Three 5pm play setups by age / the toys-at-the-table rule my sister couldn't believe / how I got my husband cooking

Thank you to HelloFresh for sponsoring this post and keeping it paywall free for everyone. #HelloFreshPartner

I love a houseful. I love piles of sneakers at the back door. Sweatshirts and backpacks strewn across my den. Dogs barking, kids in and out of the kitchen grabbing snacks. I love messy play and art at the kitchen counter. I am good at those things. They make me happy.

But dinner? Not my strong suit. I am not a great cook, and I never really have been. I would literally rather change poopie diapers than plan, shop, prep and cook dinner. And since Nate, my oldest, left for college last year, I have been even more avoidant of cooking because he is my only kid that would eat anything and then ask for more.

Dinner around here has become such a slog.

So, when HelloFresh reached out and asked me if I wanted to partner with them to share some ways to get dinner on the table while everyone is settling into their fall routines, I knew this would be win-win. Because when there are permission slips on the counter, and the XC practice schedule has changed twice, my youngest shows up with a friend who is staying for dinner, and my middle needs a last minute ride, dinner is the thing that sends me into a total spiral.

Every parent I talk to right now is underwater. School started a few weeks ago and it feels like we should already be in a solid routine, but that’s never the case… for anyone. It’s not just you. You aren’t doing anything wrong. All of us are overwhelmed.

There is one simple strategy I have been using during the school-to-dinnertime transition since my teens were toddlers: using play to keep hands busy, screens to a minimum, and the chaos at bay (sorta). And yes, that includes the toys at the dinner table. I’ll explain, hang on...

Inside this post:

Why I let my kids bring toys to the table when they were little, and what those toys turned into.
The one way I’ve used at-home meals to stay close to my teens.
Three simple setups, by age, to keep your kids playing while you make dinner.
How HelloFresh is helping me get meals on the table that everyone loves, without the stress of prep and planning.

The Dinner Transition

First, let’s talk about that hour when everyone’s getting hungry, one kid has homework, one kid is begging for screens, and there’s a toddler wrapped around your ankles. Here’s what you are going to do when you are ready to cook but you don’t want to turn on the TV.

Toddler: magnetic cubes, low on the outside of the fridge, like this:

At 5pm your toddler wants to be close to you, so setting up some magnet play on the fridge or on the floor by your feet keeps them in proximity, but not asking to be held.

You are right there, but you can also be cooking and talking about homework with your bigger kid.

Preschool and kindergarten:

Same cubes, but on the counter top, next to figurines they already love. Pull out some of their favorite character figurines or vehicles. The thing they already love pulls them in because it’s familiar and they know what to do. Then, the cubes become the house, a road, an ocean, whatever they want it to be. There are no instructions or boxes to pull down off the shelf. No tricky puzzle pieces that need adult input. It is 5pm. They’ve been working hard all day. This makes play easy to start and fun to sustain. Put everything on the countertop or on a table in the kitchen with you. When they say, “Mom, look at what I made!” you don’t have to stop cooking. You can dip in and out of conversation with them because you are both right there.

Big kids: Put out a few of these mini coloring pages and blendable washable markers. I’ve been so surprised by how many kids love these mini coloring sheets! Don’t be surprised if you find yourself coloring one too while you wait for the water to boil.

Even your teen or tween will color these because they don’t take a whole lot of effort for a great result. (Kinda like your HelloFresh meal!).

Coloring books, markers, pencils, container linked **HERE.**

Now, let’s talk about dinner.

My kids are teenagers. One is across the country at college, and my girls are in middle and high school. They come home ravenous from school and practice at different times. Start and end times for activities and practices change daily.

The only constant? I am still the mom who is trying to avoid dinner. Because I’m not good at it and it’s never been easy for me.

It’s not the chopping or getting food on the table that’s hard for me. I make a mean snack tray and I can pack a lunch box in two minutes flat.

It’s the thinking that dinner involves. By dinner time I’m balancing whether my kids have had enough protein, veggies, or carbs and trying to come up with a meal that covers my bases for the day.

I struggle with figuring out what to buy, and how much, so that it’s not all wilting in my fridge, mocking me because I bought way too much arugula and not nearly enough cheese. And mostly, it’s thinking of something that isn’t in our stale rotation that no one’s excited about but I need to check the dinner box so I just go with what I know.

Enter… HelloFresh.

Here’s how it works: You pick your meals, the box shows up, and the card walks you through the cooking. With pictures. I really appreciate the step by step pictures. They make me feel like I can do it! And I can.

Last Sunday afternoon, when everyone was in their rooms doing their own thing, my husband made The Firehouse Cheeseburgers. Instead of groaning when he called the kids down for lunch, they bounded down the stairs, into the kitchen, happy to gather around and eat together!

This week I made Low Lift Chicken and Udon Stir Fry in 30 minutes and it tasted like takeout from the good place. My girls went back for seconds, and asked if we could have this again next week.

I think I will double down on their love of udon and make Japanese Style Spicy Beef Udon Noodle Soup next.

Now, I am not saying I’m about to take on the dinner routine with a smile on my face, I’m still me. But you know who will? My husband! Ever since our HelloFresh box arrived, he has been happy to take over the cooking duties because there’s no mental load involved. Open the packages, pull the instruction card, and boom. Dinner on the table in 30 minutes and it tastes amazing. He’s been winning dinner at our house, and I’m still taking some credit for ordering the box.

Knowing dinner is decided, and portioned ahead of time and that everyone will eat it, has been a game changer.

And, something I really love is that HelloFresh built a Family Menu that works for everyone because you can swap proteins or double portions for the ones eating like the food might run out. (Gosh I miss my college kid.)

As promised, let’s chat toys at the table. Not everyone will agree with me on this, but hear me out.

When my oldest was in kindergarten and my middle was in preschool, my sister, childless at the time, was visiting and she stayed for dinner. She played with the kids while I threw mac and cheese and some carrot sticks together for dinner. I called them over to the table. I’d already plopped the baby into the high chair. Both of my kids came over with their favorite toys. My oldest, a die-cast NYC taxi car that he carried everywhere. My middle, her pink velour owl lovey that never left her side. Even the baby had a toy suctioned to the high chair tray.

My sister looked at me and said, “You let them bring toys to the table? Mom would have NEVER let us do that.”

And so I explained to her that yes, I did, and it wasn’t because I was afraid to set a limit. It was because having a toy with them kept them at the table longer, which meant they ate more. It also made trying new foods easier, because I would pretend to feed their toy a bite or they’d pretend to feed them. It made meals feel more playful and less rigid, and that was exactly how I wanted it.

Eventually, the kids grew up, they stopped bringing toys to the table and started bringing friends to the table… Which leads me to my next tip.

Friends and Dinnertime

One of the ways I’ve stayed close to my kids as they’ve grown into teens is by saying yes to hosting their friends as often as I can. As teens, their friends are so important to them, and saying yes shows them that what matters to them matters to me.

It also keeps me in the loop: who’s dating who, which kids are playing which sports, and which class is the hardest one at the high school. Having my kids’ friends around the table for impromptu dinners or weekend lunches lets me be around all of it without having to be in it. It’s been a huge win for all of us. If you have tweens or teens, try it. You’ll see what I mean.

I’ve been parenting for nineteen years, so I know that the fall won’t stop demanding me to juggle, and dinner won’t stop needing to be made. But having a plan for toys at the table and HelloFresh in my fridge has been making it all a lot easier to manage.

If you want to try HelloFresh, my code gets you a FREE Caraway Mini Fry Pan, $115 value, with your third box. It’s limited time, so if you’re thinking of trying it, I would do it now. Use my code: THEWORKSPACEFORCHILDREN and this link: https://www.hellofresh.com/THEWORKSPACEFORCHILDREN

With third box of active subscription. Limited quantities available. While supplies last.

And remember, you don’t have to set up a craft or an activity to get your kids back to play. Instead, think about making play easy to start. They’ll know how to do the rest.

Thanks for being here. Wishing you easy dinners this week. x Lizzie