When was the last time you allowed yourself to relax and just enjoy time with your family? This sounds simple but truly, mommies like us have endless tasks to complete. Sometimes the thought of having fun is great until we realize all the preparation, travel, and expense that are attached to a great family bonding experience.
Here’s an idea that can make staying at home extra special. The best part is, it’s simple, fun, and will allow you to practice your creativity!
DIY Family Movie Night Setup
Movie nights is an activity that many family enjoy but for this particular “viewing party” I wanted to surprise my family. I did this by setting up a cozy spot where we could all lounge and enjoy all our favorite movie-time snacks.
What you’ll need:
- A bath towel
- Banana bed or any bean bag
- Throw pillows, neck pillows
- Laptop desks that will serve as mini food tables
You can work with anything you have and you don’t have to buy anything. Now for the picnic or mini-party setup, you’ll need:
- Drinking station – Pitcher of your favorite drink. Disposable paper cups.
- Snacks station – our choice is leftover pizza, burgers, and snacks lying around the kitchen
3. Paper plates, Cheers table napkins, Cheers disposable spoon and fork
4. Trash station – To make your party mess-free and to help prevent you cleaning after everyone, get a laundry basket and just line it with Cheers garbage bag. Instant trash bin!
The secret for a successful family movie night without any tantrums from kids (and adults!) or needing to get up and get something from the kitchen, all really boils down to planning and having the right tools. I stock up on disposable plates, utensils, and party napkins all year-round. They allow moms the much-needed break from cleaning up! Thus, helping us also enjoy the bonding time we planned and truly unwind after a busy week.
Here are some items I recommend. All of them are Cheers brand which is also made by Sanicare. My older sister who likes throwing parties and get-togethers educated me on why it’s important to have these.
Jumbo Kitchen Paper Towels – it’s 2017 and “basahan” should not be your primary tool to wipe surfaces clean. Sometimes I wonder if “basahan” is really cheaper because they can harbor bacteria, you need to wash them often, and very time-consuming to use. Just imagine.
Kitchen towels is a grab and go solution, even for outdoor picnics or parties. Food spills, kitchen, and cooking mess are some examples where you can use these.
Interfolded Party Napkins – these aren’t just for parties but for your dining room. It’s rare to see Filipino homes have table napkins and as a mother, I learned how having table napkins easily accessible will save me time wiping my child’s mouth and hands! This is instead of using “lampin” to wipe food from a child’s face and then be miserable about the stain during laundry.
It also makes spot cleaning more instant, especially when you don’t want to get off from your seat and miss the conversations.
Flat Napkins – this is my favorite napkin to use when serving food. I like using flat napkins to sometimes line plates to absorb oil and to line surfaces like for this movie night, I lined the laptop tables with these flat napkins to protect surfaces.
When family members like to enjoy pizza or burgers with their hands, I offer flat napkins to wrap and handle their food in to avoid spills and greasy hands.
Cheers Picnic Pack – here’s an all-in-one solution for any celebration or get together. This picnic bundle from Cheers has everything you’ll need: pull napkins, cutlery, and a garbage bag to clean up with.
I hope you try this idea and surprise your family with a stress-free weekend celebration as simple as enjoying a favorite movie at home.
Cheers Mommy and Baby!
Mommy Lace is a blogger from the Philippines. She started this blog to share information on pregnancy, breastfeeding, childcare, family, and health.
