Family movie night has been a tradition in our house since before our kids were born. One night a week, we have pizza for dinner and pile on the couch to watch a movie together. Now that we are stuck at home even more with the shelter in place order, making a typical night seem like an event can keep us all feeling a little saner and gives us something to look forward to each week.
Make it an experience. Pick a date so that everyone knows when it’s happening. Sometimes we get out our tent and set it up in the living room just to mix things up and make it even more fun. Gather up all the blankets and pillow in the house and then snuggle up on the floor. Don’t have a tent? Build a fort! Use a projector on the side of your house outside. Watch it in the car. Set up movie theater-style seating. Make it feel like you’re leaving the house without ever having to actually step foot outside.
Create movie tickets. My preschooler loves making tickets to hand out for movie nights. He personalizes each one with their name and what movie we will be watching. Have an older kid who can design one on the computer? Let them get creative! Whether they are hand made or printed off the computer, they are that something tangible that makes it feel a little more special. Assign someone in the family to be the ticket collector and they can collect them before you can enter the movie watching room.
It’s all about the snacks! Pizza is always a requirement at our house for movie night. Sometimes we order in, sometimes it’s frozen, and sometimes we make homemade. No matter how it’s made, it’s always a hit! I don’t know about you but the movies aren’t movies without the snacks. I like to take a cookie sheet and fill it with whatever we have on hand. You can even let your kids be in charge of this part! Have them round up some of their favorite snacks for the whole family to enjoy. Don’t forget the drinks, too!
If movie nights aren’t something you usually do, this can be a fun way for your family to feel like you’re breaking out of the every day. If you are like us and do movie nights often, this can be a great way to mix it up. These simple ideas have made my whole family feel a little less stir crazy and it gives us something to look forward to each week. Now… here’s hoping your kids don’t pick to watch Frozen 2 for the millionth time!
