10 Great Themed Movie Nights For Your Family Staycation
Everyone loves a good, themed movie night. It is one of my favorite things to do with the family as it can encompass cooking, entertainment, and even education. They are a great way to introduce your children to a favorite movie and get them to branch out and try a new dish. You can use the excuse to teach older children how to cook by having them assist with dinner and snacks, and often, there is a lesson or two that can be snuck in without your kiddo even realizing it. They truly are the perfect cheap choice for any staycation or weekend night.
If the idea of having to create and plan the whole thing yourself seems too daunting, you can find everything you need to make the night fun for the entire family. There are tips and tricks for making the evening memorable without a ton of work, or you can go all out and create your own food labels and party favors. It’s up to you to decide what you think is the best fit for you and your family. Here are 10 Great Themed Movie Nights.
10. Beowulf and The 300
This double feature is best designed for older children as the material skews more mature but it is a good combo that is full of possibilities and educational opportunities. Beawulf the movie is based on the epic poem about a 6th century Scandanavian hero named Beowulf who had to defeat the monster Grendel and later Grendel’s mother to become the King of Geatland. While the movie takes some cinematic liberties, the main characetrs are there and if your child is reading Beowulf for school it makes a nice tie in.
The 300 is a stunning film from Zach Snyder based on the graphic novels by Frank Miller and Lynn Varlay. The cinematogrpahy is unbelievable and the story follows the historic Battle of Thermopylae. King Leonidas and 300 Spartans held of Xerxes and his massive Persian army. In the film, 300 Spartans alone held the pass. In real life a coalition of city states banded toegether but it was no less an impressive stand. If your middle school or high school age student is studying this era this is an accssible way to discuss what they are learning without getting the obligatory one or two word answer.
Serve cornish games hens, baked or roasted potatoes and corn on the cob or asparagus and make everyone use their hands to eat. Buy plastic goblets and spread out lots of furry blankets to really get into the spirit of things.
Word of warning there is nudity, language, and sexuality depicted in both so choose for yourself what your level of accecptance is for your family.
9. The Meg and Deep Blue Sea
These are guilty pleasures that are best for older children and not for those already afraid of the water. If you have little ones, substitute Nemo and Finding Dori for these murderous shark films. The Meg and Deep Blue Sea feature deadly sharks and underwater adventures. Decorate your home simply by changing the lightbulbs in your lamps to blue ones and hanging some paper fish to your lights. If your kids like to decorate, they could color or add glitter to the fish for a personalized touch. Dinner is easy by serving calamari with Mariana Trench sauce and grilled swordfish with mixed veggies. For dessert, try Ocean Jello or Starfish Smores if the fire is still going. Snack on Swedish Fish and Goldfish during the films.
Themed drinks should include Ocean Water Punch and Blood In The Water. You could create your own or serve Blue and Red Gatorade to make things easy. Talk about the amazing creatures that live in the Mariana Trench and all the incredible things sharks have going for them. There is no shortage of facts about sharks’ metabolism, how they breathe, and that they don’t get cancer. They might be killing machines in these two movies, but they are also incredible creatures.
8. The Lego Movies
The Lego movies are adorable and suitable for all ages. There are jokes that adults and older children will get that fly right over younger ears which means everyone will have a good time. There are four major feature films including The Lego Movie, Ninjago, The Lego Batman Movie, and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. Then there are tons of direct to video Lego movies to choose from. Any fo the features are clever and funnyw ith a surprising amount of heart thanks to Chris Pratt whose voice talents are perfect for the goofy hero story.
Break out the legos and build a centerpiece for the dinner table pre-movie. Have contests with the legos to see who can build the tallest and strogest structures in ten minutes. Look for lego themed decorations and buy them when they are on sale. There are Lego cupcake trays, icecube trays, and cookie cutters that all could be used to round out your theme. An easy trick is to order pizza and request it be cut into squares instead of the traditional wedges.
7. Weird Science and The Breakfast Club
I love the ’80s. The movies are all ridiculous and silly, and the clothing will always have a special place in my heart. It has some of the most iconic clothing choices of any era, and it is perfect for a night of lounging around with the family. Put on your legwarmers, skinny ties, lace gloves, and headbands. Buy a massive bag of bangle bracelets to accessorize. If you still have those blue lightbulbs, use them again(if you know, you know). Turn your kitchen into a lab with shot syringes that can be filled with jello, alcohol, or juice and lab equipment. You could also line your surfaces with books and prepare for detention.
Food choices are easy with these two films. Serve breakfast for dinner with Cinnamon Rolls, Omelets, and Biscuits and Gravy. You can make all of these from scratch or let Pillsbury be your friend. Snack on an easy fruit tray and put out a platter of mini quiches. Because so much of breakfast is already pretty sweet, skip dessert and lay out a cereal bar for everyone to grab during the movies. This night is perfect for a discussion about the fall of the Berlin Wall, Sally Ride, the first female astronaut, and the miracle on ice. Who didn’t love the 80s? These two are great for an older kid themed movie night. Show your kids just how cringy their parent’s really were.
6. The Princess Bride and The Neverending Story
These are two of my favorite childhood films of all time. These timeless stories could not be sweeter and both have enduring messages. These classics will appeal to the entire family and are safe for all maturity levels and tastes. The Princess Bride is about a princess and a stable boy turned something I won’t spoil who fall in love and have to fight for their love againnst the forces of dastadardly, selfish rich Kings. There are colorful characters you won’t forget and the iconic line, “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” Uttered by the indomintable Mandy Patinkin. There is a logic brain teaser that is played at a pivotal point in the film that would be a great starting point for a series of logic puzzles like this before or between films. A big list can be found here.
The Neverending Story is about a grieving child who is on a heroes jurney with a boy from Fantasia whose land is being destroyed by The Nothing. Only Atreyu and Sebastian in the human world can save everyone from being destroyed and wiped away by the Nothing. Falcor(Falkor) the Luck Dragon who helps along the way is a wonderful creation that softens the blow of several deeply emotional moments. This is a story about finding courage within ourselves and learning to move on from tragedy.
Break out those Renfest costumes or build a fort and pretend you are in the attic of a bookstore while watching these movies. Take a break with brain teasers in between the two and serve drinks in plastic goblets like the Royals do. Have discussions about bullying and forgiveness to round out the evening in accessible ways that won’t feel preachy to the kiddos. Serve chocolate bon bons, butter pound cakes, buttermilk fried chicken, or jerk fish or chicken and embrace your pirate life. Fake swords are always fun so get them whem they are on sale and put away anything breakable before doling them out.
5. The Ghostbusters Universe
There are plenty of Ghostbusters movies to suit any audience. Whether you are into the old school Ghostbusters led by Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, and Dan Aykroyd, the female led team of Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Kristen Wiig, and Leslie Jones or the complete retooling with Paul Rudd there are choices. Despite being about ghost hunting, these are not scary films unless your children are very young. Serve slime colored drinks, ectoplasm jello, rice crispy treats, s’mores, and New York style pizza or hot dogs.
Get into the spirit of things buy dressing in coveralls and fashioning a Proton Pack out of pool noodles and cardboard. be careful not to cross the streams though. Play New York trivia games and discuss the history of the buildings and locations that the action takes place at. If your kids can handle it, tell some age appropriate ghost stories and play spooky music. The soundtrck from the 80s film is hilarious.
4. The Replacements and Major League
I grew up on sports movies. My father loves sports and intilled a big affection for it in me and my brother. Sports movies are usually a pretty family friendly choice that everyone will like. Both of these movies are underdog stories and would be great for kids ages 10 and up. Major League has some raunchy humor, foul language, and some sexually suggestive moments but nothing your kids probably haven’t seen in sitcoms so judge for yourself. Before The Cleveland Indians got their name change and mascot revamping they leaned all the way into the cultural appropriation. It was the 80s and we didn’t know any better yet. Look past all of that and you have a stacked cast of comedic greats who are all hamming it up with the best of them.
The Replacements is a Keanu Reeves helmed film about a bunch of scabs who play when the professional football players go on strike. The unlikely group of ragtag players is so likable and the professional athletes so awful it is easy to root for Keanu and his crew. It is silly and funny and not at all realistic but the cast is great, the music is wonderful and any fan of sports should see this movie.
Have a tailgate party in the house or the backyard and serve all the favorites. Hot dogs, hamburgers, peanuts, nachos, giant pretzels and cheese, the works. Get snack helmets to serve everything in put beverages in a cooler for easy acsess. Throw the ball around in the yard and dress in your favorite team’s jerseys to round out the fun. Sports themed movie nights are always a hit so you can’t go wrong.
3. Ratatouille
The Disney movie about a hopeful rat who wants to be a French chef is very cute. With a film about cooking it is also perfect for a themed night with younger children centered on food. Working with children in the kitchen is great for many reasons. It gets them away from their screens, talking to you, and it teaches them a valuable skill they can use later in life. Everyone needs to know how to cook the basics. This is a fun way to do that that will stick with them. Statics have shown that memories are more powerful when assciated with heightened emotions. Having fun, playing music and laughing while cooking with your kids are special experiences they won’t forget.
Play some Disney music or French classics to really go down the rabbit or rat hole as it were. Get chef coats or aprons and hats for all the aspiring culinary Kings and Queens and enagage everyone in the planning process. Drag out all the old cookbooks and let everyone pick one dish to call their own. Take everyone to the store to shop for needed ingredients to further extend the learning process and encourage everyone to plan the evening’s schedule around their dish.
2. Any of the Indiana Jones Films
There are a lot of Indiana Jones movies to choose from and they all are reletively the same regarding maturity level. If your family has never seen any of them, watch them in order or course but if this is a rewatch I’m always a fan of Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom. Indy is a heroic anthropologist who is always trying to save something from the clutches of some evil rich collector and return it to a museum. Smart, savvy, a slightly rogueish with perfet comedic timing, Harrison Ford is great and there is plenty of room for discussion before during and after the film about his finds and the places he has to visit to retrive them.
Serve snake bites and grilled shrimp for dinner and any kind of gummy worms, chocolate or candy eyeballs, bug candies, and make a jello mold of brains for a disgusting treat. There are trivia games, board games, and card games all themed around Indiana Jones so pick one up or download a game to complete the evening. This is one themed movie night that will make older and younger kids alike happy.
1. Top Gun And Maverick
Both the original Top Gun from 1986 and the newest are crowd-pleasers. Not every sequel is worth watching, but this is a one-two punch that delivers. The house can be decorated simply by making paper planes out of red and blue paper and stringing them together with fishing lines to make a garland, or go simpler still and buy a giant bag of small American flags and place them everywhere. Belly up to the Hard Deck bar inside your kitchen by lowering the lights and turning on the Top Gun or Maverick soundtrack, and serve up a Ghost Rider and the Inverted Dive.
A double feature of Top Gun wouldn’t be complete without celebrating Goose. For spicy food lovers, try adding a splash or two of Flying Goose Siracha or Hot Sauce to your popcorn. Cool things off with Ice Man’s Ice Cream Sandwiches, and add something more substantial with that Loving Feeling Linguini. If you really want to get into things, you can buy some aviator glasses and toy dog tags for everyone to wear. All of the food is simple and easy to adjust for food allergies and inexperienced cooks. Sneak some learning in by playing a round of military trivia during dinner.
Themed movie nights don’t have to be complicated or require weeks of planning. Have everyone get involed with the process to get the most out of the experience.
