I’m not a big fan of TV, and because of this our family functions a little different than most. First, we have one TV in our house. That’s right, one for a family of five. My wife wants to add another, but as of right now I think we are fine. Second, we do not have cable TV.
While this is not that big of a deal today, it used to be several years ago. We might be one of the pioneers in this because we’ve probably been without cable TV at least seven years. I have no plans on going back to cable, but our family does enjoy having a weekly Family Movie Night.
Netflix makes our Family Movie Night great!
For a while, our solution to Family Movie Night was renting movies from Redbox. That was fine until we were turned onto Netflix. We realized with Redbox that we were subject to what was available at the closest Redbox.
Our options were somewhat limited then we’d rent 3-4 movies, but only end up watching one, at best two. To add insult to injury we’d forget to return them, or keep them hoping we’d watch them before the next 9pm due date/time. This rarely happened.
So, on a good day we’d end up paying $3-4 each time (weekly), and on a bad day we’d end up paying almost $10 (weekly). All the while we could have all the movies Netflix offers available without having to leave our home, and for one flat fee. Netflix was a great solution to this problem.
Family Movie Night on the go
Now, we are able to enjoy Family Movie Night on a consistent basis and the process is so much easier, and less expensive! But what we’ve recently realized is we can take Netflix anywhere we go! So, a few weeks ago our kids went to have a weekend at Granny and PawPaw’s house, and they were able to have Family Movie Night with Granny and PawPaw, courtesy of Netflix.
Family Movie Night has been one fun way we connect as a family around the TV. The other way is basketball, of course! 🙂 We used to take Family Movie Night for granted, but we no longer do.
All the cool families have a regular Family Movie Night! 🙂
Family Movie Night is important
The original plans were to act like we are at a real movie with the lights turned down, popcorn, and everyone sitting together to enjoy the movie. But we got lax and we’d find only a few people watching, while others were eating, or on the computer, or just in another room.
If you don’t have a regular Family Movie Night, or you take it for granted, I encourage you to make it consistent and important. Here are 3 ways to make it happen, and 3 reasons you should do it regularly:
Why have a regular Family Movie Night
- More time with family. TV can be such a divisive thing for families. Many families have so many devices and screens that it’s easy for everyone to be in their own world, while even in the same room. Family Movie Night brings everybody together and engaged with the same thing.
- More things to talk about. Much like reading books together, watching movies together will give you another topic of discussion that everyone is familiar with. We find ourselves saying inside jokes that only we’d understand because we watched a movie together. We can all relate, and it helps to bridge gaps between parents and kids.
- You have influence on what your kids are watching. One of the reasons we went no-cable is because we couldn’t control what our kids were seeing all the time. Today, your kids are subject to see anything just while watching watching regular TV which is supposed to be “safe” for kids. Think Go Daddy commercials. You get to choose, or at least vote, based on your household what will be watched.
How to make Family Movie Night happen
- Subscribe to a streaming service like Netflix. When you have something like Netflix you can choose what you want, you can take it with you, you can categorize and even screen movies. And if a movie is bad after the first 10 minutes, you can quickly and easily find a different movie.
- Determine in advance what you’ll watch. One of the biggest breakdowns we have is finding what to watch. When we allow our kids to do it at the time we are suppose to be watching the movie we never get to it. Taking some time in advance to save movies you want to watch, and giving your kids a few options can reduce this issue to a minimum.
- Block out a consistent date in your calendar. I’ve learned if we don’t actually block out the time it is easier for it not too happen. Family Movie Night is a reoccurring appointment in our calendars. We are flexible, but for the most part it happens. Our kids have grown to love and look forward to it.
Hopefully Family Movie Night is a staple in your house. If not, I’d make it. More family time is always a good thing, and more communication with your family is even better.
Please share on of your favorite family movies, and why?
This post is part of a partnership I have with Netflix. I am part of the Netflix Stream Team, and will be sharing posts throughout the year to inspire family time and conversations around the TV, tablet, and mobile devices.
photo credit: swanksalot via photopin cc