To find evenings so boring

[Poppets14]

What do you do on an evening?
We have dinner, one of us puts dd to bed while the other clears up.
Then my husband puts some rubbish on the TV - I might read or look at my phone.
I sometimes end up going to bed about 8:30 just because I’m so so bored.

What do you all do on an evening?

I love my evenings . It’s my first break of the day . I go for a run some nights , have a bath, enjoy a glass of wine, have a cup of tea or hot chocolate . Sometimes I climb into bed extra early and go on my phone or watch movies all cozy 😊

We go to the gym together three days a week and we eat dinner in front of a drama! I’ve tried to stop eating on our laps but we’re fairly busy and the only free time we tend to really have is that TV/eating time! Once we have kids I guess that will have to move to the dining table. We roughly take turns to cook or often both chip in. I find it helps to have a set drama or programme we watch. Sometimes he plays his video games and I have a bath with a good book.

Have to say though I agree with PP I can’t imagine finding evenings boring. So lovely to have that chance to relax. Forgot to say in previous post, we sometimes go to bed early and have sex so that’s another option

@Poppets14

I don’t mind TV if there’s something worth watching but my husband always moans at the stuff I watch so it’s easier to let him put what he likes on. It makes me feel a bit down not knowing what to do- my mum says only boring people get bored 😳 I don’t enjoy exercise

Have you a tv in your room? Go to bed and watch tv.

Mum-taxi for activities (I volunteer at two of them, one since pre-DCs) dinner, bedtime-reading to/ with DCs seems to take forever). It's about 10pm when I get to veg again and I'm getting tired then.

Pre-DCs I did a couple of fitness classes. Adult ballet was great fun. Work spilled into evenings too.

I write, read, colour or watch tv or go on mn. Definitely take up a hobby, do a jigsaw or craft set, go into a newsagent and get a book of sudoku or crosswords, take up duolingo

DS is older than your DC so we eat later, watch t.v. together or play a game or all go off and do our own thing. DS has football and scouts. DH runs twice a week. I do Pilates and see my Mum

I drink. I eat delicious calorific food no child.will beg me.for some of. I crochet.

Why don't you go out ?
Meet a friend for a catch up?
Go watch a film or go to the theatre or a comedy night?
Join a choir / Book club / zumba class / fundraising group / re-enactment society / chess club / WI / night class to learn a new skill / etc etc etc
Volunteer ?
Study ?

I'm in the camp of thinking there is never enough time in the evenings to do all I want to.

Work is so bad at the moment I'm typing until about 9. 10 year old goes to bed and likes me to go up and read to him ( yes he can read perfectly well, but likes me to still do this, and he hopes I won't get up again. If it's a good book, we read til 10ish, then he falls asleep. Then guess what? I'm on mum's net. I do a pilates class on one evening. When work improves 🤞I'll reintroduce some night time housework and walk. I'm not used to all this sitting around.

Eat tea, clear up, walk the dogs, put another wash on, iron school uniform, have a shower, then it’s usually around 9pm. Catch up on soaps. He goes to bed around 10pm but I usually stay up watching stuff I never have time to watch from earlier.

As an adult, I don't get the concept of boredom. There aren't enough hours in the day! Got home from work at 5.30, looked after the four year old/did his reading book while my husband took the older two to football. Made tea for when he got back at 7.30 (well, cooked a pizza!). My husband then put the four year old to bed, I started packing for half term hols week away. Made shopping list for last bits to get on my day off tmrw. Ironed. Updated online shop for holiday cottage. Put two loads of washing away while my husband made packed lunches. Phoned my mom to ask her to pick up kids from school tmrw cos I have an afternoon hospital appt. Replied to all my WhatsApp messages from football/school moms/work friends. Cleaned the kitchen and wiped round the downstairs bathroom. Fed the tortoise and gave him a bath! Watched an episode of Corrie on catch up and finally in bed mumsnetting. Other than packing for hols, most of my evenings are like that! I work four days, the kids have activities 6 days a week...evenings are where I keep the show on the road housework/admin wise while watching tv in the background!

I can't remember the last time I was bored as an adult! I work a bit in the evenings as DH and I run our own business so there are never enough hours in the day but I'm quite happy watching a box set and scrolling the web for downtime. If I was bored I'd just do something else - read, sew, call a friend etc etc

@Poppets14

I don’t mind TV if there’s something worth watching but my husband always moans at the stuff I watch so it’s easier to let him put what he likes on. It makes me feel a bit down not knowing what to do- my mum says only boring people get bored 😳 I don’t enjoy exercise

Ah, once again on MN, its actually a DH problem.

My evenings aren't boring. I do the things I enjoy. DH does the things he enjoys. Sometimes we do things together, but we don't moan about what the other is doing.

I don't get bored either. I've always got plenty to be getting on with, whether it is work, chores, batch cooking, writing letters/emails to friends/relatives/people who are in need of a few minutes distraction and someone to write back to, then there's recreational stuff like books, football, music, Scrabble, there's a few TV programmes I enjoy, Guardian crossword if I can be arsed, I could go on...

My suggestions to you, OP are: join the library (also great for DC), read the classics you always meant to read or watch the films you always meant to see, write to a political prisoner or someone else who might like a pen pal (you can Google how to go about this), make something or tart up an old piece of furniture, try an exercise session on YouTube, home beauty treatments (tinting your own eyebrows, for example, is very easy or gel nails perhaps?). Do you have a second TV? If not, consider getting one so you can watch what YOU want.

I’m not home before 7pm on most weekdays so it’s a mad rush to get DD ready for bed and get her things ready for the morning. Then a late supper and some TV before bed, with a couple of chores thrown in.

My evenings are far too short-I usually get a max of an hour to sit down.

So many amazing series and films to watch. And life admin some evenings too unfortunately.

I work three evenings a week and I absolutely so look forward to the evening when I chat with friends..yes proper conversation ! Have grandchild once a week,spoil my dog ,watch rubbish tv and drink wine ! Absolutely marvellous..love my free evenings .

It's a baffling how many people say they're bored...surely with the internet you have the entire world at your fingertips?! How can you be bored with so many options?

I'm doing a software development course online, also learning Italian through YouTube and online resources. If I want less screen time, I read a book or spend some time baking. I never feel like there are enough hours in the day for all the things I want to do!

Oh loads! Music or tv streaming sometimes a film but also:

Cook/bake

Have a nice long hot Bath, do a deep hair condition and shave and then when I get out all over body moisturise and do my nails, music on - lovely

Puzzle books - crosswords etc but mainly I like logic problems

Cross stitch (recently got back into this and loving it I may even try a tapestry)

Knitting - can't follow a pattern but will happily knit squares and make them into something

Adult colouring books

Have a play with my budget spreadsheet

Play games on phone - I have a mix of basic/easy ones like solitaire and sudoku and also longer more involved ones with a narrative type thing where you're creating a "world" it used to be castle story etc but I reached highest level on that and got a bit bored so now I'm on FarmVille I especially like tropic escape as it's set on a tropical Island, also "traditional" games I play against other players like chess, othello, trying (and failing) to learn backgammon, would love to learn poker

Dig into learning about something - a new language (or brush up on a rusty old one), or something history related

I do loads of free courses online

Tell me more please? @scarpa

I read and watch Netflix. Easy.

If you like to get out and have Facebook let can recommend a group for you

Kitchen disco! Pretty much every night, lost quite a bit of weight.

Call my mum, call a friend, email a friend, FB/Messenger, something social along those lines.

Do work if very very bored, my work is never ever done so there's always something to do.

Write a diary, fun to read a few years later as well.

Take the kids out for early evening meal. Often quieter and better than weekends.

Bribe yourself to do horrible housework jobs like changing the cat litter. You get to be virtuous and also get a treat!

Watch shows with each child, then you can talk about them, have 'your' show together.

I rarely ever get bored except if I start watching something on Netflix and find out it's a bit rubbish. Rubbish TV is boring!

I used to drink.

Now I take my kids out (I live abroad where kids stay out much later and then have a long nap in the afternoon), or play tennis, or have a piano class, or a language class. You can do a lot of classes on line post-covid if you can't go out because kids in bed. Also have church/bible study groups. Also walk the dog/go for a bike ride.

Surely you should get to decide what to watch half of the time? It's only fair- if there is time for two TV shows then one each?

I actually really enjoy relaxing with a hot chocolate or coffee in the evening and watching a film or Netflix series.