35 Kids Movie Night Ideas

We love family movie nights in our house. There is something special about all of us on the couch sitting down to see a story come to life on the screen. Today I am sharing 30 of our favorite kids movie night ideas that the entire family will love.

I love to create family traditions and family movie nights are one of my favorites! It is a fun way to spend time together after a long week of school and work.

Sometimes I plan themed nights and others we pick a movie and snuggle on the couch. We all look forward to enjoying family movie night after a long week.

We started our first family movie night when my daughter was 2 years old. The movie was Cinderella and we were all snuggled in ready to watch…for about 20 minutes!  

Then she ran around and played with her toys.  We kept it up because I love movies, especially Disney movies and classic kids movies. Check out Over 150 Disney+ Movies and Shows Your Family Should Watch in 2020.

The movies we watch have evolved as the kids are growing up and their interests are changing.  We take turns on who picks the movie. We use a special movie night blanket that we lay out on the floor and we get our snacks all ready.  

We’ve done themed snacks like candy for Willy Wonka and Bananas with sprinkles for Minions but most nights its fresh made popcorn. I bought my husband a popcorn maker for Christmas two years ago and we use it all the time.  He has made cheese popcorn, sugar popcorn, and classic butter. He has become the popcorn king in our house.

Kids Movie Night Ideas You Will All Love

We purchased the 101 Movies to See Before You Grow Up through our kids book order last year. This helps us pick a movie when we are stuck.  It has pages where we can write our opinion about the movie and the date we watched it.

We have collected a lot of movies but we also borrow them from our local library. You would be surprised how often they have new releases.  We also rent from Redox and watch on Netflix.

35 Favorite Movie Night Ideas for Kids

Most of these movies can be found on Disney Plus or Netflix.

• Mrs. Doubtfire
• Big Hero 6
• The LEGO Movie
• Wreck-It Ralph
• Up
• Night at the Museum
• Jumanji
• Hook
• Goonies
• Coco
• Meet the Robinsons
• Toy Story (All Movies)
• Sing
• Spy Kids (1-3)
• The Sandlot
• Matilda
• The Incredibles
• Finding Nemo
• A Bug’s Life
• Kung Fu Panda 1-3
• Book of Life
• Frozen & Frozen 2
• Despicable Me + Despicable Me 2 and Minions
• Descendants
• How to Train Your Dragon
• Tangled
• Inside Out
• The Nightmare Before Christmas
• Moana
• Sky High
• The Secret Life of Pets
• Zootopia
• The Mitchells vs. The Machines
• Cruella
• Soul

Family Movie Night Tips

• Lay down a blanket on the floor or over the couch to protect from spills.
• Pick a theme.  You don’t have to go all out but try to connect a snack and the movie.
  • The Sandlot-Cracker Jacks
  • Finding Nemo- Swedish Fish
  • Bugs Life- Gummy Worms, or Worms in Dirt
  • The Polar Express: Hot chocolate(or chocolate milk), Marshmallows, Christmas Cookies
• Do something special. If your house rule is dinner at the table, plan a picnic and have a drive-in movie night.
• Google the movie and look under images.  Often you can find free printables to color before the movie. This works really well for The Polar Express!!
• Make fresh popcorn…it just taste better! Shake it in a large paper bag with melted butter and salt.  Put it in microwave for 30 seconds.  Enjoy!!

Read Next: 52 Activities to Connect as a Family 

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