Fun Friday-Family Movie Night!

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     It is one thing to just sit as a family and randomly watch a movie together with some people interested and others not so much.  But, planning a special family movie night makes it a special time when memories are created. 
      It can be easy and inexpensive to plan a movie night. A lot of stuff can be found at DollarTree!  If you get everyone involved it is even more fun. When we go to the movie theater, we all have our favorite treats that we like to get. Personally,  I love a box of Junior Mints.  Some people love Milk Duds or Mike and Ike's.  Popcorn is a must! You can pop it in advance and bag it in some cute bags or get reusable plastic popcorn containers like these that you can use for every Family Movie Night. If you don't want to go with sodas, you can always whip up some smoothies or other juices as a special treat. 

      Make sure everyone is comfortable by breaking out the cushions, pillows and blankets. Be extra sure everyone goes to the bathroom and has all of the treats that they need before you dim the lights just like in a real movie theater!  Turn off your phones and electronics and really get into the show!  Remember if you have younger children, start the event early enough so that they are able to enjoy the whole movie.      

       Everyone has different ages to appeal to when it comes to a movie night.  If it becomes a weekly or monthly event at your house, and you have younger children, let them take turns choosing the movie and make sure everyone knows that there is no complaining because their turn will come and it puts a real damper on the party if people complain. (This reminds me of when Maddy was in Jr. High and was really into the Twilight Series.  When she got the first movie, she really wanted us all to watch it together.  We did.  After she went to bed that night, my husband confided in me that he thought it was the worst movie he had ever seen!  Ha Ha!  But he never would have told her that. She knows now, but she has moved on so...). 

     On the other hand, if you have teenagers, be sure they know the boundaries of what can be chosen, especially if they have younger siblings.  At our house that would mean no extreme scariness or horror.  Mom and Dad have to approve all choices, ratings, subject matter, etc.  But come on, there are a lot of really good family movies out there that everyone can enjoy! Here are some of our choices: 

• Right now, we are loving all of the ​Marvel movies!  I got a late start on these, so Maddy has been educating me on them. Infinity War was actually the first one I saw, so I have had to go backwards and watch earlier ones to really know what is going are and who the people are.  Today we watched the first Iron Man together!  (I had already seen End Game.)  I have enjoyed every minute of these movies! 
• In the past, we have re-watched series movies, like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and Hunger Games over a period of a few weeks.  Everyone has loved them. Doing this gets everyone excited for the next movie night to see the next movie in the series. 
• Old favorites are always great to go back to.  I love to share some of the Disney movies I have loved since my childhood, like In Search of the Castaways and Swiss Family Robinson.  
• Depending on your kid's ages, some quirky comedies can be awesome.  We have always loved The Gods Must Be Crazy and our son introduced us to Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.  Clue and Murder by Death are timeless.  Maddy adores Austinland. Having a daughter who is a lawyer, I have to mention Legally Blond. 

        Well, I hope we've given you some ideas for movies that you may not have thought of! If you have a movie that is always a hit at your house, let us know.  We're always up for a good movie!  I hope you'll incorporate Family Movie Night into your family's list of fun activities to enjoy together, and have a blast doing it! 
​      Have a great weekend! 
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