Let us paint you a picture: an evening dappled with light. You’re not in a rush, in fact, quite the opposite. Dinner simmers slowly, a candle flickers, conversation unfolds around the table and you’re savouring a sip of something delicious. Welcome to The Yellow Hour: the post-work ritual that marks the beginning of your evening.
While there’s nothing wrong with scrolling on the sofa or cooking on autopilot, The Yellow Hour encourages you to end the day with something delicious and celebrate the potential the night brings. Get your best glass out, put the radio on and cook yourself something you’ve been craving all day.
How to make the most of The Yellow Hour
Integrate these simple steps into your usual routine to intentionally mark the moment between the day ending and the evening beginning.
Decide when the work day is done
It’s easy for work to spill into our evenings, but in order to truly switch off, it’s important to mark the end of the work day. It could be as simple as shutting the home office door, keeping your work bag out of sight, or changing into something more comfortable. Actively deciding to turn your laptop or notifications off helps create a transition between work and home, while small rituals like opening a window or lighting a candle teach your brain that you’ve entered a new phase of the day.
Make dinner the main event
Name a greater joy than gathering around the table to eat a meal prepared with love. It may not be possible every night, but finding the evenings when you can cook from scratch can help you switch off, step away from a screen and let the food take your focus.
Even if there’s a midweek rush to have dinner on the table in twenty minutes, there are other things you can do to still honour the Yellow Hour. Dust off the ‘normally-we-save-this-for-best’ crockery, or play some of your favourite music in the background.
If scratch cooking each night feels like too much of a burden, we can help. Turn cooking into an easy pleasure, rather than another piece of admin, with a Mindful Chef recipe box. Simply choose your recipes each week and we send everything you need to make them – fewer trips to the shops means more time to relax.
Sip something special
A decadent dinner or moment of peace in the garden deserves to be served with something special. We love the bittersweet, botanical flavours of Botivo. This non-alcoholic aperitivo blends herbal notes and a tang of citrus creating something grown up and complex. Plus, it's now part of the Ready to Go range, so you can add a bottle when you order your next Mindful Chef box.
We’ve turned ours into an Elderflower Spritz, but for a classic serve, pair yours with soda water and a juicy wedge of orange. So select your best glass, make sure you’ve got plenty of ice and stir up something delicious.
Take your evening outdoors
When the weather allows, catch the sunshine. Dining alfresco makes midweek meals feel more special and encourages us to linger a little longer. Even if you’re not eating outside, a post-dinner stroll, cloud-watching from the balcony or simply opening the windows can soften the pace of the night.
Elongate the evening
Midweek evenings have the potential to be more memorable. Instead of spending the evening counting down from one task to the next, think of moments that could be stretched out. Read another page of that book, eke out the conversation or stay for one more drink to catch the last rays of sun. During The Yellow Hour, not every moment needs to be productive.
Embracing The Yellow Hour reminds us to make space for joy each evening. Perhaps next time you pop out for milk, you’ll also pick up some flowers, or your next dinner will be shared around the table, rather than the sofa. Not every evening will look like this – the goal isn’t perfection. But when the opportunity to cook a nourishing meal, share a drink with friends or simply catch the last of the evening sun arises, The Yellow Hour invites us to savour the moment.
