Making Family Movie Night a Tradition Worth Keeping

This Saturday will be family movie night.

It’s a big deal for our family.

Evenings spent as a family watching primetime television sitcoms were a big deal when I was growing up. Same for Jeff’s family. Looking back… some of those shows were less exciting than we remembered (how did we sit through those slow camera fades?). Other sitcoms still carry that warm, nostalgic feeling that makes you want your kids to experience them—though sometimes their biggest thrill is asking, “Wait… there was a time when TV wasn’t widescreen?”

The “family sitcom + TV dinner” era is gone, and I am probably honestly thankful for that. Still, our family has found a new tradition: enjoying Phillies games together when possible, and one family movie night every week. We have found this to be a good use of screen time. The night for our weekly family movie night seems to change, but the snacks and plan are always ready. Our girls look forward to it each week as well. There is an excitement in coming together. Sometimes it’s something new, sometimes it’s a classic we love—always something we watch together. We pick some movies together, and sometimes it is a surprise decision by both parents or just one.

Why Family Movie Night Matters

Recently at River Corner Church, we talked about healthy family habits. That series was called “How is Your Soul,” for those interested. In that series, Pastor Jeff (my husband) mentioned a great parenting book, Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley. In his chapter on screentime, he writes:

“Screens are incredibly formative because they convey stories and images that captivate our imaginations. This doesn’t make them bad; it makes them powerful, and power can be for good or bad… we will either form our screen habits or our screen habits will form us. There is no alternative.”

That made me stop and think. Movies are stories. Stories are powerful, especially when they’re shared. Avoiding them isn’t the answer, but shaping how we experience them together can make all the difference.

Sometimes the best family moments are simply about showing up and being present—and talking about the experience together.

Curation Over Cutting Out

We live in a screen world. Our kids have phones and iPads. We have TVs and a gaming system. No, we don’t have many streaming services, but we have a few. With all of these influences, there are battles about screen time. And, yes, family movie nights are a form of screen time. However, as Earley points out: “If the battle of screens is a battle for formation, then curation, not abstinence, is the answer… Curation means first, that we are setting limits, and second, that we are choosing well within those limits.”

I love that. It’s not about banning everything—it’s about being wise with what we choose. And yes, sometimes we get it right and sometimes… not so much. The point is to keep trying and to show our kids what we are attempting to do and how we filter our discernments.

We don’t have to win every “screen battle.” We just have to stay in it.

Three Ways to Make Family Movie Night Special

Earley encourages families to create rhythms—something you say “yes” to regularly, which naturally means saying “no” to other things. He writes:

“Whether it is on a Friday or another day, a family movie night is not only a way to set an expected rhythm of watching something communally but also a way to say yes to times and no to other times in a consistent way.”

Here’s what’s worked for us:

• Pick a theme. ‘80s night, sports movies, animated classics—make it fun. Sometimes we decorate the house with LED lights or other decorations to match the theme.
• Go big with snacks. Be creative. Create a snack list that matches the theme, and set the stage with a special dinner, perhaps pancakes.
• Talk afterward. Laugh, quote lines, and use the movie to start conversations about life and values.

More Than Just a Screen

Worried it’s just another day in front of a screen? Earley has a gentle reminder:

“Spend less time thinking about whether ‘bad words’ are present and more time thinking about whether you are present… If we spent half the time we spend worrying over ‘appropriateness’ on watching with our kids and processing the content, we would take a big step in the right direction.”

Some things are worth saying “no” to, but avoiding every hard topic isn’t the goal. As Earley puts it: “An essential skill of growing up is knowing how to react to explicit language, violence, sex, or dangerous ideas. It’s far more wholesome to know what to do with those things than imagine we can avoid them entirely.”

And maybe most importantly:

“Our goal is not to protect our children from the world of immorality out there but to teach them how to deal with the immorality that is out there and in here too.”

Family movie night isn’t just “watching TV together.” It’s a way to be formed as a family—through shared stories, thoughtful conversations, and rhythms that remind us what matters.

The fight for screentime is the fight for formation. The answer isn’t getting rid of screens—it’s curating them. Choose rhythms that give you limits, and then fill those limits with good stories.

What have been some of your favorite family movie nights?