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We love to count down the days until Christmas, watching one movie each night until the big day arrives.
Dinner always goes fantastically well with a movie, especially during the holiday season.
On Fridays, we combine dinner and a movie to make things extra special!
Christmas traditions are loved by all in our home.
At first this was a couple's affair. My husband and I would wait until the kids went to sleep, and cuddle on the couch sharing a candy cane while watching our movie by Christmas lights.
That was until our kids started getting older and wanted to join us. Then it became a family affair.
The problem was they wanted a special treat for each and every movie night and well...
As much as I love Christmas cookies and other desserts, I don't enjoy putting on an extra ten pounds during the holiday season. So we struck a compromise.
The five Fridays between Thanksgiving and Christmas we have our Christmas Dinner and a Movie Nights.
We select Christmas movies that are appropriate for everyone in the family and prepare a special dinner to go along with each movie.
Our kids absolutely love this new tradition. The adults love it too!
Each dinner and a movie are meant to compliment each other.
Our kids love how each one corresponds to the movie that we're watching.
Sometimes take-out is part of the plan. Other times we make everything homemade. It depends on our schedules and ambitions on each particular night.
5 Christmas Dinner and a Movie Ideas for Families
1. The Santa Clause with Left Overs from Thanksgiving Dinner or food from Denny's
Turkey dinners are definitely the main meal here.
And if you're in a generous mood you can always add the perfect cup of hot cocoa for dessert.
2. Home Alone with Pizza
Everyone enjoys a cheese pizza just for them.It won't matter if you make homemade pizzas at home or order take out, so long as there's enough for everyone.
If you'd like to add a dessert an ice cream sundae bar is the perfect choice.
3. Elf with Spaghetti
You may want to pass on the maple syrup but spaghetti is a perfect dinner to serve while watching this holiday comedy.For those who want dessert too, anything with sugar will do, but of course Elf themed cookies are always fun.
4. The Christmas Story with Chinese Food
That is, unless you like boiled cabbage or meatloaf and mashed potatoes. Add a glass of Ovaltine and you're all set!
5. How the Grinch Stole Christmas with "Roast Beast"
In our house "roast beast" is a ham dinner, but in your home it may be a pot roast, turkey, or chicken.
Whichever it is, the meal goes along perfectly with this movie night and definitely brings in the spirit of the holiday.
Now I've mentioned in our home we use these for Friday night movie nights, but they can be done any time during the holiday season.
If you're looking for a low key family night during the holiday season, nothing is as simple as the ideas listed above.
Everyone needs to eat dinner.
For those who are looking for more family fun ideas be sure to subscribe to our free newsletter by clicking the link below.
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The books are in no particular order. Bulldozer will be required to read twelve out of twenty books by the end of the school year. If he finishes twelve and would like to read more he is always welcome. He will also complete a book report about each book.
To ensure the kiddos are provided time to read we have "rest and reading time" every afternoon after lunch. The kiddos all go to their rooms for an hour. They can choose to take a nap or read silently. Sunshine almost always takes a nap but the other kids love to read.
Here is Bulldozer's reading list for this year!
Chapter Book Recommendations for 3rd Graders
2. Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House Series) by Mary Pope Osborn
3. Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume
4. Runaway Ralph by Beverly Cleary
5. Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard Atwater
6. The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois
7. Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl
8. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia) by C. S. Lewis
9. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
10. The Secret Zoo by Bryan Chick
11. Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate
12. George Washington’s Socks by Elvira Woodruff
13. I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens by Lauren Tarshish
14. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba
15. The Chicken Squad: The First Misadventure by Doreen Cronin
16. A Storm Too Soon by Michael J. Tougais
17. In the Heart of the Sea: The True Story of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick
18. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
19. The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop
20. The Secret of the Indian by Lynne Reid Banks
I absolutely love watching the kiddos become completely absorbed in their reading lists. They are constantly begging for more and reading every chance they get!
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