Dear Diary,

This past Friday was my 20 year high school reunion, and I couldn’t attend due to circumstances beyond my control. Although I was extremely disappointed that I was not going to see my old friends; I was excited that I was got to hang out with my new crew–my children. We threw a Home Movie Party in the comfort of our home.

Home, the newly released Dreamwork’s animated film is 1 1/2 hours filled with tons of laughter, love and many other life lessons. The film begins when a very unpopular squishy colorful  character named Oh and his alien friends invade planet Earth. They suck up all of the humans through a vacuum like tube and place them in a far away land. Unbeknownst to them, one very brave preteen named Tip and her cat Pig remained. Oh an Tip meet while on the run and a relationship forms and an adventure gets underway.

Home has a good mix of characters with varying personalities and faults; just like our world today. These characters all discover their “truth” at the end of the film. Oh, who has made plenty of mistakes in his lifetime and has been searching for friendship finds true friendship, love and courage. We especially loved Tip, whose skin color and hair texture almost matched that of my 8-year-old daughter.

Here’s how we made our Home Movie Night a hit in our home:

Plan Together

Ask your kids what they want to eat or snack on while watching the movie and make it together. We ordered pizza and wings, made grapple (apple and grape juice mixed together) and snack bars. Have everyone set up their own viewing spot with pillows, blankets and favorite toys. We set up snack trays, so the kids don’t have to fight about the other eating everything up. Make sure you place anything you could possibly need within arms reach; you don’t want to miss a second of the movie because someone wants something!

Get Social

Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are great platforms to let your friends and family know about your evening in. Just don’t spoil the ending! Snap silly selfies, follow the movie on social media and read reviews from others.

Write a Review

When the movie ends or even the next day, make time to talk about what you watched. Family movies often have subject matters that reinforce your values. This movie with its colorful characters and head bobbing music has given my family plenty to talk about; my experiences making friends as a child and their future of acceptance and forging friendships that may last a lifetime, like my high school cronies. Heck, Heather, the publisher of this website, and I met in middle school! You can also practice writing with your kids. Generate a list of questions together that they can answer on paper–with words or pictures if they’re too young to complete sentences.

Hey DFTM Fam–How do you make movie night a fun, learning experience at your house?