Family Friday- Movie Night!!

If I can keep from taking my kids to the movies, I do.  I hate sitting in a movie theater.  Like seriously HATE it!!   Why do I want to over pay to sit in a seat that 1,000 other people have sat in?  God knows what they did in that seat!! (I might be a slight germophobe.)  I can't sit still for that long and worst of all- I HATE LISTENING TO PEOPLE EAT!!  Especially popcorn. It seems like any movie I go to has the guy that just won the "Loudest Eater Award."  So there's really no point in going to the movies with me. 
But I do enjoy a good family movie night.  My favorite time is around the holidays.  We have the fire place roaring, surround sound is booming and we have no where to be the next day.  With the kids getting older, our movie night doesn't have to be a cartoon.  It can actually be something we all might enjoy.  I think the kids get more excited about a movie at home than they do if we take them to the theatre.  It doesn't take much to make us happy.  Here's some tips to make your family movie night a great one!

1.  Break the Rules!  Cook dinner just as you usually would.  But instead of eating at the table, create a nice little dining area on the coffee table where you will be watching the movie.  Make sure your dinner is movie night friendly.  We do soups if it is cold.  If the weather is warmer, we do nachos, quesadillas, hamburgers.  Usually something that does not require silverware.  Bring plenty of napkins or paper towels.  Then you can either pause the movie or wait until the end to put away the dishes.

2.  Close the curtains and lower the lights to give that movie theater feel.  We usually leave a couple of small lamps on if we are having dinner and a movie.  The kids love when I turn off all the lights and close the curtains.

3.  If you have surround sound, use it!  Don't just utilize it during sporting events.  That will achieve the movie theatre feel even more.

4.  Keep candy and snacks close by.  Just recently I moved a cabinet (that used to be our old kitchen island) into our living room.  My next trip to Costco will include buying candy bars and other movie snacks to stock that cabinet.  Keeping snacks in close reach will allow us to not miss a moment of the movie.  Buy a small popcorn machine to stash in the corner for quick refills of the popcorn bucket.

Most of these seem pretty obvious but I am sure I am missing something too.  The point of movie night is to keep it casual and comfortable.  You've all had a long week and deserve some family time.

Hugs y'all,
Melissa