For years, when we were in the middle of babies and diapers and not many funds left to pay a babysitter, date night meant movie night at home. Putting the kids to bed, popping some popcorn, and sitting down on the couch together to watch a movie was almost as rejuvenating as getting out of the house. I often found movie night MORE relaxing than a night out because I could stay in my t-shirt and sweats and cuddle up under a blanket for a few hours.
Now that we have a house full of older kids (otherwise known as built-in babysitters) and we both work from home, we can slip away for date night any time we want…including in the middle of the day or on a weeknight. But movie night at home remains one of our favorite ways to connect with each other and relax.
Movie night at home is not only a perfect solution for an affordable and easy-to-plan date night with your significant other, but movie nights can also be a fun family activity and a way to connect with your kids. Here are a few ideas to get the most out of movie night at home.
3 Tips for Creating the Perfect Movie Night at Home
- Set the atmosphere – Pop some popcorn (isn’t that a given when it comes to watching movies?!) and pick up some classic movie candy. Food isn’t the only way to set the mood for a perfect movie night, though. As silly as it sounds, I’ve found that the cleaner my tv-watching room is, the more relaxed I feel and the more I can experience that “date-night getaway” atmosphere. Once you’ve got your room tidy and snacks in hand, turn down the lights like a movie theater and lean back to enjoy your flick.
- Find the perfect movie – Sometimes finding the perfect date night or family-friendly movie is tough, but I’ve discovered a few tricks that solve the problem every time. 1 – Ask for recommendations. Facebook is the ideal platform for asking for quick movie ideas. Just ask your friends what movie they’d recommend for whatever mood you’re in and I guarantee you’ll come away with a list that will last you a few weeks. (Don’t forget to keep that list for future movie nights). 2 – Use a tool like Rotten Tomatoes’ new Find Your Critic. All you have to do is rate a few movies and the tool will figure out which movie critics share your taste in movies. From there, you can see what other movies these critics have enjoyed and get some ideas from them.
- Turn off those cell phones – It’s the rule in the theater, so why not make it the rule during movie night at home? To make the most of your date night or family fun night (or any family time together!) turn off or stow away your cell phones and other gadgets. Not only will you be connecting more with your fellow movie watchers, but you’ll be able to concentrate more on the movie and truly relax and rejuvenate.
Find Your Critic Tool with Rotten Tomatoes
How often have you picked up a DVD to watch at home only to find out that the movie was altogether mediocre (and a horrible waste of your free time)? Pop Secret has teamed up with Rotten Tomatoes to create the Find Your Critic tool to help you find movie critics that share your taste in movies. Once you’ve found movie critics you trust, you can follow their reviews and recommendations.
To get started, just visit the Find Your Critic tool on Rotten Tomatoes and rate a series of 12 movies (it only takes a minute to do). The more movies you rate, the closer the tool will be able to pinpoint your top critics.
At Pop Secret, we love movies as much as you love movies. That’s why we created the Find Your Critic tool with Rotten Tomatoes. It helps you figure out which movie critics you should listen to. All you have to do is rate some movies and the tool figures out which critics share your taste in movies. It even helps you follow your critics’ new movie reviews and recos. So when it comes to enjoying movies, the only thing you have to worry about is which kind of Pop Secret to make. Check it out!
Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Pop Secret via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Pop Secret.
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Turning off the cell phones is a great suggestion & one we struggle with!
Turn off cell phones is a great suggestion! I find myself getting distracted by my phone all the time.
This reminds me that we need to do a home movie night. And popcorn always makes it special!
We do Family Movie night every Saturday and have for years. The hardest thing for us is finding a movie that everyone is interested in! LOL Barry and Tre love action/adventure … Bri likes horror … Ava and Zoe of course want something kiddie … and Talia is like me – would rather see a good drama or psychological thriller.
Barry and I usually do lunch and a matinee at least once a week while he’s home, but we do sometimes make a night IN together :)
Turn off my cell phone though? ………..
We are so overdue for a good movie night at our house. Thanks for the reminder.
With 3 little ones we often have movie date nights at home. It’s much cheaper than hiring a babysitter and I can fall asleep on the couch.
There’s nothing better than a big ole bowl of popcorn, a great movie and a night with my husband and teens. I even prefer a family movie night at home over a night at the movie theater. :)