Family Movie Night Ideas

Ever since COVID-19, my family has done a Saturday night movie night. Our very first movie night was the Disney/Pixar film Onward, which you can watch on Disney+. (It's a good one!) We've since watched a lot of movies, and it's been fun trying to find ones that are new to all three of us (Rio, Kung Fu Panda, Over the Moon).

Apartment Guide has some great Movie Night Ideas on its blog, including a template for designing your own customized movie ticket to give your movie night the real feel! Here are a few of those ideas that my family has implemented.

Pick Your Movie

In my family, we rotate who gets to pick the movie for the week. (That person also gets to pick where we get take-out for dinner that night.)

If you want to be really adventurous, you can pick a movie and then try to create a themed night around it. Pinterest is a great resource for getting family movie night ideas - everything from dinner and decorations to dessert and crafts. In fact, check out my Family Movie Night board to easily find some good ones!

What's great about watching movies these days is that you aren't limited to whatever Blockbuster video has to rent. Streaming services make it easy to find the movie you want. Check Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, YouTube TV, Hulu, and any other service you use to see who carries your movie of choice. And don't forget that you can borrow DVDs from the library, too!

Get Comfy

While I do really love the reclining seats in some movie theaters, I'm not going to go into a movie theater right now just for that. Instead, I'm curling up on my couch. Our couch seats three, so all of us can sit together - and easily share that bowl of popcorn. If you need to add more seating, make sure it's situated in a way that is easy for everyone to see the TV screen.

Apartment Guide suggests putting down string lighting to mimic the feel of walking through the movie theater aisles. Adding movie theater-esque decor, such as movie posters or a red carpet, can also make the experience feel more like the real thing.

Hit the Snack Bar

Gone are the days of paying for overpriced popcorn and candy. Now you can make it at home! (Although, I used to make my popcorn at home and then sneak it into the theater. Shhh...) 

My favorite movie night popcorn is the microwavable Orville Redenbacher's Naturals Simply Salted. It's. So. Good. We also have a popcorn popper that pops corn kernels into fresh popcorn, and then you can add whatever toppings or mix-ins you like. Have you ever had chocolate in your popcorn?

You can also buy movie theater boxes of your favorite candy at the grocery store or dollar store.

Or if you're doing a theme to go with your movie pick, make a special snack, dessert, or beverage for everyone to enjoy.

For date night movie ideas, movie night dinner ideas, outdoor movie night ideas, and family movie night ideas, check out the Apartment Guide blog.

And make sure to tell me what movies you've been watching this pandemic year! Up next on our list: Cars 2, The Aristocats, and Raya and the Last Dragon.