Summer is in full swing and there’s lots going on. At our home, the kids are loving the pool as much as possible. When it’s too hot, we head inside and play games and turn on Netflix. But, sometimes movie night can turn into a problem. So here is our resolution for Movie Night Fight Night: 5 Ways to Choose Your Flix.
There is so much to choose from and there are tons of titles on Netflix that remind me of my childhood summers. I remember this time of year brings the monsoon season too. When the rain comes, it puts a damper on outdoor activities. We have to get creative and come up with something entertaining. When I was a girl, my mom often took us to the video store to rent some tapes (you know, those things before DVDs.) Luckily, we can use Netflix and just stream the movie, but for the sake of this story, we rented them and brought them home.
Our mother would let us get a single movie each, which meant we would take home at least 3 videos to watch. Needless to say, all three of us were super excited, but there came challenges with this seemingly simple event. What movie were we going to watch and in what order? Mama would try to let us decide amongst ourselves, but as you may guess, that didn’t work very well. My sister and my brother would usually find a way to decide and I would be left out of (the woes of being the youngest.)
My mother was quite the creative problem solver, and she and my dad came up with different kinds of “games” to make the ultimate decision. Some of these you may have played, some may sound bizarre, and some you may want to give a try with your troops. It’s a list of the 5 deciding games we played as kids.
- Eeny Meeny Miney Moe
How this counting rhyme began isn’t really certain, but it has been used for generations. It was used during my childhood to pick the movie that we would watch among oodles of other things. Whoever was left after the elimination rhyme was over was the one who chose which movie was first and what order we would watch the rest. As I was the youngest, I think it is pretty obvious that I was very rarely the one making the viewing schedule. Even now that I’m older, I tend to go along with what everyone else decides, but luckily my family has great taste in movies!
- Rock, Paper, Scissors
This is pretty popular among kids and adults. It’s one of the quickest ways to make a decision, unless you get talked into “tournament play”. The tournament starts at best out of 3, then best out of 5, and best out of 7 and so on. It really makes sense just to stick to one round and leave the decision final. And don’t get me started on the extra “weapons” that can be use; dynamite, grenade, etc. We used Rock, Paper, Scissor to decide on movies and all sort of other things. Who got the biggest piece of cake, the last cinnamon roll, or who played the video game first. Quite effective and quick, it’s definitely a little game you should teach your kids.
- Head Stand
This is a very specific game that was practiced by my dad and with the utmost enjoyment from my mother as well. Each day, my mother would keep track of the good and bad things we did throughout the day. She would report to my dad when he came home from work. And, in reference to our good acts or misdeeds corresponded to the length of time we spent on our head. My father was the ultimate decider of who stayed on their head the longest, therefore he decided who would have the remote after he went to bed.
- Straw Draw
When my mother didn’t have a lot of time to make decisios really interesting, she had a go to game to make the choices. She had some straws of different lengths and had us three draw one. Whoever had the shortest straw was eliminated. The kid remaining with the longest straw made the choice. That choice was which movie, and also, what was for dinner, desert, and whatever other activity we found ourselves fighting over. She was clever that way.
5. Top Dog
When things got a bit too hectic at the house, my mom would just let my sister make the decisions because she was the oldest. Totally not fair, but you can’t argue with mom, right? Sometimes, though, we would arm wrestle, pillow fight, or race around the house to determine who the “Top Dog” really was. Age isn’t the only thing that can determine who chooses the entertainment! It was all in fun and rarely did we have any problems. The one plus to all of it, if you know my brother, he would get all his energy out before it was time for the movie. Trying to watch ANYTHING while he was hyped up was impossible. We would tell him to race us around the house and let him run ahead and then just let him keep going. Whatever works!
Hopefully your movie nights are as entertaining as ours were. Playing all these games brings back a lot of memories and reminds me of a lot of movies that I loved growing up. It is so amazing to see the titles that I loved as a kid are available to stream on Netflix. I love that I can pass these little games on to my nieces and nephews and also spend time watching some of my favorite flix. Pop some popcorn, choose a movie, grab a seat, and get ready for a great night of entertainment thanks to Mama’s games and Netflix movies!
