Beach Trip Checklist

By: Costa Rica Parents

Next time you take a trip to the beach you can use this checklist to make sure you have all of these items to create a fun getaway:

- Towels, blankets & beach chairs

- Beach bag with room for all of your stuff

- A plastic bag for wet towels, bathing suits and clothes

- Change of clothing for everyone, especially children

- Sunscreen & SPF lip balm

- Hats and Sunglasses

- Aloe Vera for sunburns and after sun lotion for cooling off hot skin

- Bug spray (if you are going to a spot with still waters nearby)

- Lots of Bottled Water (put in the freezer the night before to freeze and then have them thaw throughout the day), juices and sports drinks to stay hydrated

- A disposable or Digital Camera (with its charger)

- Cooler with icepacks for your drinks and food

- Snacks and food…check out our list of beach friendly foods

- Toys like water guns, buckets and shovels that can be used to play in the water

- Books, magazines, ipod or music player, and other things to keep the family amused

- First Aid Kit

- If it is just a couple of people heading out to swim, surf or play in the water then you may consider a waterproof container to keep your valuables that you may not want to leave unattended on the beach, such as wallet, keys, etc.

Got tips to add to our list? Email us at articles@costaricaparents.com

Ideas for Beach Friendly Foods

By: CostaRicaParents.com

Save money at the beach by bringing along your own food and drinks. Be prepared with enough food to feed everyone. Make sure to take lots of napkins and preferably foods that don’t require cutlery. Remember your plastic cutlery and disposable plates (be conscious of your garbage), or invest in a portable picnic kit with everything included. Bring along a bag for garbage.

1. Sandwiches – ham, peanut butter, cream cheese, egg, salmon, vegetable or any other fun alternatives can be kept in your cooler till lunch time

2. Bread rolls, buns, crackers, pita bread and slices of bread can be brought along to accompany a main course or help to create one

3. Chips, pretzels, tortilla chips, corn chips

4. Homemade trail or snack mix – combine nuts, seeds, cereal, dried fruits or chocolate chips

5. Fruit that travels well – apples, oranges, watermelon, grapes or nectarines

6. Pasta Salad and other salads can be made at home and kept in the cooler

7. Hot dogs, sausages or other items to be cooked on the BBQ or fire

8. Premade casseroles and one dish meals can be cooked ahead and kept with tinfoil or eaten without being reheated

9. Cut up vegetables – celery, carrots, broccoli, cherry tomatoes and radishes

10. Cake or cupcakes

11. Brownies, bar cookies or cookies

12. Water bottles, juice, a sports drinks can all be frozen the night before to keep them well chilled, along with the items in the cooler

Let us know if you have any beach friendly recipes or food ideas by emailing us at articles@costaricaparents.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Check out our Beach Trip Checklist to make sure you have everything on your next trip to the beach.

Benefits of Playgroups

By: CostaRicaParents.com

Playgroups offer many benefits to parents and especially new moms. They can be a great place to get support, share experiences & ideas and meet friends. As a new Mom it can be overwhelming to tend to the needs of a baby for the majority of your day. It can feel like you have no time to yourself! Playgroups get us out of the house and committing to at least one regular activity.

It might be a little tough at first to go and spend time with a group of people you have never met, however you immediately have something big in common with each other – a child! This always gives us something to talk about. For new Moms it’s even easier because everyone has recently had a child, which gives you a tremendous amount to talk about!

Benefits of playgroups for children

Children who are not in school benefit greatly from the opportunity to learn how to play, share and socialize with others in a playgroup. Kids who are attending school can enjoy playgroups to see their friends and enjoy time with their parents nearby.

Kids have fun and they can try new things. You always get to play, sing, dance or make something at playgroup!

Benefits for Parents

Support - As women, we like to talk about everything. It’s amazing how therapeutic it can be to sit down with other ladies who can relate and understand what you are going through. It’s good for parents in general to share what they are going through. Not all playgroups are just for women.

Friends - You will meet new people and make new friends, some of which may become your friends for life!

Sharing experiences and ideas - it’s nice because you can get feedback and constructive thoughts from your new group of friends. You’ll be surprised at how many people have experienced something similar to you.

How to find a playgroup

Check in your local newspaper under the community groups section, and also in the newspaper calendar. Do an online search in your area, and check out any meet up groups. Start to ask around, and maybe put together an email for the people you know. Call the Public Health Office and see if they have any public groups set up. Public groups are a great way to find your way into a private group.

Start a playgroup

If you can’t find a playgroup in your area, and you are willing to get one together, then you can start one up. Please get well educated on public playgroups by doing plenty of research online.

Decide whether you want it to be a public or private group, and whether you will meet in people’s homes or in public places. Put together a little flier that you can post on public message boards, and put together an email to send out to all of your contacts. In your communications make sure to state your desired age range and when you would like the playdays to be. You can also find message boards to post your information online. Just make sure you are careful when making your group public!

CostaRicaParents.com has started a bi-monthly playgroup that meets within San Jose. The CR Parents playdays and activities are posted online. We encourage parents within Costa Rica to use the www.CostaRicaParents.com Forum to meet other parents and form playgroups in their area.

Mother's Day Shopping & Lunch in Escazu

Hello Lovely Ladies!!

We are quickly approaching Mom's Appreciation Day, also known as Mother's Day.

Costa Rica Parents is coordinating a special afternoon for the Moms.
Thursday AUGUST 14th @ 12pm
So here is the plan -

We are going to begin at 12 o'clock with some shopping at the Saloman store in Escazu beside EPA. ((They are currently having a sale))

Then we will proceed to Plaza Itzkatzu, which is but a few minutes away where we can sit down to a lunch in any restaurant of our choice - Japanese, Peruvian, Italian, Cuban and of course, Hooters and Outback!!

After lunch we will go to Centro Commercial Paco where we will enjoy PRIVATE shopping at the brand new fabulous store Upalupa - which has kindly offered to close down the store for us to shop AND they are providing us with champagne to top off a wonderful day for wonderful women. There is also another clothing store a couple spots down from Upalupa

If you would like to RSVP or ask any questions please email us at info@costaricaparents.com OR post a message here on the board!
Hope to see you there

Costa Rica Parents Introduction

Costa Rica Parents began in May 2008 and in just over 3 months we have 125 members; an active online Forum, a Playgroup and Mom's group in the Central Valley and we are excited about all the growth that is still to come!

If you haven't yet checked out our website then we encourage you to see for yourself what this resource and online community has to offer!

We are beginning this blog so that we can share the Costa Rica Parents experience with as many people as possible. Here's a little more "About Us":

¡Bienvenidos and Welcome! We are the very first English parenting information resource and community for Costa Rica. Whether you plan to vacation in this beautiful country, relocate with your family, or make this your second home, you will find lots of useful information in our Forum, Articles and Links sections.

At Costa Rica Parents, we understand the need for credible sources of information.

An ever increasing number of families have already made Costa Rica their home and many more are considering a move to this tropical paradise. It is for these people that Costa Rica Parents was founded and we are pleased to provide you a wealth of information on living abroad.

Although there are many English speaking people throughout the country, meeting people, making new friends and navigating your way around the country can be quite challenging. Costa Rica Parents helps you by providing a way to network with groups that share similar interests.

As Costa Rica is a developing country, we feel it is vital that visitors and expatriates alike be kept up to date with the latest news and information. We make available to you these resources in a friendly and collaborative environment. Learn how your family can live happy and safe lives within Costa Rica.

Costa Rica Parents is first and foremost a community and we would greatly appreciate your participation and support!