As a mother of 5 children, I know how easy it can be to go from 0 to 100 in the mornings in terms of chaos. I am by no means an expert on the perfect Sunday morning routine, but I do have some tips and ideas that can help! It’s nice to get to church on time, a tad bit early enough to maybe chat a little bit, grab a cup of coffee (Or in my case, a bottle of water), and prepare for worship.
Doesn’t that sound a whole lot better than showing up late, sending the kids off to Sunday school late, shuffling past everyone to get to your normal seat, basically disrupting service as you go? (This has been me more times than I can count)
There Are Things You Can Do The Night Before To Make Your Sunday Morning Routine Smooth
There are simple and easy things to do before Church! It doesn’t have to be a race in the mornings, rushing out with half-eaten breakfast…or no, is that just me?
Here are some things you can do to make your Church routine easier on yourself for you and the kids!
- Get clothes ready the night before
- Prep for breakfast the night before
- Prep the diaper bag/snacks the night before
- Prepare the kids
- Set your alarm to get up early
Are you sensing a theme? It’s really important to plan your next day so that leg work is done and you can worry about other important things. Like having time to do everyone’s hair, time to enjoy breakfast and not rush, not worrying about the clothes because they were already picked out the night before!
Here’s my easy list of how to set up a great Sunday morning routine!
1- Get Up Before The Kids
Getting up early is so important, especially if you didn’t do anything else on this list! But imagine the time you’ll have if you did everything else on this list AND got up early! It’s really the key to it all and can be beneficial all around.
Getting up before the kids gives you a chance to get ready, and prepare for your day. It gives you a little extra peace and makes you feel like
Set your alarm, or maybe go to bed earlier. I know I struggle with this. I’m a night owl lately because when our kiddos go to bed is really my only “me time” and when I can really focus on my writing. So, find what works for you. We are all just trying to make this work!
2- Get Dressed Before The Kids Wake Up
If you don’t lay out your clothes the night before, you are already setting yourself up to run a tad late! I am not saying that your Sunday morning routine won’t be great if you don’t do this, but it will truly help if you get your clothes out the night before. (Seriously, no judgment because most times I will pick out in my head what I’m wearing but won’t physically get it out….so I really get it!)
Even if you didn’t pick/lay out an outfit, if you woke up early, you’re most likely still making good time!
Getting dressed before the kids wake up just gives you extra time to yourself and so you feel like you’re not rushing.
3- Make Breakfast Early
Prepping for breakfast is something my husband tells me to do all the time. And something I fail at miserably on most weekends. However, when I do plan and prep the night before, it just makes the morning go a lot smoother.
Getting up early before the kids do on Sundays is a huge benefit. A little peace and quiet, and then breakfast is either almost done or ready to go by the time the kids wake up. And then it’s go time with getting ready! And everyone leaves fed which is the main goal!
Pro tip: What makes the morning go even more smoothly? Waking up to a clean kitchen on Sunday morning!
But really, planning, prepping, and then getting it ready on Sunday morning is a great tactic. The prepping and planning speeds up the process. Breakfast generally doesn’t take that long to cook anyway! So don’t stress if you don’t around to it.
4- Finishing Touches On The Diaper/Mom Bag
Sometimes I easily forget to do this. Yes, this doesn’t take this long…in fact all of these things don’t take long at all. But it’s the extra steps that you won’t need to take in the morning because it’s all done!
When you’re in church, it’s not fun to be stared at when your toddler starts acting up. My toddler wants up, down, all around during church. She’ll go to me, then to my husband, want down, then want her nana or papa. She’s not bothering anyone or being distracting…but we all know how a toddler can get when he or she doesn’t get her way.
The key to this (sometimes) is to bring something for a distraction! Not noisy, of course. So I don’t recommend packing loud or noisy toys. But small, non-noisy toy or something to keep them occupied.
We like to take water, crackers, a pacifier, and a toy that doesn’t make noise. Occasionally someone will have candy and that may work for a bit too.
And there you have it!
It’s important to note that I’m the first to admit our Sunday morning routine isn’t always smooth sailing. But if we know where our pain points are, like getting clothes out the night before, etc, we can plan better so it does go smooth!
Being on time for church is really important and this is spoken as a mom of 5 who tries her hardest not to be late. But it happens. We can take what we know we struggle with and turn it into a win, by taking care of it right away…whatever that may look like.
For some extra tips on easy ways to make your Sunday morning routine a little smoother, so you can make it to church on time!
