The holidays are a perfect time for planning a family movie night! Read on for tips on planning the perfect family movie night, complete with healthy snacks and suggestions for finding the perfect film for your family!
I love movies. Always have. I like old movies and new movies, comedies, adventures, musicals…you name it! And my favorite food is popcorn. I am not joking. Ask my kids. They’ll tell you.
Needless to say, movie night is something we do on a regular basis around here. (I mean, do you have any idea how much it costs to take a family of six to the movies? We usually wait for the DVD or the streaming version!)
During the holidays, we love to cuddle up and watch movies together. It’s become one of our favorite traditions, but to be honest, it can be hard to find films that appeal to everyone in our family. Our youngest girls are still into animated movies about animals while our son is all about Star Wars and superheroes and our oldest is getting more interested in movies with more mature themes.
And I like to watch White Christmas. Or Meet Me in St. Louis. Or anything we can sing along with.
My husband does not. You should hear what he has to say about The Sound of Music. Not a fan. Let’s just leave it at that.
For a long time, my family has used streaming services for watching tv shows and movies, and this holiday season, we’re giving Pure Flix a try. It’s a streaming service dedicated to providing family-friendly movies in various genres. This holiday season, they’ve provided 5 Sundays of free Christmas movies so if you’re looking for a Christmas movie to watch on Christmas Eve, just sign up and watch Silver Bells for free this Sunday, or better yet, start a month-long Free Trial at Pure Flix. It’s a great way to find out if the streaming service is right for your family and perfect for the lazy days between Christmas and New Year’s when the weather might not be best for outside activity.
How to Choose the Perfect Movie for Your Whole Family
- Look for themes that will interest everyone. Adventure, a quest, friendship – all are themes kids of all ages enjoy.
- Find films that relevant to discussions you’ve been having as a family. We like to watch movies that reinforce what we’ve been studying in our homeschool, which is one reason we’re trying Pure Flix. They offer homeschool resources so we’ll be looking into those this month!
- Let the kids take turns choosing the movies. Whenever there’s a particular film we know one of the kids is looking forward to, we watch that one as a family.
- On the other hand, let the kids work together to choose a movie everyone will enjoy. It’s interesting to see how they come to a decision that they’re all happy with.
- Encourage them to try new things. Older movies, black and white films, international movies and more – they might be surprised at the variety and find they really like things they never expected they would.
- Don’t forget documentaries or science shows. I know that sounds like a dull way to spend movie night, but my kids love to watch things like River Monsters, and we have all watched our fair share of dino documentaries. When they’re well done, they are interesting and informative.
- Have a movie marathon. Maybe choose a series like Star Wars or Harry Potter and watch each film over the course of a few weeks or months. You’ll find the kids looking forward to the next installment, and your family will enjoy the journey together.
Once you find the perfect movie for your family, you have to have the perfect snack!
Now, popcorn is our go-to snack, and it pairs really well with chocolate. Sometimes, however, we just need things a bit lighter, especially as the new year starts, and we’re trying to recover from the indulgences of the holiday season. With that in mind, I thought I’d share with you some of my family’s favorite easy and healthy snacks for movie night.
10 Easy and Healthy Movie Night Snacks
- Apple Slices and Low Carb Caramel Sauce – I have made quite a few of Carolyn’s recipes, and like this caramel sauce, they usually turn out really well!
- Low Sugar Caramel Popcorn – Take some of your delicious caramel sauce and pour it over some Skinny Pop and bake a while then allow it to cool and harden. Easy awesomeness!
- Chick Peas (Garbanzo Beans) – My kids love to eat them lightly salted. You can also roast them with various spices and flavorings.
- Carrots and Ranch Dip – A classic that kids love.
- Baked Mozzarella Sticks – My kids love cheese! String cheese is their favorite, and while they like to eat it straight from the fridge, baked cheese sticks is an easy treat for special nights and so much healthier than the fried version!
- Baked Tortilla Chip Nachos – You can certainly make these in the oven, but I just spread the chips on a plate, sprinkle them with cheese and microwave them til the cheese is bubbly. You can add any toppings you like. My husband and I like to add jalapenos!
- Zucchini Pizza Bites – Now, I have to tell you that there was a time my kids loved to eat these, but someone must have told them that zucchini is a vegetable. They’re a bit more hesitant now, but these are a delicious snack.
- Chunky Monkey Bites – Chocolate and peanut butter? Yes. Always, yes. Unless you’re a couple of my nephews. Then NEVER. Ever. That’s okay because you could do this with just the chocolate and the bananas. Yum. Use dark chocolate to up the healthy factor.
- Hummus and Pita Chips or Veggies – We love hummus! I like to make it myself, and if you want to, you might try this recipe. Otherwise, buy it. We often purchase this brand. As for pita chips, the easiest thing to do is buy them, but you can also just buy or make pita bread and use a pizza cutter to slice it into triangles then bake until crisp. You can control the amount of salt and other things that way!
- Banana Split Bites – I was going to suggest simple fruit kabobs until I saw this recipe. Oh my! How perfect. Fruit, nuts and dark chocolate. Enough said.
For more inspiration, check out 99 Healthy Snack Ideas!
What are your favorite films and snack foods? How do you do movie night with your family? If you have a tip or recipe to share, leave it in the comments!