Create A Movie Night At Home

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We have spent the last year trying to come up with different ways to keep busy while staying at home. It's hard to make things exciting when really all you want to do is go out for a meal, go to the cinema or just get out of the house. Last week I stumbled across Odeon At Home and I thought it would be perfect way to entertain the kids during half term.

Odeon At Home has everything you need to prepare your home into an  Odeon experience. To get started we downloaded the PDF of the at home kit and created our Odeon at Home.

First pretend to work at the Odeon by popping on your name badge and also your favourite film. My favourite film changes all the time so I would struggle to fit just one on there.

Create the viewing screen by labelling your TV/Projector with Screen 1 and write the name of the movie you are going to watch next to Showing.

Then you need to create the tickets. The PDF includes 4 ticket stubs but if you need more you can just print out another sheet. 

Once we created the viewing area it was time to sort out snacks. Usually at the cinema you would have a choice of hotdog, nachos, popcorn, pick and mix and drinks. We had lots of fun creating the Food and Drinks section of our cinema. 

First we started with the drinks. Little J got a slush puppy machine for Christmas and John has just mastered how to make the perfect slush so this was definitely on the menu. We ordered some Coca Cola Cups from amazon which were perfect not to big or small, they were 400ml. 

Hotdogs on baguettes and nachos were easy enough to make and again we ordered the trays and hot dog holders from Amazon. The nachos were lightly salted Doritos and I had read lots of reviews saying the Riccos Nacho Cheese Sauce is just like the cinema. You can buy it in Costco however we ordered it from Amazon. The sauce did not disappoint. 

Part of the print off is make your own popcorn boxes. These were actually really easy to buy and there was no need to use cardboard, paper worked just fine. 

I popped a few tubs of pick and mix on the table with spoons so the boys could pick their own or add to their popcorn. 

Last but not least it was time to watch the movie, but before that we enjoyed an introduction from Odeon and then a selection of trailers from upcoming movies. This is available via a link which you can type in direct on your TV if it has access to the internet. This really made us feel like we were at the cinema and it was quite emotional listening to the voiceover that we have heard so many times in the past at our local Odeon. It made us all realise just how much we have missed going to the cinema. 

The movie night was a success and with the added extras it really did feel like we were at the cinema.

Unfortunately our giveaway is no closed. 

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Comments - I love reading your opinions and thoughts - Have you ever created a movie night? Leave us a comment and let us know.

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Win A Night In At The Movies 

Michelle

Competition closes on Sunday 14th March 2021

Entrants must have a valid UK address. 

Bulk, third party or any other entries using automated software will be disqualified. 

All entrants and entries are checked and verified. 

1 lucky winner will be chosen at random by the Gleam application. 

Playdays and Runways will contact the lucky winners within 7 days of the competition closing. 

The winners will be emailed to the email address given at the time of entering. 

The winners must respond within 28 days, if no response a new winner will be chosen. 

This prize is non-transferable and there is no cash alternative 

The Prize : £20 amazon voucher to spend on sweets and treats for a movie night in. 

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Ideas To Keep The Kids Entertained The Half Term

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Disclosure - We were gifted Pizza Punks kit to include in this post. All thoughts, opinions and photographs are our own. 

February half term is my least favourite of all the school holidays. The weather is always cold, there isn't much to do and there also isn't really anything to look forward to. At least with the other half terms you can look forward to Easter, Summer, Halloween and Christmas. This half term will be a tough one even more as we are still in this national lockdown. I have been thinking of ways to keep the kids entertained this half term and I have come up with a few ideas. Most of these got us through the first lockdown last year so I know we will enjoy them again this half term.

Not Just Another Walk In The Park

By now I am sure you may be a little bored of your local park but there are ways that you can make it so it's not just another walk in the park. Go on a scavenger hunt. There are lots of free scavenger hunt tick off sheets on google that make a visit to your local park or woods a lot more interesting. Scavenger hunts will have your little ones running around trying to find all the things on their list. You can always make your own and if you are stuck for some ideas I have a template below which you can use. 

Make Your Own Pizza's

Creating our own pizza was one of the activities both boys enjoyed during lockdown. We used wraps or ready made pizza bases and added a variety of toppings. Within 10 minutes the pizzas were created and ready to pop in the oven. It's a simple activity but very enjoyable.  We recently came across Pizza Punks and their Pizza Punk It Up DoughIY kits and I wouldn't use anything else from now on. You choose how may pizzas you want (2 or 4) and 4 toppings from a large selection and the kit will be delivered direct to your door. The sourdough is ready to be shaped in to a pizza base, the sauce and topping are ready to be added, top with cheese and pop in the oven.

The whole experience was a hit with all of us, not just the boys. We chose meatballs, ham, pepperoni and salami however you can be as adventurous as you like with lots of toppings to choose from. The ingredients all fit within a large pizza box and come in their own individual pots, you even get a little pot of flour. The packaging really adds to the experience and the boys haven't stopped talking about their pizzas since. 

Host A Movie Night

Enjoying a movie night brings the whole family together and it's a nice activity to while away a few hours. When it comes to hosting a movie night you can be as adventurous as you like. In the past we have made tickets and enjoyed lots of cinema snacks. I have seen others give their children some money to buy their snacks from a selection available at the pretend cinema kiosk.

I spotted Odeon are offering cinema goers the chance to have a full odeon experience at home. All you need to do is download their Odeon At Home pack and print out your tickets, activity pack and even popcorn box. To make the experience even more realistic you can scan the QR code on the downloadable pack and you will see some trailers. 

Siblings Sleepover

Having a sleepover with friends may be off the cards but if you have siblings that don't share a room you could create a sleepover for them both to enjoy. Having a sleepover is fun and half term is the perfect opportunity to let the kids stay up a little later than usual, eat snacks in bed, play games and watch rubbish movies.

Depending on the size of the bedroom you could even make it more fun. Add a tent, a den or there are lots of companies now that offer sleepover kits but I think you can't beat your own bed so just pop their mattress in there. 

Create A Scrapbook

This past year has been a crazy rollercoaster and I am hoping we will soon come to the end of the track and it will be time to get off. Create a scrapbook of all the things you have done, celebrated and enjoyed over the past twelve months. We will never get time like this again so it will be nice to create a book that you can look back on in years to come when we all stayed home to keep safe. 

Remember that these are very unusual times. Be kind to yourself and maybe loosen the screen time limits a little or let the kids have a PJ day. Our little ones have had a very strange year and if all goes well they will be heading back to some kind of normality soon so let them enjoy this last half term where everything is closed and there is not a lot to do. Pretty soon we will all be back to our usual busy selves trying to juggle 10,000 plates at once, let's just enjoy this moment while it lasts. 

If you found this post useful there are a few ways that you could say thanks and support Playdays and Runways.

Comments - I love reading your opinions and thoughts - Are you looking forward to Half Term?Leave us a comment below and let us know what you have planned. 

Growing my social media is something I work hard on. If you would like to follow us - Like us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

If you have found this post or our blog particularly useful you can say thanks by - Buy Us A Virtual Coffee

If you think a friend of family member would like this post - Tap the share button below.

Michelle

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