once you set up a space for family movie night magic, you need only to cover a few small details to ensure the memories last!
a cozy place for everyone to sit, blankets, some ambient lighting, a movie + a pizza—-that’s all you need! now sure, there are so many other fun treats we sometimes include too. on a special ocassion we’ll throw in some popcorn + maybe a sprinkling of sugar, a handful of m+m’s or something else sweet.
movie nights began with our “girls’ night” tradition. before the girls were both in school, ryan was traveling 1-2x a week with work. to cope with his absence, we would make the evening fun in hope of not missing him so much, but also to teach my girls how to have a little fun together. this started when our oldest was still our only child. we would share a few bites of a freezer pizza + get all cozy in our jammies on a nest of blankets or in a pillow fort with a movie. it helped us get through the missin’-dada-blues + we made some of the best memories together from such a young age! i’m honestly not sure who loved it more.
we moved to atlanta just over a year later + for a little while the tradition continued. ryan eventually started taking more day trips, so fewer dinners were missed + now since we both work from home, it’s rare he ever misses a meal! so we realized, we were kind of missing the tradition of girls’ night. to bring it back we started watching a movie on friday night. sometimes it can really be a challenge to find a movie that’s right for our crew + something we all will enjoy, but one thing is for sure, we have pizza + blankets + each other + can i tell you? …it is the most simple, sweet way to kick off the weekend together.
we have an odd kind of half basement room adjacent to what was our guest room / now playroom. it was just painted cement block walls + drop ceiling, with no windows + it needed a bit of work to make it feel like home. when what began as our small kids’ toy room, became a bustling mudroom, we decided lockers would help keep our personal belongings (preschool bags, shoes, sunglasses + keys) in their right place. so our architect-in-residence (ryan) designed + the girl squad helped measure, cut, paint + install what now is our locker + movie room. see more here. we hung some twinkling star lights for ambiance + project our movies onto the wall. rarely have we missed this family favorite tradition since it took on this latest form! last weekend was the first time we ventured out to the theater to see the super mario bros. movie + it was incredible–a must see for 90s kids! it’s been so long since there has been a good kids’ movie to go see.
the movies will always be a special treat, but for now our young family loves staying in, getting cozy + making movie night memories on the regular. i hope you’ll consider starting a fun recurring entertainment night-in with your family too + see how sweet it really can be!
porches + pillowfights 