Movie Night Ideas to Unite the Generations!

Regular readers with really good memories will know that we are really fond of movie nights. We blogged about this way back in 2014, during 40 Days of Summer. It's a great pastime that doesn't cost much money, isn't weather-dependent and can involve all ages, making it perfect for when you have older relatives staying. We often have my Mother in Law to visit and, thankfully, she loves children's films. She cried laughing when we took her to see Paddington at the cinema and we had to buy the DVD, so she could watch it again on her next visit! It's a really great way to bring the family together, especially since most children's films have wide appeal and aren't just written with children in mind. Great feel-good films, like Mary Poppins, or Singin' in the Rain are always well received and are just as popular with L as they are with the grown ups!

Ideas for a Stress-Free Movie Night

Be flexible about the film. The most difficult aspect of enjoying a family film is finding one everyone will like. To avoid arguments and keep things light-hearted, it's often better to take the element of choice away and leave the decision up to chance. Obviously, not totally to chance. No point ending up with Zombie Apocalypse, if your audience are mostly under ten! Try picking a genre, for example 'Comedy', 'Adventure', or even 'Disney', then give all the titles a number and pick randomly. That way, no one gets the final decision and everyone, hopefully, agrees!

Don't skimp on the snacks. Popcorn is always popular and easy to make your own with a popcorn maker, which is relatively cheap to buy and will pay for itself fairly quickly when you consider the price of popcorn in the supermarket. A packet of popping kernels is much cheaper and will last you ages. Another way to save money is to buy the cheaper brands and serve them in bowls, so they look more upmarket! You can, of course, make your own snacks, which is a great way to amuse little ones for a bit longer.

Keep things cosy. The secret to setting a movie night apart from normal evening telly-watching is to make it a bit special. One way to do this is to have lots of blankets, throws and cushions around, to make things really comfy and cosy. This is particularly appropriate for a cold winter evening, when the wind is blowing outside and hot chocolate and a good film are the only remedies to the horrid weather. You could buy a selection of hot chocolate sachets, available in supermarkets and some discount shops for around 30p  each, to add a luxury drinks option to the evening.

In Association with GraceWell Care Homes.