What do your weekends look like?

[countthestars]

We seem to do the same things over and over on the weekends, and everything seems to cost money. How old are your kids and what do your weekends look like?

[raangoli]

Our weekends are mostly administrative but that is because it is winter. That means we are running errands etc. rather than taking time out to "play". We have started to go to the library once every few weeks for story time which BB loves. They read a few books based on that week's theme, then they get to do a craft, and then she finds books and more books for us to read to her. It's a nice hour+ for her and FREE for us.

During the warmer months we do take time to "play" and go to playgrounds and take time to be outside.

[VillainV]

C is 5.

Saturday:
- Basketball game in the morning (or soccer or tee ball or swimming lesson)
- Some other errand (haircut for C and H, quick trip to Lowes, etc)
- Back home for the rest of the day, play (inside or outside), TV, cleaning/laundry

Sunday:
- I work out (Run, gym, whatever)
- After workout I pick up our grocery order
- All of us go out for a short errand or activity, maybe lunch
- Outside play, dinner, cleaning/laundry

This can change slightly depending on what time games are, whether or not there’s a birthday party, etc. Sometimes we don’t go anywhere or do anything, but we all tend to prefer one or two short trips out/errands per day just to break the day up.

[Susie]

Sat AM:  I take DD (3) to swim lessons at the Y and then Dunkin Donuts after.  PM:  she naps, we get stuff done.  When she gets up sometimes Calvin takes her grocery shopping or she just plays at home until dinner/bath/bed.

Sun AM:  We try to get her outside or at least out of the house for a while so she will take a decent nap.  Sometimes library, or playground, or in the snow.  Pickings have been slim lately and it's been rough.  The rest of the day is pretty similar to Sat.

[oswin]

Weekends have been kind of quiet lately, partially because sickness has cancelled some playdates. My kids are 1, 3, and 5. Lately it kind of goes like this: Saturday morning, I take 2 or even 3 kids to the grocery store (I do this on purpose to kill time, but we also do need groceries). Then at some point, I may go for a run with DS1 in the stroller for an hour. If we're lucky, we've got a playdate for all of us in the afternoon, or else we have a quiet day, run more errands, maybe hit the library for and hour or 90 minutes. Saturday is often a movie night at home, we might try to have an early dinner or break in the middle for dinner so it's over by 7 so the kids aren't up too late (bedtime is like 8ish). Sundays we usually let the kids watch 1 disc of cartoons (yes, a DVD!), which is 60-120 minutes, usually in the morning. We use this time to take a break or get stuff done (though the 1 year old still needs active supervision, he doesn't watch cartoons, not interested yet). We might have friends over for brunch, or friends over for an afternoon playdate. Depending on the friends, they might stay for dinner (other kids get dropped off and picked up before dinner). Sunday evening is just play time and getting ready for the school week. Maybe having the kids help put their laundry away.

When the weather is nicer, we tend to spend more of the weekend at parks, often packing lunch or snacks.

[abs]

Totally depends.

DD is 8. We usually have soccer on Saturday. Other than that we do whatever. Last weekend it was a spontaneous dinner out with soccer friends. Sometimes there is a birthday party. Sometimes we do nothing but deep clean and run errands. DD always wants a play date and we try to accommodate when we can. Once a month we do a fun family activity day—nice dinner out, Top Golf, the zoo,etc.

Our weekends are pretty chaotic generally.

[boiler717]

One three year old who is a total home body
Friday: we often get together with friends late afternoon and let the kids play while we drink wine. Usually do pizza and a movie, we rotate between homemade pizza, fancy pizza, or papa Murphy’s
Sat/Sun: he naps/quiet time both afternoons, so kinda 4 half day time slots. We usually spend one time slot with my parents (or they take him to a story time). We usually play at home for at least 2 of those slots. Occasionally we go out to dinner or see friends if we didn’t on Friday. Once or twice a month we do a museum, nature center, Home Depot build, etc (usually membership so no charge).

[moonriver]

I have an almost 3 year old.

My husband and I do a lot of tag teaming. My son usually wants to ride his bike to the playground, so we do that at least once a day. Often we will stop by a coffee shop for a little while on the way home. In the warmer months, we go to the Saturday farmers market. Kiddo still naps so we come home for lunch and a long nap. My H goes for a long bike ride on Sunday mornings (like 9-12, sometimes longer). We usually do a fun family thing like the zoo, a family trip to a different playground, etc. I sometimes get away to see a movie by myself or go for a massage.

[konapoppy]

Kids are about 18 months. We have to get out of the house each weekend day - the park (weather permitting), library, mall play area, Costco, lunch, family walk with the dogs or Target are frequent choices. Family comes over one afternoon. One afternoon is normally filled with errands or work. And laundry is constant lol.

ETA: at least one weekend a month we have a play date.

[hamster]

It's basically a constant trade off between watching the kid and getting done whatever each person needs to do. So, basically, we just try to get caught up a tiny bit on household chores.


We make a list of "have to's" but probably only half get done. And unless it's at the top of the list, the chore doesn't even exist.


It's only going to get worse before it gets better

[madringal]

My girls are 10/7/3

If we don't have a swim meet, we spend Saturday mornings doing housework. Cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping. The kids usually play with the neighbors for most of the afternoon and then we hang out as a family in the evening. Games, movie, nothing special.

Sunday mornings and evenings we go to church. The afternoon is usually when we meet up with friends, or go out for lunch, etc.

Our weekends are pretty low key, and we don't spend a lot of money to entertain ourselves. After a busy week we are all ready to just hang out at home and relax.

[hocus2]

We have kids in activities on the weekend both days. We often have a party of a playdate Saturday or Sunday. If nothing is going on Sunday afternoon we let the kids stream a movie or sometimes we'll catch the newest kid movie though that is kinda of pricey too.

Around here the library does offer free programming on the weekends which is a nice option. Our community center/afterschool has the gym open for slightly older kids to play in. Their pool is open for family swim too which my kids like though the parking situation is irritating.

In the summer we cut most actives out to be able to do day trips out to the water parks/amusement park or hang out with friends at BBQs.

[minionkevin]

Kids are 2.5 and 4.5
Saturday: Swim class 9:30-10, but it is 25 minutes away, so we leave at 8:50ish. We get home around 11, eat a small lunch/big snack and take early naps bc swimming wears my kids out. After nap, we go shopping, to the children’s museum (and then Shake Shack for dinner) or stay home.
Sunday: DH takes the kids to the trampoline park for toddler time 9:30-11 (20 minutes away); I go to church for 9:30. We all leave the house at 9. I go to Aldi on my way home, he goes to Wegmans on his way home, and we meet up back home around noon. We eat lunch, nap, and then spend the rest of the afternoon running errands, or stay home. We tend to eat dinner earlier on Sundays, prep lunches for the week afterwards, and put away laundry while the kids are playing before bed.
ETA: We have season passes to Sesame Place and most spring/summer/fall weekends we spend 1 day before nap or after nap there; it depends on what else is going on, and the weather. We go there enough that we don’t do every ride/show/etc. every time. We’ve spent a full day there only one time.
Also my older one is starting soccer in a few weeks but it is 6:45-7:30 on Tuesdays, so not impacting weekends at all.

[lolo]

I have a 5.5 and a 2.5. Our weekends definitely vary. We have no structured activities.

Sat a.m.
Bike and scoot to farmers market and coffee shop

Sat p.m.
Birthday party

Sun a.m.
Play at park/take a hike/play date/museum

Sun p.m.
Hang at home, sometimes have friends over

Usually H takes 2-3 hours of hobby time. Sometimes I'll get coffee with friends or attend a board meeting for the NFP I volunteer on.

[steamboat185]

We have a 5.5 year old and a 2.5 year old and our weekends are all over the map. Typically we spend one morning running errands and Sunday after nap prepping meals for the week. We like to keep one day open for activities we rotate between skiing or doing something low cost like the museum, library, or zoo. On average about one weekend a month we are out of town. The last 5 weekend we’ve either been out of town or had out of town for part of the weekend- which has been exhausting.

[vmars]

DS is 5. Saturday am I workout and then we go to Costco/Target. Sunday am I also work out. In the winger we try and plan one activity out - go to the library, visit family/friends, go to the park, see a movie, etc. In the summers we go to the beach because we live close. In the fall/spring we like to do things outdoors like go to the park, apple picking, strawberry picking, etc. Winters are just the worst in terms of options of things to do.

[loira]

DD is 3. She no longer naps. We live in a HCOL area, but Canada so lots of free kid programs and government subsidised sports and rec.

Saturday morning she has gymnastics. After gymnastics she's really hungry so we always go out for brunch, which she calls "second breakfast" - this usually costs us around $50 after tip. We'll be adding swimming to her routine next year. Afternoons we usually bake something together or DH will take her to the park.

Sunday I'll take her out for a hike while H works. Then we go home, have lunch and she gets to pick an afternoon movie to watch.

Some weekends we go to the museum or the aquarium. We have memberships to both.

[humpforfree]

(5 & 3.5)
We mostly just play at home and chill out. Saturday I attempt to get up for an early workout. H will stay home with the kids and they play while he watches tv or does work at the counter. He’ll feed them breakfast and lunch. The kids just play inside or out on the playground/trampoline all morning. Nap time. Afternoon is usually just more free play. Rarely will we have an event/birthday party/family thing to go to. Dinner is usually at home, though maybe out once every 3-4 weeks.

Sunday- same thing except we try to go to church in the morning (leave at 10:20, so free play until then).

Maybe once every 4-5 weeks one of us will have an errand (Home Depot/hardware store/dump, etc) and will bring one kid with us. We don’t have weekend organized activities & I dread them. We don’t go out and do kid focused things, especially that cost money. If we do kid activities, I usually take them on our “field trip Friday” or a weekday evening when H gets home from work. It’s usually less expensive and we really just value that down/free time on the weekends.

[starburst604]

We have one almost 4 year old DD. While she does have scheduled activities, the rest of the weekend we do whatever stuff me and H want/need to do, and it can vary. Sometimes we’re out all day, sometimes not.

This past weekend: on Sat morning H took DD to basketball and food shopping while I got my hair done. When I got home we made spontaneous plans to meet friends for lunch. It was a big group and the kids all ran around for hours (very family friendly Irish pub owned by friends). We got home around dinnnertime and just hung out and relaxed.

Sunday mornings I teach a fitness class, H takes DD to skating lesson and then swim. When I got home I made us breakfast. We hung in the rest of the day and assembled some stuff we got from IKEA for the playroom. Finally before dinner time me and DD went for a long walk in the cemetery across the street, ran around and explored the woods behind it.

I don’t love having her signed up for 3 activities in one weekend but H wanted to and agreed to bring her. It’s just for another month and we’ll probably just stick with swimming for a while. I don’t look forward to the years when her activities rule our weekends, at least it seems that way for our friends with older kids.

[farmvillelover]

3.5 and 7.

Gymnastics for the younger.
Surf and golf for the older.
Bikes and scooters at home.
Me - workout at OTF or Peloton, grocery shop, random errands.  Buying the Peloton has proven to be a great decision.
H - surf, golf, chip away at honey-do list.
Me and the kids usually hit the mall at least once.

We eat out a lot on weekends.

*The above is outside of birthday parties, dinner parties, having guests/parents in town or other special events.

[macmars45]

Saturday morning we try to get DS (3 next month) out of the house by 9:30/10am for errands, library or playing at the park if nice outside. Home for lunch and rest by 12/12:30pm. Rest from 1-2pm. H and I trade off in the afternoon each taking roughly an hour. I'll take DS outside to play if it's not raining. Sometimes we grocery shop around 3:30-4pm. Then H makes dinner. Bath at 6:45 and bed at 7pm.

Sunday I leave for church at 8:30am (I teach Sunday School). H and DS follow at 9/9:15am. We all are home by 11ish. In nice months we meet up at a park on the way home. Otherwise home for playing until lunch at 12/12:30pm and rest from 1-2pm. If we didn't grocery shop on Saturday we do on Sunday afternoon at 3:30/4pm. I'll take DS outside to play if it's not raining. Usually H makes dinner. Bath/bed by 7pm.

Sometimes we go out for dinner. Or a special treat of ice cream. Not every weekend. Especially for the ice cream.

Right now inside play on the weekends looks like a lot of H/DS lego & duplo play. They could and have both played happily for literally hours. It's the best!

[Deleted]

Saturday is swim class, grocery store, lunch, nap. What we do between nap and dinner varies. Before the deep freeze set in, I’d often take babyharpy (18 months) on a long stroller walk while H relaxed or did stuff around the house. The curb cuts are disasters of ice and snow, though, so I’m just slowly going insane instead.

Church kills a fair amount of time on Sunday mornings. By the time we drive there, have the service, hang out at coffee hour, and stop to pick up some hot ham, it’s time for lunch and then nap.

I’m hoping that as the weather warms up, we can use our zoo membership more.

[redheadbaker]

Currently:

Saturdays -- get up around 9, breakfast/coffee, feed & walk dogs, take DS (age 7) to ice skating (30 minutes to get there, 60 minute lesson), stay for open skating session, food shopping on the way home, put food away/clean out fridge, make dinner, relax until DS' bedtime.

Sundays -- get up around 9, breakfast/coffee, feed & walk dogs, take DS to swim lesson, come home, clean the apartment, laundry, make dinner, relax until bedtime.

That will all change soon, though. That set of lessons will be done, and then little league starts in mid-April.

[gastro]

Kids are 7 and 3.

Saturday AM: sports -
DS2 has a gymnastics class and depending on the season DS1 usually has tennis or soccer
Afternoon - hike or to the beach
Dinner - usually out

Sunday -
Some sort of outdoor activity in the AM - we are lucky tor live in an area where there a tons of beautiful and varied outdoor hikes, tide pools to explore, farms/ranches to visit
Maybe movie or bowling
Take the kids swimming

Once a month we usually host some families Saturday night and the parents have wine and kids run around - we feed them dinner and then they get a movie. Usually it’s from about 5- 8:30pm.

We always take advantage of parents morning out or night at our sports club and that happens about once a month on a Friday night or Saturday morning.

[goldengirlz]

Many of our Saturdays are low-key: one of us takes DD to the park or to ride her bike while the other goes to the gym — then we switch and someone might take her to the library or to run errands while the other gets exercise.

I try to do a play date about once a month. We also have company not infrequently. When the weather is nice (and it usually is), we go on family hikes or to the beach. We also travel quite a bit, whether that’s a quick road trip to Napa/Sonoma or a family vacation during school breaks.

We go out to dinner every Saturday night and try to get a sitter at least once a month.

Sundays are for activities: Hebrew school and swimming. Sometimes DD and I get our nails done together. And we always have boba.

One 8 year old.

[sent]

Kids are 5 and 1. Weekends are about survival. I spend a lot of time worrying about what I'm going to feed them. DD has dance on Sunday mornings. I usually haul them out on an errand or two with me just for a change of scenery. Sometimes we have to load DS in the car and go for a long drive or else he won't nap.

[hopecounts]

Kids are 8 yrs and 5 months

Saturday AM
Play at home, she gets to watch a show while we take care of baby and do other stuff then we will do something together while baby naps

Saturday PM
Go to the playground/library/local children’s museum (membership was a gift) while one of us stays home with baby for naptime or we all go depending on timing

Come home and chill
Dinner
After the kids are in bed DH and I will watch a movie or a show


Sunday AM
Church
Then grocery shopping
Home for lunch

Sunday PM
Head over to the ILs at some point
Dinner with ILs
Home and bedtime


On Friday night DH and I try to do an at home date night after the kids are in bed.
Have dinner/rent a movie/etc

MIL usually babysits once a month for us to go out

I SAH so we don’t have much in terms of cleaning and errands to do on the weekends since I handle that stuff during the week

[aspentosh]

DD is 7. We don't have a ton of scheduled things so we can be pretty good with the flow, especially on Sundays. We'll sometimes see family one day.

Friday
-anything from date night to renting a Redbox movie as a family to game night after DD goes to bed

Saturday
-swim lessons in the am
-adoption event for our local rescue from 12-3
-sometimes date night

Sunday
-when it's warmer we go hiking a lot

I SAH and DD is in school so I try and do as many errands and chores as I can so we can keep our weekends open-ish.

[ilikedonuts]

My kids are swimmers. We basically are at the pool 75% of all weekends. Practice, meets, lessons. Birthday parties are the other 25%. We have a 6 week swim meet break coming up. I’m a bit lost about what to do with myself lol

[shaynaatl]

Almost 5 and 20 months.

We don’t have either kid in activities yet so our weekends are mostly chill. Typically playing in the house (since too cold to play outside). We like to eat out on Sat nights so we’ll do an early dinner. Once in a while we’ll have a kids birthday party or meet up with friends. But the young one goes to bed early so we’re never out late.

I know parents often talk about how the weekend flies by since it’s so chaotic. Personally, I feel like our weekends feel really long and relaxing. For us, it’s weekdays that feel chaotic and fly by. I know this will change as they get older.