What to do in the evenings?

[Deleted User]

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

Cinema or out for a run/gym session (both of them) is outta the question unless they've babysitters on hand...

Exactly - At £20 a pop for babysitting, we can't afford to use it too often. So, this is a strictly 'what can we do together at home' type of thing.

I like the idea of both of us spending an hour making an interesting dinner

penguingirl

We don't have children, but don't tend to go out in the evenings (both have intense jobs and are generally shattered!) and try to limit TV and internet/phones. Often we cook a nice dinner together and just talk, but also go through phases of other things. Things include poker, chess, xbox (and kinect), reading, baking, listening to music, OH playing piano and I'll just listen. When we watch TV we try to make sure it a specific programme we watch or something like a boxset so it's not quite so 'mindless'. We normally watch a film at the weekend.

purple45

We do cooking together and its great! We're both careful what we eat and very picky so we came up with the challenge of creating a perfect low fat veggie chilli and veggie curry. We spent ages in the kitchen chopping and cooking up huge vats of the stuff to fill the freezer and dance around to good music while we're at it. Its quite a nice companiable thing to do and then we get to benefit from the results nomnom!

Errata

Take it in turns to get out of the house for at least a couple of evenings each week, which will give you lots to talk about during the evenings you're together. But, if you want some concrete suggestions: genelogy, League of Jewish Women, social/volunteer groups attached to your synagogue, allotment.

ps I'm amazed your eldest is now 4, I remember you getting engaged!

LEJC

How old are your children....Its very possible that whilst they go to bed at 7pm now in a few years time or certainly by the time they reach school they will have evening activities of their own which require you to ferry them around etc.

I would actually enjoy the time you have together at the moment without trying to fit in a hobby...but use it as wind down time where you talk about the day,share a dessert or even cook yourselves a later evening meal together...even enjoy the time together with a sharing plate of cheese and biscuits...

And if you really must do something then christmas is approaching...plan that...

How craft based are you both?...would making something together like a patchwork quilt or painting be of interest...I love the idea of a musical instrument,but in practice its difficult to keep the noise down for sleeping children unless you have a very big house!

Taking the craft idea a step further could you make something together for the children for christmas...going back a long time ago for my 5th christmas I remember getting a dolls house that my dad had made for me and my mum had furnished...it was a real labour of love present that still has never been beaten in my opinion.


once your children start to get a bit older and bedtime gets later you really will just long for those days when you could enjoy eachothers company on the sofa with a glass of wine.

[Deleted User]

Well.. we don't celebrate Christmas (Jewish..) and planning Hanukkah isn't especially hard (buy toys, light some candles, eat doughnuts)

Kids are 2 and 4. I work from home, so discussing my day is boring. Wife works 3 days a week (and when she does, she's not home till 9pm).

I think a glass of wine might be the best idea!

Mojisola

ringo_24601 wrote: »

I'm tempted to propose we go through our digital photo collection and sort them all out. We've now got about 120GB of photos in our 'archive' and they need printing/organising and a vast number deleting.

Really worthwhile doing - and, at the same time, set up collections for the two children so that they have their own history documented.

LEJC

How about making some candles!!

have a go at wine making...or home brewing

sharp82

Gloss a skirting board. Before you know it, months will have passed and you'll have painted the whole house to match that one skirting board

newcook

me and OH enjoy playing different board and card games - trivial pursuit, dominos, cribbage, monopoly etc.