Three Easy Summer Movie Nights

Summertime and the livin’ is easy… and so are our movie nights! I often take a more laid-back approach to our Friday night tradition during summer break. It’s still just as fun! Here are three we’ve enjoyed lately…

The Kid Who Would Be King

This modern re-telling of the Sword in the Stone delighted my 12-year-old son. The Kid Who Would Be King is probably too scary for younger children, but those who are a little older will enjoy it. I simply added these little swords to cupcakes for a quick themed dessert. I love that I can reuse the swords for another movie night down the road.

Run the Race

This is a well-made, faith-based film. It has all the excitement of a sports movie, but it’s really about times in life that cause you to struggle with your faith. We highly recommend Run the Race! It sparked some meaningful conversations for our family.

Toy Story Marathon

We had a ball re-watching the entire Toy Story collection in preparation for Toy Story 4. Of course this momma even shed some tears along the way! These are darling movies and its always sweet to revisit old favorites. All this movie-watching called for plenty of snacks, naturally. I found some Toy Story Goldfish and even sprung for our very own Forky.

Movie nights in the summer are simple and sweet… what are you watching together this weekend?

Movie Night: Aladdin

Oh, I come from a land, from a faraway place… where the caravan camels roam… where it’s flat and immense and the heat is intense… it’s barbaric, but hey, it’s home!

I’m here to grant your wish for a unique, delicious movie night centered around one of our all-time favorites… Aladdin. We watched the original Disney classic in anticipation of the new live-action version that comes out next week.

We did this movie night years ago when the kids were pretty little and we were excited to do it all over again. It’s been remembered as a favorite over the years and the thing that sticks with them most is that we ate sitting on the floor in our living room. That’s right! We set the coffee table, covered some pillows with black tablecloths to sit on a dined as if we were in Agrabah. This little break from routine is so fun for kids… parents too.

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I used this sparkly purple tablecloth to set the scene. Aladdin’s lamp and a treasure chest of coins and jewels added a mysterious element to the table.

Mercury glass votives held flickering tealights and these napkins topped each plate. I also splurged on this dress for my daughter!

Eating “on the floor” is just too much fun. You could also use chocolate coins for the “handsome reward.”

All we were missing was the magic carpet.

Dinner was absolutely delicious. I personally love that movie night pushes me to find recipes far outside of what I would normally cook. This night we enjoyed schwarma grilled chicken and vegetables with pitas and yogurt sauce.

I still had the recipes printed out from the last time we did this movie night. You can easily search and find something similar. As for dessert…

How ‘bout a little more baklava???

This was time-consuming, but not difficult to make. My husband and son devoured it. It’s not really my thing, but that’s okay! You can find the baklava recipe here.

This was another memorable evening and now we are all brushed up on Aladdin and ready to enjoy the new version in the theater.

This movie is one I can pretty much recite word-for-word… how about you? Will you see the new one? Happy Friday!

SHOP THIS MOVIE NIGHT HERE

Movie Night: Secretariat

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It’s Derby weekend and this movie night goes full-speed with the horse racing theme. We truly enjoyed Secretariat and our down-home Kentucky feast!

This movie is based on the heart-warming true story of the record-setting racehorse, Secretariat and the family and team behind him. It’s available on Netflix.

We took a twist on derby day classics for this dinner and everyone gobbled them up. We enjoyed Kentucky Hot Brown Sliders (recipe here) and Mint Julep Fruit Salad (recipe here.) Both were completely delicious, and, bonus, I was able to make them ahead of time. These jockey silks napkins added the perfect touch.

The kids especially could not get enough of the Mint Julep Fruit Salad. Dessert was Kentucky Derby Pie (this recipe) and the guys in our house loved it the most.

A few little plastic horses raced across the buffet. My daughter played “Secretariat” with them the rest of the weekend!

This movie is heartwarming, exciting, touching and thrilling. It’s perfect to curl up and watch as a family on the eve of the Kentucky Derby.

The colors had us ready for spring and summer and the food was comforting and classically Kentucky.

I’ll be making these recipes again!

And they’re off!