This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, INC. and The Coca-Cola Company, all opinions are mine alone. #ServeWithACoke #CollectiveBias
During the week, my family is typically juggling work, chores, school routines and after school activities. With a family of six, our week days can get a little hairy. It is often hard to get family time unless we are intentional about penciling it in.
Having quality time with each of our kids is important because while the activities teach them what their talents are, family time teaches them how to care and love one another. It is also a time for us to reflect as a family and nurture our relationships with each other.
I’m sharing some of my tips on how to carve out some time with your family, even when life gets hectic in your life’s most busy season.
How to Maximize Family Time When You Have No Time
Don’t Overschedule
This may be hard for some parents. I mean, how do you choose between your kid’s love of soccer versus cheer? I know I didn’t get a lot of opportunities to play sports or do extracurriculars in my childhood, so I’m sort of living vicariously through them for some of these! However, I also think it is a teaching moment for my loved ones so that they know they can’t DO everything. Life is about choices. While extracurricular activities provide them an idea on their talents, spending time with family provides them values and beliefs!
Turn Off Screens During Meals
Being able to talk to our kids about their day without trying to hear over the additional noise of the television news anchor or their favorite cartoon character is refreshing. Implement a new rule in the house regarding limiting screen time (or no screen time at all) on Monday through Thursday nights. This should provide more time for family laughter and family fun!
Make Grocery Shopping and Meal Times Snappy
There are some people who love grocery shopping, and there’s me. That is, until I discovered Hy-Vee’s online shopping service! With this service, I have the ability to shop online with my groceries ready for pickup, but still be able to go inside and shop for last minute things (like dinner) with the other part of my groceries waiting for me! This saves time and frustration.
For a last minute dinner, Hy-Vee offers some amazing meal deals, which includes a Chinese dinner for four and a 2-liter of Coca-Cola™ for an absolute steal.
Per usual, I stopped in the pop aisle to stock up on Coca-Cola for myself.
A quick, delicious meal for the family and an ice cold Coca-Cola for me is an absolute parenting win in my book. After a long day of fun at work, school and activities, the last thing I want to do is think about cook dinner. This means more time eating and having conversation with the family, rather than the multi-tasking dance of making dinner and keeping the peace in the house.
HyVee as some additional meal deals as well: view these week’s meal deals at your local store.
I love me some sesame chicken!
Let the Family Schedule Fun
Pick a night of the week where it is a standing appointment to get some family fun in and then let your KIDS decide how they want to spend that time! You should give them some parameters, like it must be at home and not require a lot of cleaning afterwards. Let the kids set the tempo and make some memories!
Stay Away from Time-Wasting Traps
Time is definitely a scarce commodity that can’t be bought. Social media, while fun, can take away so much precious time from our families. Stop spending time starting at your phone and screen! My husband and I often joke that when you jump from video to video on your phone, you are doing what is called “portaling” – time that you could be spending with the family!
While all of us, especially parents, wish we had more time to spend with the ones we love, sometimes the solution my not be as apparent until it is spelled out. With a little more efficiency, organization and focus, you can find those narrow moments in which you can squeeze more quality time with your family.
Implement one of these ideas now to get quality time back. The easiest one? Pick up a meal deal from Hy-Vee and check out coke.com/eats for more ideas on how to pair a Coca-Cola for your meals!
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