Mumsnet users share their tips for easy evenings with Sky Store and The Incredibles

[EmmaMumsnet]

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Evenings can sometimes feel like they’re over before they’ve even begun. With this in mind, Sky Store would like to hear your tips for making your evenings easy - so that you still have the time to sit down as a family and enjoy a good movie night in together.

Here’s what Sky Store has to say: “This week we are celebrating the release of the most anticipated animated sequel of all time – Disney/Pixar’s Incredibles 2 in Sky Store, so you can create your perfect movie night in with your family tonight.

With Sky Store evenings are incredibly easy! You can download this family favourite straight to your TV at the touch of a button, so it’s ready to watch as soon as the kids get home.”

What tips do you have for an easy evening? Maybe you meal prep so you spend less time on cooking? Do you have tips for getting your children ready for bed in record time? Have you discovered the secret to making the kids tidy up after themselves? Perhaps you watch new films at home instead of taking a trip to the cinema?

All who post below will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

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It’s all about the food, I like to make boiled potatoes, grilled pork chops, blanched Savoy cabbage, mushrooms and gravy. You can use mash instead of boiled new potatoes. Delicious, easy to make and plenty of time for a movie 💋

It has to be the slow cooker. I can get on with other things whilst the meals pretty much cooks itself!

As a busy working mum I live by my slow cooker! Coming home to a cooked meal and not having to start cooking on an evening is great, leaves more time to spend with my family

Routine is key for me as a lone parent.

Its all about routine and being orgainised I batchh cook and freeze or use my slow cooker so thats all sorted. Kids know they need to place bags and lunch boxs in a certain place. we have a quite time 1 hour before bed. Bed time is often a game see if you can be alseep before me ready stedy go they go off to sleep i go down stairs works every time.

Dinner preparation is a must because that saves sooo much time. Then its a case of entertainment, which usually involves a movie and a few snacks which is easy enough.

I take the pressure off by enlisting the help of my Mother. Not only is she brilliant at helping with meals and entertainment but also she is a valuable presence in both my life and my children's. And she appreciates the interaction too. I know that I'm lucky and I don't ever take her for granted.

homework done after school, easy dinner, left overs or slow cooker, tidy up together and walk the dog and just chill until bedtime

We love movie nights! We get all the jobs done, jump into our pjs and munch on pizza and snacks! The kids get to pick the snacks and we try to make them watch what we want to watch......

I've got to add that the slow cooker has also made our lives easier, especially when we want a healthy home cooked meal. It's made for easy evenings and a less stressful life.

During the week it's always hectic with after-school clubs/sport activities/homework/gym etc, so easy evenings and movie nights are saved solely for the weekend. Usually involves ordering a takeaway, followed by PJs, treats and a family movie.

I honestly find evenings with my two children difficult, there always seems to be loads to do, the children are tired and its the same routine every night. The slow cooker does really help and I have a couple of quick and easy dinners if it has been a stressful day.

Our evenings to relax tend to be at the weekends when we have a fakeaway on a saturday and watch strictly.

We bought a £20 popcorn machine and turn one night a week int movie night

I always meal prep weekly on Sundays to make life easier for myself.

Unfortunately for secrets in getting DS to clean up, well he tends to clean up his wardrobe but everything else is messy. It's always iPad, iPad, iPad.

Make a 5 minute stir fry - we all love that, and the motivation for getting ready for bed without a fuss, is - we can do this again next week, it's a win win - family time and some down time for me, and they are getting a reward for their co-operation, and I do keep to my word, if there is a fuss at bedtime, then no - we don't have the movie night (although I have only had to do this once - we had tears - but better behaviour the next week)

Ban phones and gadgetry. Talk to each other, play a family game or select and watch a movie together

Friday nights are our easy night here after a long week so dd (6) and I get a takeaway, snuggle on the sofa and watch a film. Dd occasionally wants to sleep in her polo shirt from school (strange child) so I let her crack on as it all goes in the wash at the weekend anyway. It's about not sweating the small stuff in our house eg sometimes eat on the sofa infront of telly, sleep in whatever feels comfy and so on.

We love a Family~Film~Fest of an evening or a rainy sunday where we snuggle on the sofa ( or the floor usually the younger ones) we have snacks, drinks and blankets and a great family film, Sometimes we'll have dinner too, pizza slices are usually the easiest and if it's an evening Film Fest then kids love to be in their onesies for super Snuggle time!

We've just started a chapter book together. We all get together (me, DD and DS) in DD's bed and read a chapter a night, it really helps wind things down for bedtime.

A well practised routine that starts at more or less the same time every day helps my two children get ready for bed. I've also started putting the timer on and reward them for being ready before it pips so that they hurry up and don't dawdle.

After the kids have gone to bed we have a quick tea following a meal plan so there's not that "What shall we have got tea?" conundrum. We use the slow cooker every now and again too.

Chores are shared and done through the day so there's no tidying up etc to do in the evening and we can just relax.

Left overs from the night before, reheated. Spending half an hour sorting washing, dishwasher, unpacking lunch boxes and bags etc. Then snuggling on the sofa with a film or box set . Lovely!

routine is the winner for us (although there has to be some flexibility for various after school activities & varying childcare). Homework after school, then play. Dinner followed by piano practice then some quiet play or reading then bed.

I get dinner out of the way then chill for the rest of the evening

Slow cooker on when I go to work makes coming home and feeding everyone so much easier. We also have a rule that we know exactly what needs doing by 7 so we aren't stressed later on

Lots have beaten me to it, but I am in love with my slow cooker as a time saving hack. How did I manage before I had one?
Children older now so they manage getting themselves ready for bed. Am mindful that mobile screens make it increasingly easy for family life to become atomised with everyone in their own rooms, so we try and have family time together - around meals, but also watching favourite TV programmes or films together.