Alternatives to the Mommy Book Club

Saturday, October 03, 2009

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Let's be honest. Sometimes, a 10-pound issue of Vogue is what's really on your reading list for fall. So why slog your way through a book club? Here are a few alternative ways to throw together a girlfriend gathering.

1. Pimp My Closet. Parting with those too-tight pumps from 1997 can be such sweet sorrow. Instead of dreading closet duty, invite a few trustworthy pals over to help you decide what not to wear ever again and what's worth keeping. Set up the party in your bedroom, conduct a fashion show and let your friends be the judge.

2. Mommy Confidential. Wondering what to do about the mean girls your daughter has now become BFFs with? Hold a "hot topics" gathering where your mom posse helps answer some of the group's burning parenting questions. Guests anonymously submit questions for which they need advice, they're all thrown in a hat and you're off.

3. Classics and Cocktails. When was the last time you saw "Philadelphia Story" or "An Affair to Remember"? Your girlfriends are truly the best peeps with whom to watch old films. They'll sip pink drinks and pass around the Kleenex and Mike and Ikes with absolutely no judgment attached.

4. Purge Your Periodicals. Instead of a whole book to read by a certain date, have everyone choose a favorite magazine article they've come across in the past month. Whether it's a piece from Newsweek, a Vanity Fair interview or a stolen sex column from your husband's GQ, mags make for great fodder.

5. Field Studies. Have fantasies of meandering through the Field Museum or Art Institute in heels, with a small clutch purse void of any snack item, sippy cup or wet wipes? Now's your chance. Start a Field Trip Club and take your mom show on the road.