A few weeks ago, I found myself explaining what Blockbuster was to my 6-year-old. I told him that when I was a kid, sometimes we would want to watch a movie that we did not own. If we did not want to spend the money to go to a movie theater or wanted to watch the movie from home, we would rent it from a store. We would walk into the movie rental store and sometimes spend an hour looking for the right movie. Then we would pay a dollar or two to rent the movie and often buy candy and a delicious dinner to eat while watching the movie as well.
After explaining this home entertainment phenomenon from the 20th century, I caught myself thinking how magical those times were, how movie watching at home these days just does not compare. At any point (that we allow), my kids have the option to watch hundreds of movies, available to them from via a few clicks of the remote from Netflix or Prime Video. There is not anything special about that because they have access to a wide array of movie options almost every day.
Then I started to think about it more.
How my 3 and 6-year-old’s eyes light up when they ask “Can we have a movie and popcorn night?” and we agree. The first rule is all of the kids must change into their pajamas, often because watching the movie will last until their bedtimes or slightly after. Each of my three has their own personal mini foam couches that they will bring out of their rooms. They set them all up on the floor, as close to the TV as I will allow, next to each other like movie theater seats. Next, they will get their pillow, favorite superhero-themed throw blanket, and stuffed animal, and make themselves comfortable. They will turn off every possible light in the living room and tell you that it needs to be dark like a movie theater. I used to try to talk them into keeping at least one light on, but I have realized that it was a losing battle.
Our large Golden Retriever, Gracie, often finds a spot near the boys as well to lay down and get comfy, hoping to get a few random belly rubs here and there, probably thinking that them camping out on the floor is a prime opportunity for some attention while they sit in her turf. They sit back in their little Mickey Mouse, Paw Patrol, and Ninja Turtle couches as Hotel Transylvania 2, Despicable Me 2, The Avengers, or some other favorite movie that they have likely seen a dozen times begins to play. Once the movie has started, my husband and I begin our duties as concession attendants and start the popcorn machine. The kids can hear when it starts to pop from the front room and ask, “Is it almost ready?” to which we tell them that it will be soon. We bring personal little popcorn bowls to the kids (our toddler gets something toddler-friendly, but a snack in a bowl nonetheless), the perfect size for little appetites.
We allow them to eat the popcorn and have a drink while sitting on their couches that are on the floor. This is a big deal because normally their drinks are not allowed to leave the dinner table. Our oldest will usually request at least one refill of popcorn, if not two, throughout the entirety of a movie.
While the boys are laying on their little couches on the floor, my husband and I are usually sitting right behind them on the actual couch, often smiling back and forth at each other admiring these precious moments.
Sometimes I need to remind myself, although many things have changed since my husband and mine’s childhoods and our kids’ now, new and different can still be special. It is an opportunity for my family and me to make our own traditions and precious memories, unique to our kids and not just a copy of the exact thing that we did as kids. Now looking back, I have no doubt that my kids will look back on their weekly movie and popcorn nights as kids as treasured family time.
