Family Movie Night (and a Giveaway)
As you can imagine, this summer has been a little on the chaotic side for our family. Between flying straight to Vegas from vacation in the Outer Banks, to three weeks living with Bart’s sister, then six weeks with my parents, and now six weeks in Arizona, it’s definitely had a touch of the crazy.
Bart and I have made major efforts to keep the girls’ lives as calm and regular as possible during this time so that they don’t feel totally unmoored. They have regular nap and quiet times every afternoon, and they are in bed at 7 on the dot pretty much every night. We go to church on Sunday, visit the library and IKEA weekly, and have regular meals as a family.
And we also reinstated Friday Movie Nights once we were all back in the same house.
In my usual fashion, we’ve kept things very simple. I know myself well enough to realize that if I make it complicated, I’ll just quit, so it’s pretty streamlined.
We have (homemade) pizza for dinner, and then we have (not homemade) ice cream while we watch our movie.
Just before seven, we pause the movie, get both girls completely ready for bed and put Ani down. Then we finish the movie with Ella and she goes immediately to bed once the movie is finished (since she basically never stays up late, even by 7:45, she’s usually asking “how long until this movie is done?”).
Sometimes, if I’m feeling very nice (or I want to get things rolling earlier), we’ll let the girls eat on a picnic blanket and start the movie during dinner instead of waiting until after.
. . . a Poloraid camera with film, and a puzzle, a bottle, a book, a changing pad and the biggest box of styrofoam peanuts you’ve ever seen.
Pampers is giving away another identical gift basket with all those goodies to one reader. Yippee! (Also, save the box and peanuts – my girls have been playing in it daily for two weeks. We may be a little starved for toys around here).
During winter months we have a karaoke night once a month. Its a blast!
I don't let my kids stay up late often either. I need my relaxing time!
We also love family movie nights with pizza on Fridays. 🙂
I love our bedtime routine: baths, jammies, then cuddling in my big bed to read stories.
Friday night pizza night is a staple at our house too. Such a fun tradition!
Not sure how "family" this is, but – I sleep in on Saturdays while my husband feeds the kids breakfast:)
Nap time every day, family dinner every night. We do family movie night too. We usually call it coffee table dinner and eat dinner at the coffee table while we watch a family movie. Even my husband gets excited about "coffee table dinner".
Pizza night on Wednesdays! Gotta have something to get us through the rest of the week.
Take out Fridays. 9 out of 10 times it's pizza! – Su L
We just moved across the country, so routine is touch right now. But I love putting my daughter to bed. Bath, pjs, boob/bottle, story, and "I love you" Simple and a perfect end to the day.
Breakfast for dinner is a favorite – we love waffles!
Sorry if I double posted (not sure if the first went through). We don't have a family "tradition"- we probably do but I can't think of anything consistent. My baby is 4 months old. My favorite family time activity is when I'm nursing the baby to sleep while my husband reads him (and me!) a book. It's a treat when it happens since his schedule is so busy!
Growing up it was my dad making breakfast on Saturday mornings, and now my husband and I are trying to institute that with our family (which right now is just us and a soon to be born baby, haha). I also love the idea of family movie night, something else we might try out.
Pizza on Friday nights seems so simple, but it's a routine we so look forward to!
In the morning while everyone is still groggy & not quite ready to do chores, but must get out of bed, they all pile on my bed ( I'm already up, dressed, bed made) and I read a few short stories – board books, then one chapter of a chapter book. Many times they just listen as I read & kind of snuggle like sleepy little bumps on a log, but as they wake up better, they will doodle whilst they listen. They will not forgive me if we skip this more than a couple of times per week.
That basket sounds awesome, and I love the movie night idea. My kiddos would love it.
A book before bedtime is definitely key!
Visiting the farmer's market on Saturday mornings.
Wrestling with my son to get him tired enough for bed.
Movie time with the whole family