Friday Night Movie Night!

What I love best about having a family is making mamories and making traditions.  Carl usually works every Friday night so since this summer the kids and I have started a tradition of making every Friday night movie night.  It's great because the kids get excited every Friday morning to have movie night later that evening and hang out with Mom.  Yes, it might not seem like "movie night" would be that exciting or much or a bonding experience since we are gathered around a TV not talking but it's more of what it entails.

Usually we have a food theme  to go with movie night and a lot of times we like to just have appetizers and snacks for our meal.  I usually start early on in the night with making a couple fun finger food ideas that we munch on, hang out, and sing and dance in the kitchen while everything is baking.  It might be that I am a little more relaxed since bed time is more fluid as well.

 This week we decided that a good ole home cooked cheeseburger would satisfy our hunger.  Look how delicious it looks!  It really did hit the spot!  This is what happens when I have a 1/4 bag of tator tots left and a little bit of a bag of French fries left in a bag.

After everyone is full we all get comfortable in our pajamas, usually make popcorn with m&m's, and the kids bring out all their blankets, pillows, and all their stuffed animals they can find and set up for movie night!

Friday night movie night usually consists of me picking out the movie and introducing the kids to movies that I watched when I was a kid.  We have watched everything from "The Sandlot," to "E.T," "Harry and the Henderson's," and "Mary Poppins," to "Sister Act" and many many more.  I mean they aren't all oldie movies occasionally when there is a new release of kids movie out than we watch that or in November and December we watched all the favorite Christmas movies.  The fun part is that it's always a new movie that the kids haven't seen.  My challenge comes from finding a new movie each week and my joy comes from seeing my children enjoy something that I used to when I was a kid.

We then finish up the movie and have a big sleepover in our guest bedroom and get to tell stories until we all fall asleep.  I know that the kids will grow up and mom won't be as "cool" as I used to be.  Friends will take my place and I will be left at home watching movies by myself.  But for right now I will just cherish the time I have with them, continue our tradition and hopefully make great memories!

What traditions do you make with your family?  What memories do you have when you were growing up??