Family Movie Night - Get Poppin'!

There is something I must confess... It is an action so bold, so unusual, that the mere mention of it has been known to elicit gaping stares, harassing questions, and in better moments, applause. We do not have T.V.. To clarify, we have a television, it is simply not capable of showing anything other than DVDs we choose to play. The reasons for this are many, and no, we do not live in a compound or belong to a cult that forbids any form of cultural influence past 1865. We have simply opted out of life's biggest time-suck next to Facebook (which for the record, I was VERY so slow to get). Because of this we get an extra 4 1/2 hours in our day. That is the 4 1/2 hours that the rest of the nation spends (on average) not connecting or communicating with their families, not spending time outdoors, not cooking, not exercising, not reading, not living. This is not to say that curling up on the couch and vegging has no place in life, but hey, we all know there is too much time spent watching programs we don't want to watch just to fell tuned into something, or being only mildly fulfilled when watching a favorite program because more time was spent watching advertisements than the characters. This is where the beauty of Family Movie Night comes into play. Instead of having T.V shows (or movies) on all the time, acting as constant background noise, we have turned it into a fun and special weekly (twice a week if we can squeeze it) ritual that our whole family gets to enjoy together. It goes something like this: We have an early dinner so as not to completely throw off bedtime, we have either a special dessert or make homemade popcorn that we get to eat in the living room (gasp), and snuggle in on the sofa, where no one is allowed to take calls, check email, or be otherwise distracted from the special evening. As far as what we watch, I am a firm believer that children's entertainment should be good natured and enjoyable for the whole family- if you fee like you are getting dumber as you watch it, or are horribly annoyed by it, then WHY are you allowing to be played in YOUR house, having influence over your kids? You are the parent and you have first right of refusal- remember that! I love that my girls enjoy watching classic films in black and white and, if it weren't for some well meaning neighbors, wouldn't even know who Dora the Explorer is. There is just so much meaningless, valueless, swill that is advertised to children today, that by breaking free of T.V. my kids get to be kids just that much longer.


The Hamiter Families Top 10 Movie Picks

1. Matilda
2. The Sound of Music
3. Mary Poppins
4. Finding Nemo
5. The Wizard of Oz (or, as my daughters say it, The Wizard Kabboz)
6. Hook
7. Old Yeller
8. To Kill A Mockingbird
9. The Secret Garden
10. Anything Shirley Temple

Poppin' Homemade Popcorn

Making popcorn at home is ridiculously easy and does not require any sort of special popcorn popper (I have no idea why such appliances even exist- you don't need one) and is much healthier than the fortified nastiness that you will find prepackages at the grocery store.

Simply heat 1 TBS corn oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add 1/3 cup of popcorn kernals and cover with the lid. Shake the pan frequently until the popping subsides and, viola, homemade popcorn. Drizzle with some melted butter and sea salt and enjoy the show!

Break free from T.V.! **However please tune into MasterChef premiering July 27th on Fox to see yours truly. ; )


ABOUT THIS ENTRY'S PHOTO When I was taking the picture for Wednesday evening's (a family movie night btw) from scratch chocolate and whipped cream pudding cups she said there needed to be a smile in the picture.... I completely agree : )