One of the (many) things we're doing in preparation for our big trip to Disney World is to have a Disney Family Night about once a month until we leave . In short, we pick one of our favorite Disney movies and then create a themed night around it. It's a fun way to bridge the long wait!
James' (current) favorite Disney movie is 101 Dalmatians. He's really into puppies right now, and was ecstatic that we were going to spend a whole night focusing on puppies!
When I plan these nights I have four main "departments" in mind - food, decor, music, and activities. So, for decor, I try to lightly transform our kitchen/family room into that theme. I don't go ALL out, but just enough to give James a sense of being a part of the movie we're celebrating. He gets *SO* excited and filled with anticipation when he knows I'm decorating the kitchen, and I often catch him peeking through one of the windows to catch a preview! :)
For our 101 Dalmatians night, I printed off lots of little paw prints, cut them out, and taped them all over our kitchen & living room! I also arranged several of James' stuffed puppies in various places - hanging out of cabinets, sitting atop the counter - so it'd look like they were climbing all over everything. :)
I made some "puppy ears" for James. They seriously took me two minutes to make. I used one of my headbands, cut out two dalmatian ear-shaped pieces out of black felt and paper-clipped them to the headband. Easy peasy!
While dinner was cooking, we played a few games. One was "Find the Bone" - I bought (and later donated to our neighbor's dog) a real dog bone and hid it somewhere in the house. James put on his puppy ears to "listen for clues" on where to find it. I also printed off some activity sheets from here, and made a puzzle out of an image I found on Google Images. In an effort to add an educational twist to the night (I'm a teacher, what can I say?!), I created and printed out a little blurb about why dalmatians are fire dogs.
For dinner I tried to keep the movie's locale in mind - England. Here's what was on our menu:
:: Rolly's Chew Sticks (aka large pretzel rods)
:: Perdita's Pie (aka shepard's pie) - this is actually a long time favorite in our house. I know we don't make it quite the way the Brits do, though, and I'm sure it's very Americanized. It's super yummy - crumbled hamburger, gravy, and peas, topped with a thick layer of mashed potatoes and sprinkled with a bit of cheddar cheese.
:: Pongo's Punch (aka milk with tiny chocolate chips) - in the movie, the puppies are directed to a farm where they receive fresh milk. I was glad to be able to offer James milk with his meal and still keep in theme with the movie! :)
:: Lucky's Biscuits (aka bone shaped sugar cookies) - these were our dessert and were yum-may!
:: Patch's Pupcorn (aka popcorn) - we used the kind that has salt and pepper seasoning because it gave the popcorn a subtle dotted look. :) We enjoyed this halfway through the movie.
Click here to see our other Disney nights - more to come! Next up is Finding Nemo!
James' (current) favorite Disney movie is 101 Dalmatians. He's really into puppies right now, and was ecstatic that we were going to spend a whole night focusing on puppies!When I plan these nights I have four main "departments" in mind - food, decor, music, and activities. So, for decor, I try to lightly transform our kitchen/family room into that theme. I don't go ALL out, but just enough to give James a sense of being a part of the movie we're celebrating. He gets *SO* excited and filled with anticipation when he knows I'm decorating the kitchen, and I often catch him peeking through one of the windows to catch a preview! :)
For our 101 Dalmatians night, I printed off lots of little paw prints, cut them out, and taped them all over our kitchen & living room! I also arranged several of James' stuffed puppies in various places - hanging out of cabinets, sitting atop the counter - so it'd look like they were climbing all over everything. :)I made some "puppy ears" for James. They seriously took me two minutes to make. I used one of my headbands, cut out two dalmatian ear-shaped pieces out of black felt and paper-clipped them to the headband. Easy peasy!
While dinner was cooking, we played a few games. One was "Find the Bone" - I bought (and later donated to our neighbor's dog) a real dog bone and hid it somewhere in the house. James put on his puppy ears to "listen for clues" on where to find it. I also printed off some activity sheets from here, and made a puzzle out of an image I found on Google Images. In an effort to add an educational twist to the night (I'm a teacher, what can I say?!), I created and printed out a little blurb about why dalmatians are fire dogs.
For dinner I tried to keep the movie's locale in mind - England. Here's what was on our menu::: Rolly's Chew Sticks (aka large pretzel rods)
:: Perdita's Pie (aka shepard's pie) - this is actually a long time favorite in our house. I know we don't make it quite the way the Brits do, though, and I'm sure it's very Americanized. It's super yummy - crumbled hamburger, gravy, and peas, topped with a thick layer of mashed potatoes and sprinkled with a bit of cheddar cheese.
:: Pongo's Punch (aka milk with tiny chocolate chips) - in the movie, the puppies are directed to a farm where they receive fresh milk. I was glad to be able to offer James milk with his meal and still keep in theme with the movie! :)
:: Lucky's Biscuits (aka bone shaped sugar cookies) - these were our dessert and were yum-may!
:: Patch's Pupcorn (aka popcorn) - we used the kind that has salt and pepper seasoning because it gave the popcorn a subtle dotted look. :) We enjoyed this halfway through the movie.
Click here to see our other Disney nights - more to come! Next up is Finding Nemo!
~Thank you for your comments!~
4 comments:
So cute! I have a question for you: what do you use for laminating?? Buy sheets and do it yourself? Or do you take your items to Kinkos ...etc? What are your most cost effective tips fr this - I have a ton of stuff that needs laminating!
There's nothing laminated in this post, but for things I do laminate, I use my own laminator/sheets. For me this is the most cost effective and efficient way since the costs here in Bermuda are 2-3x the US.
I LOVE these movie theme nights you have. We are huge Disney fans in this house! I can not wait to borrrow your ideas
This seems easy enough to do this week! Thanks again!
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