At a time when I felt the need to be with my family, it was nice to host a screening of Ice Age: Continental Drift and spend time with friends and their children over the weekend. It was a party that we had put a lot of thought into since I wanted it to be fun for parents and kids alike.
How do you plan a movie night that will satisfy parents and kids of all ages? It can be tricky but here’s what we did!
Serve great food that will appeal to all. We needed food that would satisfy our family and two others with kids ranging in age from toddler to third grade. What was on our menu? Baked potato bar, turkey chili, pizza, salad, and carrot and celery sticks. The baked potato bar was inspired by a get together with social media friends earlier in the week and allowed everyone to customize their spud with exactly what they wanted. Butter and salt, sour cream and chives, chili on top or on the side. The options are endless! A sophisticated salad with slivered almonds, gorgonzola, and cranberries provided greens for the grownups (and our two little salad lovers) while other kids noshed on carrot and celery sticks.
Potato bar, salad, pizza, and carrot & celery sticks were a huge hit!
Keep kids engaged during the movie. Ice Age provided a Hidden Objects Game scavenger hunt type sheets and it was fun to hear the reaction of the kids as they spotted acorns, sharks, mice, Hyraxes, granny’s cane, and bone swords throughout the movie.
Ice Age Hidden Objects movie scavenger hunt
Acknowledge that not all will want to watch the entire movie and plan activities that they can do when they need a break. We had received Ice Age themed activity sheets that appealed to Little Miss Techie’s third grade friends who loved trying to figure out Sudoku. The patterning worksheet was perfect for Captain Computer’s first grade buddies.
Worksheets provided an alternative activity to movie watching
Since our party kit included cookie cutters and a recipe for gingerbread cookies, we used the Scratt-inspired acorn and snowflake along with our own gingerbread man and women cutters to set up a cookie decorating station for dessert. Tubes of icing and shakers of sprinkles were best for all ages. We still ended up with sprinkles all over the table and floor but I want to say that was part of the fun!
Inspired by the gingerbread cookie recipe and cookie cutters we received, we made gingerbread cookies and decorated our desserts!
Send home goodie bags! While it can be hard to leave a fun party, it’s nice to not go home empty handed. Ice Age provided us with drawstring backpacks with items for each child. Our attendees received an Ice Age holiday ornament, mug with a tiny spoon and peppermint hot chocolate mix, set of cookie cutters, Scratt-inspired acorn ice tray, markers, and the step-by-step drawing instructions for Granny and Captain Gutt.
Everyone went home with Ice Age goodie bags!
I received a party kit and a gift card for purchasing party supplies but all opinions are my own and those of our party-goers. Special thanks to 20th Century Fox for providing the fun activities, goodie bags, and inspiration for our movie night. Amazon Affiliate links included in this post.
