Simple Movie Night Hacks for Kids

If you’re as old as me… you can remember the excitement too, perhaps… my dad would arrive home, just a little bit late from work on a Friday night… and every Friday we’d train our eagle eyes to look for… “the big black box!”

If we saw it, we’d be bouncing off the walls excited, because that could only mean ONE. THING. … MOVIE NIGHT!

Yep, I come from the days of having to actually rent the VCR and the VHS tape! That old!

Fortunately, movie nights have become so much simpler… we now have a host of video streaming services that make finding a movie easier than ever! (Plus, let’s not forget the library for free movies that are harder to find on streaming!). 

Anyway. Point being… life is a little easier for parents who no longer have to haul a thirty pound VCR player from store to home and back! (and pay probably $20 for that ONE video!). Thank you, Dad! You’re the best! I still remember the Applesauce Gang and all that!

Ways to make movie time more exciting:

Put snacks in fun containers!

I always save extra party favor bags and boxes. Breaking them out for snack time during a movie just adds something a little extra!

Have “movie night” …not at night!

This is a favorite trick of mine because for my little guys, having them watch a video actually at night? It’s pretty much a recipe for disaster – they end up being up too late, are overly tired, and then get very upset that the movie is over. It’s not a great scene. So we’ve moved towards having “movie night” either before nap time, or before dinner time (like at 4pm with a later dinner – keeping in mind my kid’s videos are never longer than 45 minutes), so there is less stress.

Let them create “seating” arrangements!

Sometimes the boys just want to sit on the couch. But other times they like to be on the floor in a blanket. Or under their blanket fort (this doesn’t usually last long!). The point is… if they have an idea for how to watch, go with it! Kids are creative, and anything that gets them thinking and doing instead of JUST watching, is a great idea!  

Pick a movie that goes with a book.

I always love to lead into and out of literature. Before we showed our son Charlotte’s Web, we spent a few weeks reading the book aloud before bedtime. Getting to see the story after they read is a real treat and can lead to great compare / contrast conversations (for older kids).

Serve an special snack.

Our favorite movie snack is… popcorn!! But we like to make it more special for movie night by mixing it up with flavor toppings (cinnamon, parmesan, nutritional yeast, hot chocolate mix all can be not-too-terrible-for you toppings!).