“Mama, can I help with the popcorn?”
“I want to turn on the TV!”
“I can’t wait to see this movie!”
“Here Daddy, let me get the blanket. Let’s sit together.”
Ah yes, it must be Friday Night, Movie Night at our house. It’s by far the best night of the week for my family.
Family movie night around here is a big deal. It’s our family’s little tradition that has changed the way we end our weeks.
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We get to relax
By the end of the week, my husband and I are both really tired. So, it’s nice for us to spend some downtime with our kids. I make a simple dinner with easy clean up, we pop some popcorn, and we curl up on the couch with our boys. It’s nice.
We get special screen time
Our boys don’t get a lot of screen time during the day, and we don’t allow movies during the week. So this night is the only night they get to sit and watch a movie. It’s extra special for them, and they LOVE it.
We all get a turn
My boys are 2 and 4. If they got to chose a movie each week, we’d be watching Cars or Planes Fire and Rescue
every single week.
My husband and I really like watching movies and we want to share some of our favorites with our boys. Plus, variety is a good thing.
So, we take turns.
One week, my husband might pick out a great Pixar movie that he’s been wanting to see. The next week, I’ll pull out an old favorite from my childhood, then the boys each get their turn. It keeps a variety in our movie selections and it teaches the boys to share and take turns.
It also helps with fighting over picking a movie that everyone wants to watch.
We make memories
I know that our lives will get busier as our children grow, but it is our plan to have one night a week that we sit on the couch and watch something together.
Memories are made through traditions, and I want my boys to look back and remember the good times we had as a family watching movies together.
Because of this, we will protect our movie nights. They will be a priority, because family is a priority.
During movie night, there is no fighting, just loving and laughing together.
It’s a time when we connect, cuddle, and just enjoy being in each other’s presence. It’s my favorite night of the week.
What little traditions do you have with your family?
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I love this! I want to try this myself but worry about the length of movies sometimes. The kids need to be in bed at a certain time or else they get cranky. Maybe I’ll break the movie up into two parts 🙂
My husband and I recently instituted Family Night every Sunday. Our 14yo daughter is a big part of the reason because she is at that point where her priority list has us at the bottom. So from 5:00 to bedtime all 4 of us are here and hanging out together. We do dinner and either a movie or games.
We have family movie night every Friday night, too! My kids get so excited about it, they tell their teachers about it every week! It’s especially important now that Daddy is gone for 6 months (we’re a military family). I always make pizza and we have homemade popcorn with M&Ms (or some other special treat!). I usually pick a new movie or one both kids have been wanting to see (I have a 5 y.o. girl and 7.5 y.o. boy), but I love the idea of taking turns! I’m going to start that this week! Thanks for all of your great ideas!
I love the idea of making family movie night a regular occurrence. I only wish we could figure out how to END family movie night without a fight, though! It seems as though any time we do a movie night or we go out some place for fun (whether it’s just out to a restaurant or to a friends’ for dinner or a party), the kids are total beasts when it’s time for the event to end and get ready for bed! Anyone else have this problem or have solutions?
I love this idea and so will my kids. I feel your pain with the Cars, Planes fire and rescue comment! Think we might try and suggest some new movies!