Where to hold my MG?

[sterla]

I have (somehow) been left to work out where to hold my Mother's Group now that the initial meetings have finished. We are a very large group (17 mums if we all show up) - so cafe's, or meeting up at our houses aren't really options. Also, we're in Tassie, so parks aren't ideal for this time of year.

Does anyone have any ideas? I'm a bit stuck and I've got lots of other mums waiting on me!

[Tinks]

Could you hire a church or hall or soemthing?

[Claire_A]

We hold ours at our local library. They have a meeting room which we hire for a minimal cost. Maybe worth checking out?

[sterla]

Thanks

Both great ideas!

[Lulu]

Speak to your local council - they should have facilities or at least provide support xoxoxo

[ControlFreak]

What about an RSL or Leagues club etc - usually have big seating areas and some even have play areas for older children and outdoor areas for when the weather is nice.

[Megan]

We hold ours in a building at the town's community house where they also have after school care and kinder, so it's already set up for little kiddies and carpeted (which we found a lot of halls weren't). We found the last 2 hour time slot for the week that was available and book per school term for $5 per hour. Bargain when you divide it up between the whole group.

[Cassius2]

hi there! we had a similar problem with our group as we were a biggish group and lived in a baby boom area (so competition for space was at a premium).

our options were:

church hall (check for draughts though and see if they have lockable space to put toys/activity stuff for when bubs get older). also these places can be a bit more exxy.

schools: some schools hire out space during the week for MGs. these are generally pretty good (the ones we inspected had kitchenettes with microwaves, fridge etc) and good play area (ie carpets and mats). pretty affordable (usually pay by term and amongst 17 ppl wouldnt be much)

community houses: this is where we ended up. the one we went with didnt have specific MG space, but we have made it our own. it had a carpet square in the middle, chairs and a kitchenette. we bought some plastic tubs with lids to stock some snacks for us mums and toys for the bubbas. (cheap as chips, in our experience). also usually these places are near a park which is great if you tee it up for a walk with the prams or for when bubbas are older and want to have a play.

ALSO: some cafes were open to bookings for MG. so if you have one that has the space maybe approach them and see if they would tee up a specific spot for you guys to meet up each week. we did this for the interim (and go back after 'formal' MG for coffee). at the end of the day they can make squidloads of cash from MG and while the babies are so tiny there is no hassle with toddlers running around everywhere).

HTH