Top tips for the perfect Family Movie night!

When the nights are dark and cold, there's something really comforting about snuggling up under a blanket with the family and watching a good movie or two.

To celebrate The LEGO Batman Movie hitting the cinemas this weekend, the lovely folks at Warner Bros have asked me to share my top tips for a perfect family movie night.

Choose a theme!

Kids love a theme, so why not go all out? Get them to choose a movie or even a genre and dress up, do some crafts together such as making Batman masks or draw pictures of their favourite superheros.

Prepare snacks together!

A great tie in to the movie night theme is to prepare some themed snacks together! Why not bake a decorate some LEGO cupcakes, make sandwiches shaped like LEGO bricks or   Or even just colour in some cardboard popcorn holders?

Get Comfy!

Why not make movie night extra special by making a den to watch it from? Get together some bean bags or couch cushions on the floor cover in blankets and snuggle up together!

Turn off the tech!

It an obvious one but sometimes it just needs to be said, switch off your phones, laptops and tablets to get into the spirit of family time and watch the movie with your children. It may not be the most exciting thong to watch for grown ups but at least you'll be ale to chat to them about it fterwards and they'll kow you were paying attention!

And Enjoy!

With these tips you should be all ready to enjoy your next family movie night, have fun! We'll be enjoying a LEGO Superhero movie night this weekend and making some LEGO themed snacks to enjoy together...

I'd love to hear all about your perfect family movie nights! Do share your tips in the comments below...

Win a fabulous LEGO Superhero movie bundle over on Twitter

RT & Follow to #win this fab bundle of #WBLEGO DVDs https://t.co/yThiC1m8bO #LEGOBatmanMovie #FreebieFriday E:11/02 https://t.co/OQYB4U1324 pic.twitter.com/WV6USzcDqf

— Mymummyspennies (@Mymummyspennies) February 2, 2017

Twitter giveaway terms and conditions

• This giveaway is open to UK residents only.
• ONE winner will be chosen by a random number generator and announced on @mymummyspennies Twitter account, they will also be contacted by direct message on twitter.
• If they do not respond within 28 days another winner may be chosen.
• Your details will be passed to Warner Bros and will not be passed onto any third parties.
• The prize will be sent directly to the winner from Warner Bros.
• The company reserves the right to substitute the prize for one of a similar value if the stated prize is not available.
• Entries using any automated process to make bulk entries will be disqualified.
• Competition starts on 02/02/2017 and ends 11/02/2017 11.59pm.

Disclosure: We received a DVD bundle in exchange for writing this post.

Family Film Night - #TheCroods Pre Release Review

As you know we love our movie nights, Any excuse to crack open the popcorn, snuggle together on the sofa and enjoy a family film!

This weekend we were very lucky to have been sent a copy of The Croods on DVD before it's release date of 9th December 2013, yes that's today!

Although we never got a chance to see this when it was out at the cinema, I've heard very good things about this movie that comes from the makers of both Shrek and Madagascar, so we were looking forward to watching!

On Friday evening we were all feeling under the weather so what better way to cheer us up than have a move night? As a U rated film the Croods is suitable for all ages so the four of us snuggled up together and got ready to watch...

As the movie begins we are introduced to The Croods by the central character Eep, a rebellious teen cave-girl who is fed up of her family in the Stone Age and the strict rules her father Grug lays down. They start out with the whole family packed into a small dark cave. As well as Eep and her father, this includes Mum Ugga, brother Thunk, baby Sandy and their elderly Gran.

We follow this quirky family as the the world around them changes forever and they have to learn to change the way they live in order to survive.

They are helped on this journey by their new friend 'Guy' (voiced by by Ryan Reynolds) and his rather dramatic pet sloth 'Belt' who show the Croods that the life they were used to was (in the words of Eep)...'not living, just not dying'.

The film was full of fun slapstick moments that had our whole family laughing along and both my three year old and six year old were captivated by the colourful characters and their adventures as they searched for a wonderous place called tomorrow. As well as Guy and Belt, the family encounter an exciting array of animals on their journey from the Macawnivore to Piranhakeets.

It was warming to see the development and evolution of the characters throughout the film, especially to see the Cave-man father, Grug change from living in fear of the unknown to embracing new ideas, even coming up with a few of his own, my favourite of which was the 'hug' ( which rhymed with Grug of course! )

The overwhelming message of the movie was hope and it was portrayed in a way that appealed to all ages, from my 3 year old Elizabeth who clapped with excitement, to my 29 year old self who wiped a few tears from my eyes along the way.

The father-daughter relationship between Eep (played by Emma Stone) and Grug (played by Nicolas Cage), echoed that of many families and certainly pulled some heartstrings with me.

This is a fun and lighthearted family movie that will make a great Christmas gift and can be purchased from today for just £10 on DVD or £15 on Blu-Ray, it one that I'm sure our family will be watching time and time again!


Mumsnet and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment kindly sent us a copy of The Croods on DVD for review before its release on DVD and Blu-Ray on 9th December 2013. All opinions are our own.

A Fun Family Movie Night with Happy Feet Two...

On Saturday we had a lovely Family day together and decided to finish it off with a fun family Movie Night! So Ben and Daddy made some popcorn while Elizabeth and I got Happy Feet Two ready to watch!

The lovely folks at Warner Brothers sent us the Triple Play Edition to review that includes a Blu Ray Disc, a DVD and an ultraviolet Digital copy!

I was rather excited about seeing the sequel to the Academy Award®-winning animated smash hit Happy Feet, which I loved!

Happy Feet Two was released on Blu Ray and DVD in the UK on 26th March 2012 and is also available in amazing 3D! They are all available from Amazon and prices start at just £9! Click here to see the trailer...



So we all snuggled together on the couch with popcorn at the ready! Funnily enough Ben had tight hold of the bowl and it didn't seem to reach Mummy or Daddy!

As we started to watch, we were immediately immersed in the beautiful animation of the South Pole, in just a few minutes I could already imagine how effective this would have been in 3D at the cinema!

We are returned to Emperor Land amidst a fabulous vocal medley with fun singing Penguin takes on Justin Timberlake's 'SexyBack' and Basement Jaxx', 'Do Your Thing' to mention just a few. We meet again Mumble, the master of Tap, who is all grown up and now a Daddy to the adorable little fluffball that is Erik! (Erik's Mummy is of course Gloria who we remember well from the first movie, However the the powerful voice we hear from her now comes courtesy of Pink, who has taken over the role from the late Brittany Murphy.)

Even though he is incredibly cute and so obviously loved, poor Erik doesn't feel like he belongs. Unable to find a reason to express himself in dance or music like his parents, he decides to run away to Adelie Land and encounters 'The Mighty Sven'... a Penguin who can fly!!

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When the world they live in is shaken by powerful forces, we see creatures of all sizes from tiny Krill (played by Brad Pitt and Matt Damon) to Elephant Seal's led by a beach master called Bryan, work together to try to save the Emperor Penguins who have been left stranded, including Erik's Mummy Gloria.

Both Ben and Elizabeth were fascinated by the cute animation and absolutely loved all of the songs, Elizabeth was dancing on my knee for most of it!) I have to say a tear came to my eye at Pink's 'Bridge of Light', an original song written for the Movie which is truly moving.


We all really enjoyed this cute family movie, it was a great way to spend a Saturday evening! Although my children are perhaps a little young to fully understand the themes in the movie, the vivid images of singing and dancing Penguins encourages their imagination and the moving story promotes valuable messages of self belief and teamwork.

The discs were packed with an abundence of special features, from sing along versions of the songs with a bouncing Erik to an interview with Alecia Moore (Pink) which Myself and Daddy watched when the little ones had gone to bed!

I was really impressed with Happy Feet Two and am now Itching to watch Happy Feet again! I can see that they will both be firm family favourites!


www.happyfeettwo.co.uk