Tips for Mom: Movie Night at Home

On occasion, MacGyver makes plans to get together with his friends. Which means, I have the house (and the remote control!) all to myself. After all, Turtle is lost in dreamland by 6, so I am left with hours of time to fill.

Which begs the question: What to do, what to do?

The answer is simple: MOVIE NIGHT! IN PAJAMAS!

Since becoming a parent, the simple act of going to the movies has turned into a complicated and elusive endeavor. First, MacGyver and I have to decide on a movie we both want to see. Then we have to decide if we want to pay the price of tickets, the cost of popcorn (because I cannot see a theater movie without theater popcorn) AND the fee of a babysitter. A nice $30 date just turned into a $60-70 date. And, quite frankly, there are few movies that are worth that price.

So we rely heavily on DVD and PPV. Or going separately.

It also means that I've missed out on a lot of new releases, many of which hold no interest to MacGyver.. Sometimes he surprises me. After all, he really liked Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Twilight. Yes, I said Twilight. Be jealous. But most of the time, I have to catch up on my films while he is working or out.

When my friend K asked if I wanted to see Julie & Julia, I jumped at the chance. With one condition. The dress code was PJs. There were no objections.



Now, I'm no Julia Child, but I like to think I can put together a nice spread. I served up some yummies: wholegrain tortillas with salsa, homemade soft pretzels with mustard (yellow & honey), cut up green apples and carrots with cheese fondue (homemade, of course), and little rolled up chicken & cheese quesadillas. K provided some awesome chicken tenders.



And the Publix bakery was responsible for these brownies. I didn't have a chance to bake my own. It happens.



I loved the movie. I definitely had some preconceived notions of Julia Child, but this blew them out of the water. Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci were superb (but really, when are they not?). Amy Adams was adorable (but when is she not?), and the overlapping stories were so nicely done. On the negative side, I think it ended a little abruptly, and I have these weird desire to make boeuf bourguignon, but other than that... magnifique!

How do you like to spend your movie nights at home?