Netflix and chill...but like PG version. Watching movies together as a family is such a beautiful thing. My kids look forward to movie night every weekend and it's often the highlight of the week. "What are we watching?" and "What type of candy will we have?" are regular questions asked throughout the week by the kids and also by me and Ben. It has become a reward, from a tiring week of elementary or middle school, as the much-anticipated end to the reality of school and the start of the weekend in the sanctuary that is home. It's something we count on every week.
I'll be honest, because I hear that's endearing, but most kids movies cause my eyes to glaze over and my mind to wander to anything and everything that is interesting. Periodically, I get a break, because as the kids get older we are more aligned with acceptable movies to watch together. To date, we have enjoyed classics such as Groundhog Day, My Neighbor Totoro, and Adventures in Babysitting with everyone giving a big two thumbs up.
Unfortunately, with everyone quality family movie, parents must endure like 10 shitty kids movies that shouldn't exist. I have done my time with Spy Kids and the 1,000 sequels, High School Musical, and Doogal. Oh, you haven't heard of these? There's a reason: they're really shitty. It takes a parental-sized amount of energy to conjure up the effort to answer the follow-up questioning of "What was your favorite part?" in order to connect with your offspring over such mindless cinematic poop.
At the end of the day (and week), and that's when Movie Night happens, it's about the experience of being able to unwind with your little ones and just lose yourself in a movie. Sometimes that's because you're so into the film, but more than likely it's because your eyes have rolled into the back of your head from boredom. Whatever the reason, grab the popcorn and treats and hunker down to enjoy time time as family because it's worth more than the actual movie you watch.