Family Viewing Our Way: What When & How #Streamteam #Ad @Netflix_CA

These days taking control of the Remote Control means we decide: 

What, Where, and When we watch!

Disclosure: As a member of the Netflix Streamteam I receive special perks for my participation, posts and sharing. 

All opinions are my own.

The evolution of family movie night ...

I had the good fortune to marry a rather extraordinary person. Although right now I'm sure my kids have not yet realize how lucky they are to have a father like him, someday they'll look back and see how he always makes an effort and time to make memories and teach them important life lessons. 

That was then ...
Movie time started (by their dad) when my kids were toddlers. Friday was Pizza and a Movie night, which meant ordering a pizza, making popcorn and watching a movie together as a family. Sunday afternoon was Male Bonding time, when the males of the household gathered to watched retro shows or cartoons, giving this SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) a well deserved break. This ritual continued pretty much unchanged until the kids reached high school. Even then we still managed to fit in regular Friday Pizza and a Movie nights and the Sunday afternoon bonding ritual. It wasn't that we didn't enjoy spending time together watching a movie, but rather schedules, social activities and homework made keeping these traditions challenging. 

This is now ...
With one (Thing 1) in college, and another (Thing 2) in university and living in his own apartment, our Family Movie night has had to evolve. It's rare for the whole family to get together and watch a movie, but that doesn't mean we don't want to bond over our favourite shows or a movie. This was evident this May long weekend when Thing 2 (home for a visit) asked me "Where is Dad and my brother?" I said "Downstairs watching a movie". He scowls and heads downstairs at double speed, clearly annoyed they hadn't invited him to join in. Netflix helps to make these family times possible by letting us control what and when and how we watch. In other words our way, and on our terms.

Family viewing in our family is alive and well ... 

• It could be over some brotherly bonding when Thing 1 stays over at Thing 2's apartment and they binge watch The Office, or The IT Crowd.
• Or a Sunday afternoon when Thing 1 and his Dad bond over a few episodes of Sherlock, or a movie like Office Space.  
• It might when I'm visiting Thing 2 at his apartment, and he makes me dinner that we eat while watching White Collar or iZombie.
• There's a good chance it'll happen when Thing 1 walks in on me watching a Korean TV Drama like Man to Man. It starts with a few minutes at the door making fun of my viewing choices, then moves to a sit at edge of chair asking what is happening and about the back story, and finishes with a fully committed chair sitting and running commentary about the characters and show. (For the record: Mom is not overjoyed having to try to read subtitles at the same time as his commentary, or questions). 
• Or on the rare occasions the kids aren't around it could be just the Hubby and I watching a movie like Whiskey Tango Foxtrot or a few episodes of Halt and Catch Fire. 
• Lastly, it could be that all of us watch a show like Daredevil or Arrested Devlop on our own and then have lively discussions about the show over dinner. 

With all the options available on Netflix the process of finding some middle ground, and reaching agreement on what to watch has gotten so much easier. As I said ... our way, on our terms no matter who, when, or where we're watching.

Change doesn't have to be a bad thing ...
Instead we've adapted out family viewing to fit out our schedules and lifestyle, not to mention budget. Being able to watch what we want on demand has been key to being able to continue this family tradition. To me change means choice, and having the choice to customize what and how we watch is a very good thing! 

Netflix just keeps making it easier to customize what, when and how we watch ...
With options like Netflix-to-Go that allows you to download to your devices many of your favourite shows and movies and watch them without Wi-Fi. *And for those in Southern Ontario heading to cottage country this summer be sure to read the post fellow Streamteamer Jenn of One Heart One Family wrote about a very special treat Netflix has for you on long weekends this summer.

Happy Streaming! 

Yep, just me Cathy thinking about the evolution of our family's movie night. 

Family Movie Night & Older Kids - Adapting to the Now #streamteam @Netflix_CA

Carving out Family Time With My Young Adult Kids:

Life as a parent is ever evolving, and requires an ability to adapt to the realities of now while keeping an eye on the end goals. It use to be easy, but as my kids get older connecting as a family has become increasingly more challenging, yet more important than ever in my opinion. 

As teens and young adults I think my kids actually need more family time and opportunities to connect and have important conversations about life, school, relationships or just hang out with Mom and Dad. I believe this regular casual bonding time while growing up leads to connections and trust that will make even the hard conversations of the future possible. Having said that I'm really struggling this year to try to carve out some family and/or one on one time with my kids. My eldest is in college and my youngest is in residence at university with vastly different schedules, but I refuse to let go of at least the occasional family movie night (or afternoon). Nothing beats hearing my kids' spontaneous belly laugh while watching a comedy, or their audio effects made while watching an action flick. 

Streaming With Your Young Adults:
Shows:

• Luke Cage
• Spotless
• Arrested Development 

Movies:

• Ride Along
• The Fundamentals of Caring
• RED and RED 2
• Jump Street 21 and Jump Street 22

Our family has a long tradition of Friday Family Movie Night that started when my kids were toddlers and continued until they were well into high school. So for those of you with younger kids here are some options to start or reboot your family movie night tradition. 

Streaming With Younger Kids:
Shows:

• Kazoops
• Kulipari: An Army of Frogs
• Veggietales in the House

Movies:

• Maleficent
• Planes: Fire & Rescue
• Zootopia
• Tangled
• The Princess and The Frog
• Treasure Planet
• Oceans
• Cool Runnings
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Even though it may be a bit trickier to schedule, it's well worth the effort to grab some snackages and watch a movie with the kids regardless of how old they are. 

HAPPY STREAMING! 

Use the #StreamTeam hashtag to follow all the Netflix StreamTeam adventures, and Netflix on twitter and facebook for updates and info.

Note: As a Netflix StreamTeam member I receive special perks for my #streamteam participation posts and sharing. All opinions are my own. 

Couple & Family Time #ValentinesDay #FamilyDay #Streamteam @Netflix_CA

Finding Ways to Include Both Family and Couple Time in Your Life.

It's February which means February 14th is Valentine's Day and February 15th is Family Day.

February 14th - Couple Time

After 23 years of marriage it's easy to let Valentine's Day slip by without making time to express our love and affection for each other. The demands of life and time pressures often take priority. But, being together and loving each other for more than a quarter of a century deserves at least some sort of acknowledgement. Certainly after raising two boys aka Thing 1 and Thing 2 together we deserve some couple without the evil offspring. It doesn't need to be a big deal or something fancy, but it should be a thoughtful specific effort. 

Being home-bodies who generally prefer a night in together rather than a night out, ordering take out, a couple of gin and tonics, and watching a movie or show together is a good fit for our Valentine's Day celebrations. Any show in the We Say - Sweet Spot are perfect options and ensure we both equally enjoy what we watch during our time together. Making time for Couple Time was much easier before the kids, aka the "evil offspring", but even so it's important to make time for couple time. 

February 15th - Family Time 

Evolution of the Family Movie Night: Meet my family: Me, Hubby, and Thing 1 (20 year old) and Thing 2 (18 year old). What the offspring watch and what we watch with them has changed since we first started our family movie night tradition when the kids were toddlers. Now that they're older I worry less about what is age appropriate and more about whether I want to sit through it. Never, I repeat never will I be watching Trailer Park Boys or South Park. Never are they going to agree to watch Korean rom-coms or Bollywood movies (actually my husband won't agree to watch those either). So I like to find movies and shows to watch together as a family that appeal to all of us. Throw in some yummy "snackages" and sodas and we have the makings of a great family night in.

Two genres that seem to work well are Comedies and Action. There are many comedies and action movies that have just enough humour, action and a love interest to make the plot interesting for all of us. I call these the "middle ground", and fall somewhere between South Park and Bollywood. Movies without overly graphic violence (for me) or nudity (Awkward! and best not shared with your Mom) seem to work best for family viewing time. It's not that we don't watch other types of movies we each like, we just don't watch them together. Selective family viewing make for happy family viewing.

Coming Soon to Netflix:

Starting February 26th, 2016 you will also be able to stream Fuller House on Netflix. Take a jump forward in time to when the Full House kids are grown and dealing with their own life and parenting challenges, and that is where Fuller House begins. This sequel welcomes many of the Full House characters back, giving us insight into what they've been doing between then and now, and what circumstances lead to an even "fuller house". It's a great show to add to your "Family Fun Night In" streaming list and is perfect for all ages.

Whether as a couple or as a family I hope you find ways

 to make time together with loves ones extra special. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

and 

Happy Family Day!

Yep, just me Cathy thinking out loud about time with the ones I love.

Note: As a member of the Netflix Streamteam I receive Netflix and a streaming device free of charge for the purposes of my Netflix Streamteam posts. All opinions are my own. 

Also, my weekly #W2WW - What to Watch posts are simply something I like to share with readers, and not related to Netflix and my participation in the Streamteam.