Day 14- Mommy Play Dates

After almost a decade....wait probably more than a decade, some friends from highschool and I (about 5 of us) finally got our little family lives together for a great lunch date! It was the best day I have had in a while and really needed to connect with the long lost loved ones of my earlier years. Yea yea I'm not that old and shouldn't feel like that but it was way too long before getting back in touch with my circle of friends. After the brief miracle of all of us being able to get ourselves, our kids (not mine she was in school) and our lives under control enough to be together for more than 10 seconds was not enough, for me or my friends. Even though we all have children and no "real" 9-5 job getting together for mommy time has still been a the bottom of the totem pole. Understandably but yet sad. I always thought of my adult life as full of great parties and bbqs galore with all my close friends. I still do this just never on a big scale with lots of people. Well this will change after my fantastic lunch date with wonderful ladies. We made it a promise to do those sort of things more often. I suggested that once a month get-togethers with the kiddos and maybe once a month without the lovely darlings! What better way to schedule time for yourself than with some gal-pals. So this is my dedication to my circle of girls: Mommy Playdates. How tos and What to dos! I hope that you take the time to consider what a Mommy Playdate can do for you and your friends. Whether you are a mommy, mom-to-be or a single lady, grab some friends and take the day to enjoy your special bond over food, wine or fun.

Some basics to follow:
1. Determine if its with the kiddos or not. (This will help establish the local and activities.)
2. Invite more than you anticipate coming. (As with any party there will be those that are no shows and those that surprise!) Always be prepared for both is the best advice.
3. Reminders help our busy lives, especially if the plans have been made way in advance.
4. Keep it cheap and simple. (The worst feeling ever is being invited to something that you can't afford!) Cheap doesn't always mean bad quality or uneventful, remember thats why your friends are all together!
5. Establish a day, this will help with consistency and attendance. (If you have a playdate every 3 Tuesday of the month so to say then it will be a regular like soccer practice and more group members will show up more often!)


Other than the tips above, all I can say is try and see what happens. Start easy like we did with a luncheon. It was just long enough to keep the kiddos corralled for a couple of hours but thats it. Don't do anything with kids that are not kid friendly (i.e. scrapbooking class). But when its Mommies only feel free to do what you all enjoy, like a spa day or a class everyone can take something home from. One thing that I have set up is a How to Playdate. I will show the other girls how to make their own hairbows. This is something that each of you could do. Like one could do a lesson on baking a cake or doing a scrapbook page or sewing on buttons. These can be fun ways to get together and learn something new. Also lets each of the members take a turn at choosing what the group does!

These are just random thoughts on the whole Mommy Playdate idea. Just suggestions or clues on what to do and how to do it.  I am sure as our group gets together more often I will have more ideas on what to do with Mommy Playdates and will share them with you of course! I hope you enjoyed and were encouraged to try a Mommy Playdate of your own. And if you are near and want to join in on ours we are always glad to welcome in more!!

~With Luvz, 

DEZ