Is your family movie night feeling more like a routine than family fun? Here are some ideas to help make your at-home movie nights magic.
Make it more than just watching a movie.
Pick a theme for the night that goes along with the movie. Plan the food around the theme, pull out party decorations and take a few minutes to put them up, challenge everyone to dig through their closet to come up with a costume for the “big event.”
Don’t forget to take photos!
Turn movie night into a family slumber party.
My husband came up with this idea! He dragged the biggest mattress into the living room and plunked it in front of the television. The kids were ecstatic! After they were finished jumping for joy all over it they ran to to put on their pajamas – one of the few times we didn’t have to ask them.
They got their pillow and lined up their favorite stuffed animal friends to watch too.
Turn movie night into movie weekend.
There were weekends when everyone felt a little “burnt out” or when we knew the weather was going to be bad so we took the family slumber party to the next level and spent the whole weekend in our pajamas crashing in the living room in front of the TV.
This was a great way to be together as a family when the kids got a little older.
We’d select a trilogy like Back to the Future, Star Wars, or Lord of the Rings or watch the whole series of our favorite TV shows like X-files. Sometimes I’d keep the meals simple like a picnic, other times I’d plan the food around the theme of the movie.
The kids loved it and still talk about those weekends as some of their happiest childhood memories. (But I think the dog loved it the most. Everyone eating and sleeping on the floor with him!)
My husband took our boys camping for the weekend once or twice in the summer. My daughter and I stayed home and had a slumber party weekend watching chick flicks. It was a wonderful bonding time and I discovered that if a parent sticks around long enough to listen to all the “he said/she said” stuff, they get the opportunity to discuss the heavy, important topics too.
Think you’ve seen every family movie?
Think you’ve seen all the family movies out there? How many of Rotten Tomatoes Top 100 Kids & Family Movies have you seen? Print off the list and check them off!
Want more? See our other family fun ideas.
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