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

Insight Terms and Conditions apply

Agree with slow cooker. Main advantage, you know what the kids won’t be eating 8 hours in advance!

We order in pizza and watch a new film at home. With 4 young children we don't go to the cinema!

Slow cooker is fantastic and making double to freeze or reheat the next day. A big basket in the living room is also great to quickly chuck all the toys in at the end of the day

I do dinner in the slow cooker so there's usually no meal prep to do.

I get the kids straight in the bath and ready for bed after dinner.

The elder 2 read the younger two their bedtime stories. Kills 2 birds with one stone. The older 2 have done their reading for school and the younger 2 get their bedtime stories.

Week nights are manic by the time we get in from work and activities, cook and eat dinner, homework and get ready for bed!
Fridays is our chill night, we often have a takeaway if it’s the start of the month or fakeaway if it’s the end!! We then try and choose a film everyone can agree on but often just watch episodes of impractical jokers that we have downloaded while series of.

We get a takeaway or a throw together meal at the weekends because I don’t want to be wasting the evening on food prep and cooking. DD gets a little snack tub of sweets and watches a film of her choice in our bedroom and I go up and spend a bit of time watching it with her a giving her a cuddle. Then me and DH have our own movie night downstairs. Streaming films is so much easier than the old days of picking up a dvd.

Weeknights
Meal agreed on (by self and dp) before picking up small one.
Homework done first thing so it's out for the way.
Change into pjs, then dinner.
1hr family TV
Bed at 7 with story then allowed to read to herself for 30 mins.

Weekends
Sunday is always family meal early-ish (3/3:30pm) with a family film after in winter.
A late tea about 6pm with cake and hot chocolate before cuddles and bed with story etc.

Tag team bedtime with DH.

When we want a movie night, I cook dinner using a slow cooker. Usually goes on around lunch time and most of the dishes are done before we've even eaten. This saves so much time later on in the evening!

One of us cooks something quick that we all enjoy like fahitas, the other one will get everything ready. Teamwork!

It’s got to be quick and easy food, the kids take forever to eat so as long as it’s quickly cooked we have some family time.

Slow cookers are a godsend in the winter, makes it easy to sort tea then we get bathed and into pjs and settled on the sofa infront of the tv before the kids go upstairs for a bedtime story. We try and keep a routine even if watching a film as it helps the kids settle and wind down.

I meal prep on Sundays, then when I walk in after work my OH can get the meals ready.. then we have a routine. Baths at 6, and meanwhile we put away clean clothes and clean up from the meal, then stories and bed.. so even if they chat a bit to themselves, they are in their rooms from 7.... but we're lucky they're still small!!

Kids in PJs when we walk through the door (we do 6 day weeks), and on movie night either a takeaway, takeaway or freezer tea, followed by movie.

We've just started the Men In Black movies and the kids love them.

We set a time for the film to start then make sure we are all ready to relax at that time. Getting showers/into pjs earlier makes things easier and we do this even more in winter as it seems cosier.

My children are too young to sit still for a movie - we enjoy watching a movie at home once they've gone to bed!
An easy evening involves some oven food or a takeaway - no chopping or stirring. Sometimes we skip the bath time in favour of showers for the kids - quicker for sure. I try not to worry too much about tidying up all the toys strewn about the place - we make a game out of tidying up throughout the day.

For a perfect evening we plan everything earlier in the day. I let my daughter know that we'll watch a film on the night in the morning, so she knows what's going to happen and what the plan is. We then ensure that we are all ready for that time, washed, in pjs, snacks, meals and drinks at the ready aaaaannnnddd rest!

Our family are very lucky as although my husband and I both work full time, we are home early enough in the evening to cook a meal (the husband) help the kiddies homework or take them to sports clubs (me) before 7pm. We then have family chill time each evening.

Getting their pj's on is no problem! My kiddies get them on a soon as they get home, it's a comfort thing :)

On our Saturday movie nights we make or collect a curry around 7ish which we all eat together in the kitchen without TV/phones etc, and then move into the living room for one or two movies, with popcorn of course. As it has been getting colder we have cuddled up in our duvets too!

My top tip about relaxing on these family nights is not to stress about eating unhealthy food, Have a takeaway pizza or a chippy meal without the guilt. It is once a week so it will not hurt :)

When dh helps cook and with the dishes, they're done in half the time which means extra time for lazing on the sofa with a snuggly blanket.

To try for an easy evening, in the morning, I agree with the evening plans with my 4 year old! We plan everything in simple steps, so it would go:

1. Come home from school, get changed.
2. Have tea (meal agreed in the morning)
3. Read book/homework
4. Watch tv/tablet/toys
5. Bath & bed

Works most of the time for us if they are no unexpected changes.

We try to make beds in the mornings and put pj's neat on top ready and we do spellings practise whilst I do my6 yr old twins hair in the mornings it takes me ages to detangle so spellings occupies them and 1 less thing to do in the evening

I pick up DP from Train station on my way home, kids usually home watching their stuff. We catch up in kitchen whilst cooking, eat together and kids tend to disappear to their rooms so we have pick of TV (nothing too demanding during week, 1/2 hour or 1 hour programmes.)

Takeaway, glass of wine and catching up with a film or tv or a good book.

We make dinner in the instant pot for faster food prep. Kids do their homework as soon as they get in and chores too, then whatever time.is left we have for watching a show or movie together. Most movie biggrz are Friday or Saturday so we can stay up later to finish.

Kids love a picnic tea, basically anything I can find in fridge and cupboards. They can graze at it while watching the film. I often get them bathed and in pjs before the film or programme starts.