Every family has a tradition. The majority of the families have holiday traditions, why not develop a unique tradition that you can enjoy throughout the year! One option would be to set up a family movie night. You can do this once or possibly twice a month, which would be time set aside for the entire family to enjoy each other’s company and bond.
Even if you have smaller kids, there is no reason why a family movie night can not be established. Of course, because children are involved, even when they reach teenage years you probably want to avoid certain types of movies such as those that show violence, sex, or bad language. However, there are thousands of excellent movies from which you can choose.
What to look for when choosing family movies
Satellite or cable television
If you have a satellite or cable television, you could look at different movie channels available. For instance, along with Showtime, HBO, and Cinemax, you could choose the Disney Channel and others. Again, any movie needs to be appropriate for the age of children. Of course, you could always do a one-night rental through companies such as NetFlix or start building your library of DVDs by watching for sales.
Seating and snacks
You will need popcorns, but you can also choose snacks that everyone likes such as nachos, mini tacos, potato skins, etc. If you typically eat dinner in the dining room, you can make an exception for this night, using TV trays to eat dinner while watching the movie. The goal of having a tradition such as this is to let go of strict rules and have fun.
As for seating, while you and your spouse could snuggle on the couch, why not purchase a child’s size couch for the children to enjoy. In fact, if you have a younger child that is a sports enthusiast, you could even purchase a director chair, stuffed chair, rocking chair, or another type of seating for his or her favorite sports team. You can be sure your child would prefer family movie night while sitting in his/her chair.
By creating specific seating for adults and seating for the children, they feel more a part of this tradition. Because they are being provided with a personal chair or sofa, children quickly understand just how important family movie night is to the entire family. After doing this a few times, you can be sure that if you were to miss a night, the children would bring it to your attention that it is time to start a movie. Once the children are old enough, they could start making suggestions for the movie to watch, which again makes them feel a vital part of this simple yet important family tradition.
Movies for adults
Remember that most of the animat
ed films developed for children are so great that adults find them entertaining too.
For example, Lilo and Stitch, Monster Ball, Shriek, Cars, and Toy Story are perfect examples. Movies such as these are well made, they have a great story line, and they are perfect for everyone. Of course, as your children begin to mature, the types of movies can be broadened.