When you have a young family, a movie night is an easy at-home activity that brings everyone together. Plus you don’t have to spend a lot of cash to make an entertaining evening for your kids. However, popping in a DVD and munching popcorn on the couch can get boring after a few weeks.
Here are six ideas to spice up your family movie night and create memories your kids will treasure.
Make Popcorn Part of the Fun
Popcorn isn’t just a movie standard, it’s a versatile dish. Put down the salt and pick up some new seasonings to make your popcorn stand out. Your kids will have fun sprinkling on the spices, and they’ll learn something new about cooking while they’re at it.
Hot Sauce
Drizzle melted butter and just a little bit of the hot sauce of your choice over popped popcorn. Toss to coat.
Cinnamon Sugar
Toss popcorn with melted butter, sugar, and cinnamon to make a cinnamon roll in a bowl.
Cheese
For cheesy popcorn, you can keep it simple or make it fancy. For simple popcorn, coat the kernels with melted butter and pre-made cheese powder from a box of macaroni and cheese. For fancy popcorn, sprinkle three kinds of grated cheese on prepared popcorn and bake in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese is melted.
Ranch
Sprinkle salt and buttermilk ranch powder from a pre-made seasoning mix over popcorn. Drizzle with melted butter and enjoy.
You can take your gourmet kernels one step farther by making a popcorn bar. Make several different flavors of popcorn in small batches earlier in the day with your kids. Before movie night, set them out in different bowls so each family member can take their pick.
Alternatively, you can make one big bowl of plain popcorn drizzled with butter. Set out different seasonings in shake containers for everyone to sprinkle on their individual portions.
Turn Your Backyard Into a Drive-In
You don’t have to wrangle your small kids at the drive-in if you can make one in your own backyard. All you really need is a projector and a white sheet. Hang the sheet on the wall of your house or between two trees.
Invite your kids to “drive in” on their bikes or scooters and park. Set up chairs or blankets to recline in while you watch the movie.
To get your kids more involved in making your homemade drive-in, have them draw chalk roads on the patio for them to “drive” on.
Read the Book First
To get your kids more into both reading and family activities, pick a movie to watch that started as a book. Before movie night, read the book with your kids and get them excited about the story and characters.
Encourage your kids to pick a favorite character and imagine how they will be shown in the movie version. After the movie, talk about the differences between the movie and the book and which your kids liked better.
Have a Discussion Afterward
Get your kids engaged in movie night by following each film with a discussion. Ask your kids who their favorite characters were and have them talk about why. Ask your kids to tell you the details of the plot and explain why certain characters acted how they did.
Your kids will be more interested in the movies they watch if they know they’re going to talk about them later. Kids also learn best through repetition. By having them explain the plot to you after the movie, you help them learn to pay attention to details and process information.
Make a Theme Night
Give your movie night a theme by centering decorations and treats around the movie you’ll be watching.
For example, if you’re watching the Wizard of Oz, you and your kids can make a golden brick road out of yellow paper. Have your kids draw scarecrows and tin men and hang them on the walls as decorations. Practice your wicked witch cackles and learn about tornadoes.
For treats, eat lollipops (like the munchkins) or cupcakes with Emerald City–green frosting
Play Games
Another way to engage your kids in the movies you watch is to play games with them.
Trivia
Prepare cards with questions about the movie you’ll be watching ahead of time. After the movie is over, separate the family into teams and see who can get the most questions right.
Picture Game
After the movie, separate everyone into teams. Use a whiteboard and markers to have family members draw characters or places from the film and have their teams guess who or what it is.
Bingo
For a game during the movie, make bingo cards with things your kids might see during the movies. For example:
- Someone sleeping
- Someone drinking coffee
- Someone crying
- Someone dancing
Have a prize ready for whoever gets Bingo first.
Movie nights at home are a cheap and easy way to bring your young family together. With these tips, you can keep your kids entertained with family movie nights for years to come.
