Back when I was a single mom I didn’t really have the luxury of going out on weekends much. I had Trent when I was 20 so while most of my friends were going through their party stage I was home taking care of a baby. Friday nights I would load up on junk food and pop in a movie to relax when he went to sleep. As he got older I started to include him in the Friday night festivities. It turned into the tradition we now call “Pizza Movie Night.”
I think having a special night set aside to spend one on one time with your kids is so important. We are all so busy; them with school and us with work and household chores. We get so caught up in the day to day sometimes we forget to appreciate what we have. So what are the rules for Pizza Movie Night you ask?

Rule #1: No Phones

We have a strict no phone policy in place. Phones are distracting. This night is about spending time with each other, not looking at a screen. That means no scrolling, no phone calls and no work. I promise you and your teen won’t die without your phones for a couple hours.

Rule #2: No Complaining

We now have a five person family so we roll a dice every week. The person with the highest number picks the movie. The following week the people who didn’t win before roll, and that continues until everyone has had a turn. We don’t allow whining about what movie someone picked. The whole point of this is to discover new movies and show your kids the classics. It’s movie nights like this that helped me discover Lord of the Rings and all the movies I hold dear to my heart to this day.

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Rule #3: No Dieting

I say this because I know some of you are probably on some fad diet that says you can’t have cheese or popcorn. Screw your diet. This is the night for you to order the greasiest pizza you can and indulge in the movie theater popcorn. There is no such thing as bad food tonight. Get crazy. Splurge. Feel like garbage in the morning when your stomach feels like it was severely abused the night before. It’s ok. You earned it.

I hope this little tradition we have inspires you to create a tradition of your own. Whether it’s a weekly movie night or something else, I encourage you to find time to bond with your kids. It’s the little things like this that they will remember in adulthood.

Talk soon,

Bri