Hi! 👋 We’re Little Lovage Club.

How You Can Contact Us:
You can call our front desk Monday-Friday 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, or send an email to hello@littlelovageclub.com outside of our normal office hours.

Location Details:
We are located in Prudential Center across the courtyard from the former Barnes & Noble, soon-to-be Harvard Bookstore, between the HandleBar and the Post Office. Visit the Prudential Center website to help orient you.

Little Lovage Club is Boston’s premier parenting resource dedicated to helping families grow, learn, and love.

Located in Prudential Center, in the heart of Boston’s Back Bay, we offer a clean, engaging, and open playspace, a range of parent and baby support groups, infant and toddler enrichment classes, seasonal parties and events, and more. Private family events and children’s birthday parties are also available.

We want you to stay, play, and learn!

Our 5,000 square foot space in Prudential Center offers:

  • Two classrooms
  • A large open play area
  • A snack area
  • Seating for caregivers
  • A feeding lounge
  • A stroller parking zone

Parent Support Groups

Come meet fellow expecting and new parents who are in the same stage of life as you. Facilitators lead conversation and help build connections among attendees, while providing timely and topical advice about feeding, sleeping, relationships with others, and your relationship with yourself as a parent navigating this new season of life. Parent Support Groups include:

  • Newbies (0-3 months postpartum, primary parent and infant)
  • Here We Go Again for second and third time (0-3 months, primary parent and infant)
  • Kangas (3-6 months postpartum, primary parent and infant)

Open Play

Open Play is unstructured play in our 3,000 square foot play area. Available six days per week (Monday-Saturday), Open Play offers a wide variety of toys and climbing structures for babies, toddlers and kids. The playspace includes: a full-scale jungle gym with a swirly slide, a foam pit, a bounce house, a play kitchen with a tea set and pretend food, a dress-up imaginary play area, a cozy book nook, a dedicated baby exploration space, a toddler movement zone, a lego & magnatile table, a snack area, and so much more. Caregivers are responsible for watching children during Open Play. To buy Open Play Pass Packs, go here.

Enrichment Classes

Enrichment Classes are 30-minute small group classes for babies to four years old. Most classes are geared to children aged 9 months to 2.8 years designed to bridge early infancy and preschool. Led by Head Teacher, Lauren Gagne, Enrichment Classes offer developmentally-appropriate classes that help little ones socialize and build fine motor, gross motor, and social-emotional skills. Types of classes include: music, art, movement, sensory, and games. To see our full calendar of Enrichment Classes, go here.

Private Parties

We host private birthday parties, baby showers, and other celebrations for members and non-members. Children’s birthday parties are our most popular option offered. The space allows for up to 60 people (up to 24 kids) with lots of room to play and celebrate together. Choose from a basic party to custom theme options with setup and cleanup provided by our team. For more information about private parties, go here.

Membership

Membership options at Little Lovage Club offer a flexible option to customers who want to attend regular classes and have access to Open Play multiple times per week. For more information about memberships, go here.

Summer Club

Developed by early childhood education expert and Head Teacher, Lauren Gagne, Summer Club will be jam-packed with activities designed to help your little ones improve their physical, language, emergent literacy, cognitive, creative, and social skills. Located in our child-centered playspace in the Prudential Center, Summer Club will be a safe, joyful, and loving summer experience. This half-day program is offered for children ages 18 months to 4 years old. Please go here to learn more about Lovage Summer Club.

Our Team

Alana Rusin | Owner

Hi! I'm Alana Rusin. I have been a practicing attorney in Boston for the past 10 years and I live in Fort Point with my husband and two kiddos, Lucy (6) and Liam (3).

I first discovered Little Lovage Club in 2016 as a client.  My Newbies Class, led by Nancy Gair, helped me feel sane and supported during the wild ride of new motherhood.  I kept coming back and took Kangas, Here We Go Again with Liam, and other classes.  Lovage and its community of young families is near and dear to my heart.  So when Lovage temporarily closed during the pandemic I found my calling - and ended up taking over as the new owner. I am excited and honored to reboot Lovage.  My dream is to continue to build the most supportive, inclusive community of young families in and around Boston, and to be the premier resource for you as you navigate the 0-5 year stage in the Hub.

Lauren Gagne | Head Teacher & Director of Operations

Lauren is our head teacher here at Lovage Club. Her fun personality and enthusiastic energy truly make every class a blast. With a degree in Early Childhood Education, she has spent time being an infant, toddler, and preschool teacher. After teaching she pursued a career as an educational career nanny for 10 years. Lauren’s nurturing spirit, passion for teaching, and educational background provide us with a wonderful classroom environment that fosters children’s creativity, curiosity, and self-esteem. Lauren knows that successful early childhood education depends upon partnerships with children’s families, caregivers, and communities. She hopes to create a community here at Lovage Club that provides the resources needed to assist and strengthen families. Lauren is our social butterfly and will happily give you her knowledge, so please say hello and use her as a resource!

Kara Doherty | Parent Group Facilitator

Kara has twenty years of childcare experience starting as a nanny and then as a postpartum doula providing overnight support for new families. Her passion is helping parents get off on the right foot so they can enjoy the newborn stage. She’s excited to help the moms in class get more confident and answer all their newborn questions and especially likes helping with feeding and sleep routines. She’s hoping to help the new mothers really enjoy their time with their new baby and make this stage less stressful and more fun.

Vanessa Thornton | Parent Group Facilitator

Vanessa is a South End mom of two, Fiona (5) and James (3). She has a master’s degree in nutrition and has been a dietitian and certified specialist in pediatrics for 12 years. Vanessa is the owner of South End Family Nutrition, helping parents and families on the path to health and happiness. She teaches virtual classes on Tinyhood and runs groups and workshops all around the city for parents, children and entire families. Vanessa realized early in her career two very important things: 1) You can’t treat nutrition issues in a vacuum. Instead, you have to explore sleep habits, mental health, physical wellbeing and emotional security to truly find health and 2) That the wellness of family members is always interconnected. For this reason, she considers herself a Family Dietitian and takes a holistic, whole-family approach to health. She enjoys supporting parents in group settings to be able to witness the magic moments when moms find connection and learn from each other.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

General
  • We are a peanut and tree nut free facility. Please do not bring any nuts into our space.
  • Caregivers are always free at Lovage. We only charge per child.
  • We do not allow shoes in the playspace; children may be barefoot or in socks, and we suggest that caregivers wear socks as well. Grippy socks are best!
  • Parents/caregivers should always be within arms reach of their children and are responsible for continually supervising their children while in our space.
  • We have bathrooms with child-sized amenities and a changing table with extra diapers. Children should never be in the bathroom alone.
  • For eating and feeding we have a bottle warmer, filtered water and paper cups, kid-sized tables and chairs, and high chairs. We ask that all food stays in the snack area.
  • You may bring your own food and drinks (no nuts please, see above!).
  • Please nurse or feed a baby a bottle wherever and whenever you need to while in our space. You may also use our private feeding room.
Open Play
  • Open Play is available during all operating hours: 9:30 am - 5:30 pm every weekday, and 9:30 - 12:30 pm on Saturday. Generally, Open Play is not available on Saturday afternoons or on Sundays due to private parties, however please check the schedule to confirm.
  • Children under 6 months who accompany an older sibling are not charged for Open Play. Every child over the age of 6 months must be booked into Open Play.
  • Advanced Bookings are highly recommended, especially for our peak morning Open Play from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm. Unfortunately we cannot guarantee a walk-in spot will be available if you do not sign up ahead of time.
Expectant and New Parent Groups
  • Pre-and-Postnatal support groups meeting for 75 minutes, 6 weeks in a row.
  • Postnatal classes are designed for a primary caregiver to attend with a young infant rather than for couples (we want to ensure there is space to be really honest about how motherhood has affected your own identity and your relationships!).
  • That being said, we celebrate the fact that families grow in many ways and if you have any questions about whether a postnatal support group is a good fit for you, please reach out to alana@littlelovageclub.com.
Enrichment Classes
  • Each child who is participating in an Enrichment Class must be booked into the class.
  • Babies under the age of 6 months may accompany an older sibling to an Enrichment Class designed for the older child free of charge.
  • Advanced Bookings are highly recommended, especially for our peak morning classes. Unfortunately we cannot guarantee a walk-in spot will be available if you do not sign up ahead of time.
  • Please book Art Classes at least two hours in advance in order to secure your spot and ensure that we set up the necessary supplies.
  • We always recommend arriving at Lovage to check in and get settled at least 10 minutes in advance of your Enrichment Class* start time. You will be welcome to play in our Open Space until the start of class is announced. After you’ve checked in and your stroller is settled, please move into the
  • Open Space to make room for others to arrive.
  • If you arrive more than 5 min late to an Enrichment Class, we cannot guarantee that your spot will be held. We frequently have multiple folks on a waitlist for each class who are ready to join. If you are more than 5 minutes late, and there is someone present and ready to join the class, we will give them your spot.
  • If you arrive more than 10 minutes late to an Enrichment Class, and your spot has not already been given to someone waiting, unfortunately we cannot allow you to join the class. After 10 minutes a class is fully underway and a late arrival is disruptive to the teacher and children who arrived on time. However we will happily have you join Open Play (see below)!
  • The FIRST time that you are more than 5 minutes late and your spot has been given to someone else OR you are more than 10 minutes late and cannot join the class you signed up for, we will allow you to rebook your credit to a future class. Please see our front desk team to reschedule.
  • The SECOND time (and all following) that either of those late arrival scenarios occur, we will NOT provide a credit for a future class, reschedule your class or provide a refund.
  • In either scenario where you cannot join the class you booked, you are ALWAYS welcome to stay and play in our space. If you are a member, Open Play is included in your membership. If you’re not a member, please see our front desk team to book an Open Play session.
Memberships
  • Memberships are all family-based, not child-based, so Open Play and Enrichment credits can be used for any child in your family. Please ensure that your Family Profile includes the name and ages of any children who will be attending Enrichment Classes or Open Play.
  • Please note that we do not allow multiple families to share a single membership (e.g. in the case of a nanny share). It is important that a parent or caregiver sets up their family’s profile and agrees to our required waiver, provides or denies approval for taking photos of each child, includes their emergency contact information, and adds caregivers, etc. and therefore we absolutely require each family to have their own Sawyer Account and their own membership.
  • Additionally, each membership includes passes to use for our Enrichment Classes - either 5, 10, or 20 per month depending on your selection. (Contact us directly about pricing for 20 classes per month.)
  • These Enrichment Class Passes can be used to book our more hands-on Enrichment Classes.
  • You can mix and match enrichment class bookings - think of these as equivalent to class passes for a fitness studio. They can be used for any class in that month (e.g. attending 2 or 3 enrichment classes in one week if you will be traveling later in the month, using classes for different kids in your family, etc.).
  • Although not required, we recommend that you sign up for the same class 4 weeks in a row, e.g. Messy Baby on Wednesdays at 12:00pm. That way both caregiver and child learn the rhythm of a particular class, and the same group of caregivers and children attend the same class for multiple weeks in a row so you can begin to get to know each other.
  • You are also welcome to come early for Open Play before your enrichment class, or stay after and use our playspace.
  • Your Monthly Membership also provides a $10 discount off the drop-in price of $35 if you have used all your enrichment class credits in a billing cycle and want to attend additional enrichment classes that cycle.
  • Note that your Monthly Membership starts on the first day you pay for your membership, not the 1st of the month.
  • Memberships are charged monthly and are auto-renewed with your primary credit card on file every month. They are billed on the date you purchase, not the 1st of the month (e.g. if you first purchase a membership on August 28th, that is your billing date).
  • You can cancel with 10 days’ notice before your next billing cycle by sending us a written cancellation request at hello@littlelovageclub.com
  • Please reach out if you have additional questions/requests, e.g. when a grandparent is paying for membership.