September 10, 11am-2pm:

Coledale Community Hall

Tickets: $38.10

Details:  coalcoastmumsclub.wix.com/coalcoastmumsclub or the Coal Coast Mums Club Facebook page

Moving to a new city with a toddler was an eye-opening experience for Wombarra mum Bridget Kirby.

 It made her realise that making new friends as an adult can be tricky. 

She found plenty of activities and events aimed at educating and socialising little ones – swimming lessons, dance classes, playgroups and toddler sports – but what about mum? 

Without a network of friends and family around,  at times Kirby felt isolated and bored in her new Illawarra life.

‘‘I thought it was quite challenging to meet people when you’re in your 30s when it’s not related to your children, so meeting women on your own merit rather than meeting because of your children,’’ she said.

‘‘I thought, there’s got to be things to do for women.’’

After tagging along to a Sydney mum meet-up with a friend, Kirby decided to take the leap and have a go at creating an event in her own area.

And so Coal Coast Mums Club was born.

Her goal was to help other new mums avoid the same isolation she experienced, while also gaining inspiration from other successful working mums.

The group’s first event, a luncheon complete with creche and a special guest speaker, was a raging success with close to 60 women jumping on board.

Kirby is now in the final stages of planning the group’s second meet-up, on September 10 at Coledale Community Hall.

‘‘It’s an outing for us, we can get dressed up and feel special for a day, we can be inspired by a guest speaker, we can have peace of mind knowing our children are next door and if they need us they can come to us, but they’re happily playing,’’ she said.

Woonona mum and fashion designer Amanda Fisher will be the special guest speaker, inspiring the event’s theme:  dressing up.

‘‘As part of the theme, one of the fun things we’re doing is getting the mums to wear a pair of their most fabulous high heels,’’ she said.

‘‘This is a chance to pull out those old heels you might have worn once upon a time and get dressed up and feel a little bit fancy for the day.’’

The Coal Coast Mums Club  event will include lucky door prizes, stalls and goodie bags.