7 Tips for Memorable Family Movie Nights

The world largely survived a pandemic not too long ago. However, the measures taken to protect us created an economic downturn. Economies have mostly recovered from the pandemic, but some people are still feeling its aftershocks. Consequently, family night outs are not very convenient for everyone.

Fortunately, there are ways to bond without leaving the bills-free comfort of your home. One such way is to organize a family movie night. You get to have some fun without breaking the bank or inviting extra expenses, especially if you follow my guide for creating your own Home Media Center Project. Read on to learn our recommended tips for planning a memorable movie night.

Plan Ahead

In any endeavor, planning increases the likelihood of success. The same goes for a movie night. You should ideally inform everyone of the night a week in advance. It helps them clear their schedule and avoid any overlap of engagements.

When planning, you should consider refreshments. Have a list of everyone’s favorite snacks and drinks, and make sure they’re available. Do not be afraid of using homemade snacks if the alternative is too expensive. You should also ensure that pillows and blankets are plentiful enough for family members needing extra viewing comfort.

Select Your Movie Wisely

There are lots of factors to consider when selecting movies for such a night. Some of them are:

• The ages of your family members;
• Interests of your family members;
• Favored genres;
• Ensuring the movie has a great storyline and positive message.

Genres are a particularly tricky factor. The rule is to stick to an easy one like comedy or family drama if it’s a first movie night. Only after several such nights should you think of experimenting with new genres. Try TV shows if your family isn’t in the mood for movies. For example, you could watch Australian Survivor with a VPN from wherever you are. That means you can bypass geo-locked content if you are dedicated enough.

Limit Distractions

There’s nothing more frustrating to creating a cinematic experience than distractions. You don’t like it in the cinema, and there’s no reason to take it during your movie night.

Make it compulsory for everyone to silence their phones and turn off notifications. If possible, make them submit their phones before the night starts. The lack of interruptions should positively boost the ambiance and atmosphere.

Choose the Right Streaming Platform

The notion of a monopoly or near monopoly in the streaming market is long dead. There are many streaming platforms, and the competition is fierce.

Unfortunately, this means little overlap in the titles available from streaming platforms. As a result, it is a factor worth considering. When comparing streaming platforms, be sure also to consider the size of their content catalog, customization features, price, etc.

Content catalog, licensing agreements, and geo-restriction might shrink your offerings because of your location. Thus, users sometimes use VPNs to spoof locations and access otherwise inaccessible content. You can do the same as well. Just be sure to pick a reliable vendor. If you don’t know where to start, check the VPN comparison table on Reddit.

Add Some Extra Events

A family movie night is a fun excuse to bond. You can bond over movies, but it’s more likely that emotions would be muted during runtime. Real bonding means voices, laughter, and conversations.

As such, it is recommended to mix things up with some added events. For starters, your movie night can end with every member of the family recommending titles for the next one. You can decide which title wins via a raffle.

You can also add games to the combination. For example, a game of charades before or after the movie can be much fun. We recommend organizing games that make people work in teams or groups. Alternatively, you can play ‘flip the bottle’ with money or prized snacks at stake.

Don’t Forget to Capture the Memories

It’s not memorable if you can’t remember it. Yet, we can’t trust our memories to capture moments accurately. So, use a camera. Take pictures during games, conversations, and even when the movie is on.

Similarly, you can make videos. We recommend you make videos every movie night. That way, you can comprehensively capture when the family’s tough guy sheds a tear during a sad movie. End your documentation by creating a cloud-based folder and stashing it there. Anybody can access them, but keep a backup to counter people who try to delete the evidence.

Make it a Regular Tradition

All the tips above consider it a forgone conclusion that family movie night is a tradition. We hope you share our view of it. Keep up the tradition.

Conclusion

Every family has unique characters. As such, we can’t account for how specific ideas would fly. That said, the general tips above should help foster togetherness in your family. If done right, there will also be lots of laughter and joy. Cheers to more memorable family movie nights than you can ever imagine.