Here is a sampling of what a typical monthly calendar includes and descriptions of these group favorite activities.
Recipe Club—Recipe Club is one of our most popular monthly activities! Each month, moms take turns hosting this fun and yummy event. The hostess chooses a food theme such as “Mexican,” “Asian,” or “Comfort Foods” and moms bring different prepared dishes as well as copies of the recipe to share. Many of our moms love to cook, and even those who prefer avoiding the kitchen enjoy attending this event to sample and get ideas for new things to make.
General Meeting—Our monthly business meeting (called the “general meeting”) is held on the first Wednesday of each month at 10 am. Often we have childcare available at this meeting and we discuss what is going on in our chapter, suggest new ideas for activities, vote on budget items, and welcome potential new members. If you are interested in joining a MOMS Club® chapter, the general meeting is an excellent first event to attend and meet some of our moms.
Coffee Talk—Coffee talk is a casual and fun discussion group that meets once a month. Moms take turns hosting this event and the hostess typically chooses a topic of discussion. Previous topics have included things like: “OBGYNS vs. Midwives,” and “Where would you go for your dream vacation?” The hostess provides coffee and tea and the moms enjoy discussing the topic while kids play nearby. This event is seasonal, and generally begins in October and continues through February.
Book Club—The book club meets once a month. Moms who regularly attend the book club meetings play an active role in choosing book club selections. These selections are typically determined and placed in a schedule months in advance so that members can pre-purchase books cheaply or get a jump start on the readings. Most are available at the library or can be borrowed from another mom. The hostess chooses a food theme that ties in with the theme of the book (for example, if the group were reading Midwives, a food theme might be “foods you craved when you were pregnant”). Members bring potluck foods to share in this theme as well as a few questions or thoughts they had from the reading to facilitate a discussion.
Bargain Hunters—This is a new activity group for the 2008-2009 year, and the goal is to help our moms find new ways to save money on everyday items. The chairmom guides the group by suggesting a monthly discussion topic such as “smart grocery shopping” and the members share their ideas and swap any coupons they bring along to the meeting.
Storytime—Our storytime chairmom chooses 2-3 children’s books to read to the kids in a small circle and then plans a simple craft or cooking activity that relates to the book theme. The hostess mom provides a snack which also ties in with the theme of the stories for that month.
MOMS’ Night Out—This is a favorite event of many of our moms! Once a month, we go out for a night to ourselves; it is usually the second Tuesday of the month at 7pm. Favorite outings include dinner at a casual restaurant (such as Turtle Mountain, Chili’s, or Osaka), Game Night with potluck appetizers & desserts at a member’s home, or a trip to the movies. This is usually the only event we have on our calendar where children are not present, however we often have nursing babies join us for our MNOs.
Backyard Bash! This is an event that takes place seasonally (June to August), and replaces Coffee Talk on the calendar. Moms take turns hosting this activity in their backyards and the kids play outside. This is also a potluck event, and popular dishes include slices of fresh watermelon, homemade coffee cake, and other fresh fruit/brunch items.
The Breakfast Club—This is a new activity group we are beginning in the fall of 2008 to better support our “empty nester” moms (mothers who have all school-age kids), though all of our moms are welcome to attend. Each month, members will meet up at a local restaurant to enjoy breakfast and “mom” talk. Once all the kids are in school, moms’needs change, and this gives us a chance to talk about the changes and what is going on in our lives.
