A Realistic + Simple Winter Evening Routine with Littles
Alright, we are in the homestretch of winter, ya’ll! Although, as I type this, Texas and Mississippi are experiencing INCHES of snow right now. And as it was a very cold 28 degree day in Atlanta today, it only seems fitting to document and share what our evening routine looks like these days with a 3 year old and 9.5 month old. For a full day in the life with a toddler and an infant, you can check out this post here.
Let’s jump right into it!
5:30 pm
Our evening routine starts with dinner on the table around 5:30 pm. I like to signal this time with some nice music and diffusing Stress Away (one of my favorite scents to diffuse ever)) in my diffuser, while Eli sets the table. When the weather is warmer, we try to take our dinner outdoors, like to the park. But during the winter, I focus on warm, cozy meals, and creating a similar ambiance.
While we eat, Eli usually reminds us to do our “Table Topics,” a cute little card set that was in Eli’s Chick-fil-A kids meal. I love that these questions help us to engage in conversation with Eli, and I honestly want to buy the full version because listening to the thoughts of a 3 year old is so much fun!
6 pm
Usually around this time, Ezra has about had it with being in his highchair and let’s us all know. So we finish up dinner and begin to wind down. Usually, I will start cleaning the table and putting the food away while Toby plays with the boys, but lately I’ve been getting Eli to help clean up. Right now, his tasks are wiping down the table and pushing in the chairs. He loves being able to help, and it’s the cutest thing!
Again, during the warmer months, we would be outside (either at the playground or taking a family walk). The winter is usually hard for us to find ways to help Eli get his wiggles out. What we have found to help has been doing all the rough things with Daddy, or putting on a toddler exercise video on YouTube for the days we don’t have energy to keep up with Eli.
Another new thing that I’ve started to incorporate is 15-30 minutes of “me-time” during this time. I find that it helps me to have a moment to destress and to be more pleasant as the kids get ready for bed, ha! During this time, I will either shower, read, wash my hair, or something that will help me feel relaxed. I try extremely hard to not do any work or scroll social media.
7 pm
Time for the bedtime routine! Toby usually gives Eli a bath while I either give Ezra a bath, or knock out some last minute chores before I put Ezra in his pajamas. Once Eli is out of the bath, it’s pajamas and teeth brushing time before Toby or I read him a book or two. On some nights, when the boys are really tired (aka someone has skipped a nap), this portion of our routine can take about 30 minutes. And on other nights, we are pushing it to 8 pm.
8 pm
This is the bedtime we shoot for. Again, on some days, this happens without incident. On other nights, it can drag out to 8:30 and sometimes 9 pm because of the requests for water, back pats, a song, needing to go pee, needing a toy, and all other 3 year old excuses, ha! This is one area where we are trying to work on and make easier. I would love any suggestions you have for bedtime with toddlers below!
And that’s our routine! Nothing fancy, and super realistic.