Transitioning to a later bedtime

[busyrascal]

Hi everyone,
We started to realise a few weeks ago that our 6yo is needing less sleep these days. She was going to bed at 7pm with her little sister and then waking before 6am. So we have started letting her stay up later (8pm) and she is now sleeping until 7am again.
All good so far, but at what point should we encourage her to become a bit more independent at bedtime? And what do your slightly-older dc do in the half-hour before bedtime if they have younger siblings already in bed. So far we have tried a mix of homework, tv, chatting on the sofa etc.
It seems to be working so far but I feel like on the one hand we lack so much of the routine that we had before, and on the other hand we realise that she's growing up and doesn't need that routine in the way that she used to.
So how did your bedtimes migrate from the baby's 7pm bedtime routine?

DS almost 7 has had an 8 o'clock bedtime for about a year for all the reasons you mention. Plus DH was getting home from work around 7pm so they weren't seeing each other.

Sometimes we watch to together. Reading on our bed. Eating. Games- board & PS3.

It works but man I feel like our evening has disappeared now!

I wouldn't be encouraging homework in the last half hour before bed. It should be something relaxing. We have bath time and reading.

Not quite the same but I have a toddler who doesn't need an early bedtime (still napping and bed around 8-8.30pm) and a baby who wants to be in bed at 6.30pm. It's a pain in the bum to be honest. Obviously DS is a lot littler but we do a mix of part of a film/reading/drawing/quiet playing.