How to Host the Perfect Family Movie Night
This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Universal Pictures, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BoxtrollsFamilyNite http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV
The teenage years scare me and they are right around the corner at my house. I’ve made my kids promise me that they’ll all be awesome teenagers and they’ve agreed (I have one son who even agreed to live with me forever . . . or course he was 3 at the time). Just in case that’s not enough, I make sure we are in the habit of doing things as a family now so that when the teen years hit we’ll have strong relationships and can hopefully handle any challenges that come our way.
Before I had kids I worked as a teacher in a residential treatment center and I saw first-hand how many crazy things kids can get mixed up in. My oldest is almost 12 so the teen years really aren’t that far off (on a side note . . . when did I get so OLD?).
I know that chances are high my kids will struggle with something or another over the next few years. Teen boys aren’t known for being great about talking about their emotions. So this is my chance. Right now. I have to lay a foundation for all those awkward talks we may need to have in the future by filling them up with plenty of good memories so that when they do experience something hard and need to talk, they’ll like me enough to let me in.
My plan to save the teenage years starts with something very, VERY important.
Family movie night.Â
Stay with me. It may not seem like much but family movie night gets my kids used to hanging out with us, not because they have to but because they want to. You know, because we are so cool. Sometimes their friends join in on the action. Sometimes we even ditch the movie and go to something completely different.
The important thing is we are making time to have fun together as a family every single week.
This week’s movie night was highly anticipated. My boys even tried to talk me into having it a few days early because they were so excited. The Boxtrolls movie was released at Walmart stores on Jan. 20th so we swung by our local Walmart to grab the movie and a box of  10 count Pop Secret earlier this week.
My boys couldn’t wait so by the time the weekend rolled around they were READY. I honestly didn’t even know what the movie was about but they kept telling me that all the previews looked sooo good. You guys, they watched those previews so many times they already had parts of the movie memorized before we even watched it.
Family Movie Night Tips
Family movie nights are easy to throw together. My goal isn’t to sit in front of the TV with my family though. My goal is to create memories. To do that I have to get a bit creative and come up with things that make the night feel special.
- Have a special treat. This doesn’t have to be fancy but it should be something out of the norm so that everyone can get excited about it. We’ll often make homemade pizza on movie night. This week we had a popcorn bar.
- Relax. I’m often guilty of getting too caught up in the details to have fun. Things don’t have to be perfect. Kids don’t care if all the dishes are done or if your treat looks like something you found on Pinterest. They really just want you . . . the nice you, not the stressed-out grumpy version.
- Get them Hyped. Sometimes things are special just because we say they are. Start talking about movie night early in the week. Let your kids know what movie you are watching and let them join in to plan if they want to. Use our free Family movie night printable to post a reminder somewhere everyone will see it.
Family Movie Night Printable
Want to make sure no one forgets about movie night? Download our FREE family movie night printable and post it somewhere visible. Laminate it or put it in a glass frame so you can use a dry erase marker on it and reuse it each week.
Download Family Movie Night Printable Here
Popcorn Bar
Popcorn and movies just go hand in hand so we love Pop Secret on movie night. We always try to have some sort of a fun treat so this week we put together a simple popcorn bar as a twist on classic movie popcorn.
Pop some popcorn and let it cool completely. Fill several bowls with toppings. We had all kinds of stuff. Here are just a few possibilities:
- pretzels
- marshmallows
- nuts
- candies
- chocolate covered raisins
- yogurt covered raisins
- bagel chips
- gummy bears
This was a HUGE hit with my boys. We popped up a few bags of Pop Secret Home-Style Popcorn and let the kids go to town.
My kids loved The Boxtrolls and they are excited that it’s out on video so they can watch it again and again. The styling was interesting and it had some great moments that made my kids laugh out loud. My 2 year old was disturbed at the idea that monsters lived under the city but even she warmed up to the movie as it went on.
I had no idea that the movie was based on a book, Here Be Monsters! by Alan Snow, and I’m always a fan of reading the book to get the whole story. That may be one that I’ll need to add to my reading list.
Family movie night is always a huge hit at our house. It isn’t always fancy and it’s often chaotic but my hope is that my kids will have great memories of this time that we spend together.
Want to host a fun movie night? Swing by Walmart to grab a copy of The Boxtrolls and a box of 10 count Pop Secret while supplies last and you’ll be ready to go! Be sure the check out The Boxtrolls on Facebook for more details.
