Between jobs, homework, chores, after-school activities, housework, and all of those daily errands that life demands, it can be difficult for a busy parent to find time for their family. Family movie night is a great way to relax together, build some memories, and have fun too. Here are some tips that will make your next family movie night a success.
Set a time
Figure out a specific time and day of the week for your family movie night and make sure everyone agrees on it. Friday and Saturday nights usually work best. Make sure that everyone in the family knows ahead of time when you’ll be putting a movie on, so they can get popcorn ready, turn off their phone, put the dog out, light some candles etc.
Select a movie together
If you want to have a great family movie night, then you need to pick the family movie together. Make sure that you select a family movie that everyone can enjoy to avoid squabbles, particularly when dealing with younger children. Don’t pick something that only you want to see. Take a vote if you can’t decide, and the ‘losers’ get to pick first next time.
Get Plenty of Snacks
No family movie night is complete without plenty of delicious snacks. Popcorn is a family movie night staple, so be sure to get enough for everyone. However, having big bags of candy or chips available will be very bad for your family’s health, as most people don’t realize how much they’re eating when distracted by a movie. One great and very healthy alternative it to buy or make a vegetable tray with veggie dips such as ranch dressing, salsa, sour cream or balsamic dressing. If you can’t afford a pre-made pack then just chop up any of the following and arrange on a big plate or two with the dip in the center: red and yellow bell peppers (cut into strips length-ways), carrots (quartered length-ways), celery stalks, apples, pears, baby tomatoes, broccoli (raw), cauliflower (raw), etc. Grilled artichoke hearts with ranch dressing is another delicious treat which will be sure to go down well.
Keep the focus on each other
Are you addicted to your Smart Phone? Do you have teenage children who love to text message their friends every five minutes? If so, then make it a rule to turn off or turn down your cell phones on family movie night and focus on the movie. Family movie night is about spending time together and phone calls, text messaging, and emails shouldn’t be distracting you. If your child is a die-hard cell-phone addict, make it a rule that they can either have their phone or their movie-snacks during movie night. With any luck they’ll make the right choice once everyone else starts munching popcorn and will turn the phone off.
Find local listings of businesses and services near you. Get driving directions, reviews and ratings, phone numbers, addresses and more on Local.com.
