber ich beuge mich den sonstigen Argumenten, und im Übrigen klingt "bucket and spade" auch viel schöner.

Sorry, Raudona, I didn't know that. I don't do much shopping, Internet or otherwise, if I can avoid it;-).

"bucket and spade" go together like "horse and carriage" I'd say...

In the UK maybe but definitely not in the US. Like dude said, a spade is a specific type of shovel. American kids play in the sand with buckets (or pails) and shovels.

In the UK, a shovel is big, square and heavy-duty: you might use it to dig up heavy earth or to move snow off your drive.

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Search?storeId=10001&catalogId=...

@ 10: In BE, spades are basically for digging, but shovels are for moving material around but not for digging it in the first place. Eg I would dig my garden borders with a spade but fill a bag with coal from a pile of coal using a shovel.
For use on a British beach , there is no doubt that you need a bucket and spade - "a bucket and spade holiday" is a standard expression for a family holiday of a certain type.

Vielen Dank für eure aufschlussreichen Antworten, die sehr schön demonstrieren, dass BE und AE recht unterschiedlich sein können. Und ein neuer Eintrag wäre meines Erachtens auch angebracht, vielleicht in der üblichen Kombination "bucket and spade".