Laguna Beach Parents

What We Offer

The LBPC offers the following benefits to our members

Playgroups

When joining LBPC via our online website (BigTent), members have the opportunity to sign themselves up for age-based playgroups.

If you are a new parent, or new to playgroups, you probably have lots of questions about how a playgroup works. Playgroups typically meet once per week with the children. It is up to the group to decide when and where it is most convenient to meet. When babies are little and the weather is rotten, meeting at someone’s house is ideal. When the weather is fabulous (most of the time here in beautiful Laguna Beach), it’s great to spread blankets out at a park and enjoy the playground. Each group develops their own "style" and "feel" and determines what works well for its members over time. The schedule often changes as the children get older.

We believe a key factor to a successful playgroup is having a designated playgroup coordinator. The coordinator is someone who can help keep the group organized and the momentum moving forward. The expectation is not that this person hosts each playgroup but rather, they schedule the hosts and they help select the locations. The playgroup coordinator also acts as a liaison between their playgroup and the LBPC Steering Committee.

On occasion, the Club offers all ages playgroups. These playgroups are typically at the park and are open to all Club families. They are usually well attended and, if held in the evening, can include dinner or snacks and drinks. The Club loves to offer these playgroups on Friday evenings. It’s a great way to start off the weekend!

Family Social Events

Our members look forward to all of our family social events. They are well attended and a ton of fun for the entire family! Some of our annual events include:

Easter Egg Hunt
Halloween Costume Parade
Summer Picnic at the Park
Sawdust Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony
Pre-School & Kindergarten Family "Meet & Greets"

Speakers

The LBPC speaker series committee puts together informative talks throughout the year that are relevant to parents of young children. Examples of past speaker topics have included:

Kindergarten Readiness
Children's Nutrition
Positive Discipline
Wills & Trusts
Cognitive Development in Children
Preschool & Kindergarten Selection
Pediatric Dentistry
CPR & First Aid

Each seminar includes a question and answer session to insure that specific needs are met. Following the event, available notes or handouts are published in LBPC’s BigTent website so that all members can benefit from the lectures even if they were unable to attend.

Fields Trips

Looking for a fun activity to do with your kids? Join us on a field trip. We plan a variety of outings parents and kids can enjoy together. Our activities appeal to a range of ages, interests and schedules. These events are fun for both adults and children and are another great way to meet Club members. Examples of past field trips include:

Balboa Island Fire Station
Marine Mammal Center
Pretend City
OC Performing Art Center
Discovery Science Center
Santa Ana Zoo
Tide Pool Visit
Nature Walks
Horse Stables
Pumpkin Patch Farm Tour
Strawberry Picking

Community Outreach

One of the things we are most proud of as a Club, is our community outreach activities. We conduct several annual events to help members of our community, right here where we live. In addition to our annual events, we often adopt families from our community facing extenuating circumstances. We do our best to help them out. Examples of past outreach activities include:

Adopt-A-Family Holiday Gift Drive
Canned Food Drive Benefiting Laguna's Resource Center
Valentines Gifts to Suzi Q Senior Citizens
Memorial Day Thank You Gifts for US Veterans
Candy Donation Drive for US Marines

Parents' Night Out

One of our most necessary and most appreciated events is our parents-only socials. Parenting can take a lot of you and we need those times, without kids, to help us unwind and have adult conversations. Our socials provide moms and dads an opportunity to meet new friends and share (or sometimes commiserate) in the joys of parenting. Our Spring Fling cocktail party is our biggest parents event of the year. Moms Nights Out are also very popular.

Meals for New Parents

We offer a free meal prepared by a local restaurant to any LBPC family bringing home a new baby. The family can choose from several menu options. The Club takes care of ordering the food, picking it up and delivering it to the families doorstep. Yum Yum!

Book Club

Our Book Club meets several times throughout the year. They get together to discuss the book and have a fun social evening out, away from the kids and stress of everyday life. It also gives our parents an opportunity to force them to read literature again (instead of baby books and newspapers).

Kid's Craft Days

The kids love our craft days. We typically meet at a park or someone’s home. The kids work on their crafts and play. We try to get our very littlest ones involved by making crafts that are age appropriate for our group.

Examples of past craft days include:

Valentine’s Day Craft Gift
Earth Day; Craft from Reclaimed Materials
Memorial Day Craft Gift
Father’s Day Gifts
Sawdust Holiday Tree Ornaments

Monthly Newsletter

All Club members receive a monthly newsletter to keep them apprised of Club happenings. The newsletter lists upcoming events, provides announcements and instructions, celebrates our accomplishments and provides useful parenting tips. It also gives us an opportunity to welcome our new members.

Online Discussion Forum

Our members communicate back and forth on a daily basis. LBPC uses a members-only online tool called BigTent that allows members to ask questions, seek advice and offer support on all aspects of raising a family. There are frequent posts and responses on topics such as getting a 6-month-old on a regular nap schedule; ideas for hosting a 3-year-old birthday party; where to find a costume piece your child needs for school; or how to get that crayon mark out of your favorite silk blouse. There is also a rich archive in which members can search to determine whether there has been prior discussion on a topic. Members can opt to receive forum postings via email or they can go to our members-only website to view them. Many members say the forum is one of their favorite parts of LBPC!

Member Classfieds

Got something to sell? Our members can easily post personal goods for sale via our members-only classifieds section. Our classifieds are an easy way to buy, sell, trade or get rid of those items that your kids have outgrown. The classifieds section is continually updated with member postings and items for sale – typically at reduced prices!

Business Referrals

Help – we sprung a leak in our house and need a plumber ASAP. Help – my child chipped a tooth and we need a dentist today! These are reasons why members go to our referrals database. It is modeled after other popular local listing services like Yahoo! Local and YellowPages.com, but is customized to the tastes of LBPC members. The feature allows our Club members to post ratings and recommend local businesses and services to other members of our group.

Parenting Resources

Our Club is comprised of parents at all stages of life – some are first time parents, some insist that “this child is their last”. We are able to utilize the experiences of one another to share a vast amount of knowledge. Each year the Club provides a preschool and kindergarten guide. This resource list contains a school description, contact information and provides a member name for additional questions about the school. The Club also publishes useful bits and pieces of information ranging from babysitting & nanny rates to fun family things to do in Orange County. These resources are emailed to our members and stored in our BigTent files section where they can be archived for future use. The Club also maintains a list of our favorite websites.