Mom life is always changing, which means your circle of friends may change, too. But here are 5 ways to meet and make mom friends when you enter a new stage of life.
Oftentimes, mom life can be busy, exhausting, and ever-changing as we work to keep up with the demands of a growing family. You may feel like you simply don’t have time to devote to anyone else outside your family, but even the most on-the-go moms need mom friends.
Year-to-year—sometimes, even month-to-month—we’re either heading into or out of different stages of life.
Common life stages for women include a change to new mom, foster or adoptive mom, stay-at-home mom, working mom, single or divorced mom, recent-move mom, grieving mom, empty-nester mom, menopausal mom, grandmom, and more.
As mothers, we all experience pivotal turning points in our lives. And with these life changes and new circumstances, we either learn to face them head-on or let them rule over us. Sometimes, we allow a new situation to get the best of us for a time before digging deep to not only accept but embrace a new life stage.
The truth is: No one understands what situation a mom is going through better than another mama who has been through the same circumstances. That’s one of the many reasons why it’s important for us to make mom friends who are in the same stage of life as us.
If you’ve entered a new stage of life and need more connection, here are 5 ways to make mom friends and begin creating your village.
Host a Neighborhood Gathering
There’s nothing that brings people together faster than food. So, if you’re looking to make new mom friends, hosting a gathering right where you live is an easy way to meet other women who live near you.
Consider throwing a block party for neighboring families during temperate months in spring and fall, a themed party for kids during summer (think popsicles or waterplay), or a fun gathering during winter such as a women’s tea party, cookie swap, or gift exchange during the Christmas season.
Connect with Team Sports Moms
If your kids play any kind of team sports, this offers great meeting grounds for new mom friends. More than likely, you’ll meet other parents quickly as you’re hanging by the fields or courts during practices and games each week.
Find a Local Church
Churches are known for being friendly and welcoming, and thus, a great starting point to meet other moms in your community.
One of the first things we did when we moved to a new town was visited local churches. After we found a church home and began attending services weekly and events monthly, we began to run into fellow churchgoers around our community. Naturally, acquaintances transitioned to friends as we began to form family friendships with others in a similar stage of life with young kids.
I also met new mom friends at the church’s alternative Halloween event as our kids gorged on candy. I struck up conversations with moms at the women’s events held a few times a year, when it was possible to have adult chats without interruptions. And I befriended moms at the annual Easter egg hunt as we watched our kids enjoy the celebrations.
Frequent Local Attractions
Whether you’re a working mom or stay-at-home mom, we all love to take our kids to explore fun local places. When you frequent a favorite locale often enough, you’ll likely recognize other moms in your community who visit regularly as well.
Knowing this commonality makes it easy to greet and meet new women with similar interests. Search for local gardens to visit, library story times, parades, downtown events, local concerts, weekly farmer’s markets, nearby college sports games, awesome playgrounds or spraygrounds nearby, etc.
Take the Initiative, Say Yes and Show Up
If you’re truly wanting to make connections with other moms, you have to up your confidence game and take some initiative. You can’t depend solely on other moms asking you to meet up for a playdate, attend a special event, come over for dinner, etc. Instead, you must be willing to take the first step, because—let’s face it—moms are busy.
Once fellow moms realize you’re friendly and inviting, they’ll be much more likely to think of you when they plan a gathering or meet-up in the future.
And once you finally start receiving mom invites, be sure to say yes and show up—even if it’s weird and you don’t know anyone. Put on a friendly face and be ready to chat and make new mom friends.
For more thoughts on how to make mom friends, check out these posts:
