Christmas Themed Movie Nights

I’m posting this now so that you have time to prepare. I have seen so many of these themed movie nights, and I just think they look like a lot of fun! I’m excited to do this with my kids! This is my attempt to pre-plan and share my grand idea with you, so you can do it too! I know there are a lot of really great Christmas movies, but I am going to hit on kids movies only. I am also only going to do 5 of them so I don’t overwhelm myself with choices!

I figure there are 2 ways to organize this. You can do the 4 weeks before Christmas starting the Friday after Thanksgiving (Black Friday), or you could do the 4 weeks in the month of December including the Friday after Christmas. It also doesn’t have to be a Friday, you could do this any day of the week, but I think I am going to do mine on Friday! I also know that being a mom around the holiday is hard! So this is going to be as simple as possible. I’ll provide some ideas, but feel free to dress it up or down. It’s the thought that counts.

Elf

This is one of my favorite Christmas movies. Its so cute and fun. But here is my plan.

• For dinner you make spaghetti! Super simple and very on brand.
• Then for dessert you do a super fun candy salad! Since Buddy’s favorite thing is sweets you throw all of your favorites into a bowl and share it like trail mix!
• You can watch elf on MAX or rent it on Amazon Prime

The Grinch

Now listen, I am not a Grinch fan. My kids love it! I am barely lukewarm to it, but for their sake I’ll include it in the list. I will say if you are watching anything other than the animated version I am not sure we can be friends. Jim Carey Grinch is weird AF and you can’t convince me otherwise. Here is the plan:

• Dinner is all planned out for you by Dr. Seuss himself. Roast Beast, Who Pudding, and Who Hash, it’s a little more work but it will be so cute. I found this blog that has the perfect recipes for you!
• Obviously you don’t have to do all of it, but she gives you lots of options.
• You can watch THE BEST VERSION OF The Grinch on Peacock or rent on Amazon or Apple TV! I’m not even going to tell you where you can watch the other one, because this one is the best.

Home Alone

This is such a good Christmas movie, and its a great option for this fun little activity! And to top it off, you can order it all if you want! Makes it even easier for you!

• For dinner you need a “Lovely cheese pizza just for me!” Order a cheese pizza just for you, the bigger the better, but if you want to get really fun make pizza at home and let the kids help!
• Then you are going to make ice cream sundaes with all the toppings! This will be so much! They will love it!
• This movie is on Disney+ or for rent on Amazon or Apple TV!

The Santa Clause

Again, a classic Christmas movie! My kids haven’t liked this movie in the past, but I am hopeful this year they will love it! This idea is thinking outside the box but your kids are sure to love it!

• Tim Allen burns the Christmas turkey and they end up at Denny’s for dinner! What is Denny’s known for? An All-star breakfast! What is in an all-star breakfast? Two buttermilk pancakes served with eggs, bacon strips and sausage links. So we are doing breakfast for dinner! But don’t forget the chocolate milk this time.
• For dessert, what better than Santa’s favorite? Milk and cookies!
• You can watch the Santa Clause on Disney+

And simply because my family would disown me if I didn’t add in National Lampoons Christmas Vacation (my in-laws favorite holiday movie) I will add it too! I’m not sure if its totally kid friendly depending on your boundaries, but it is a really good movie.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

We love this movie and it’s one of the traditions my husband brought into our family, from his family. I didn’t love it at first, but it has grown on me. It’s really a funny movie.

• For dinner you could do a turkey breast (maybe don’t over cook it.) A fun jello mold, and then you could do a jelly of the month sampler!
• For a fun treat you could make egg nog floats! Vanilla Ice Cream with eggnog over top! Can you imagine serving them in moose mugs?
• You can watch this movie on MAX!

So those are the 5 I am going to try this year, but if those aren’t your jam there are plenty more you could do. I think this is going to be so much fun, and I really hope that I can continue this for future holidays/seasons. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a tradition of Friday night movie nights with your family? I think it would be a blast!