The Two Best Family Nights At Home
In the busyness of everyday life—school schedules, work demands, sports practices, and household responsibilities—it’s easy to feel like quality time with our kids slips through the cracks.
But connection doesn’t always have to be this deep talk or emotional moment. Why do we make it so complicated?
Sometimes, the most meaningful family memories are made with a bowl of popcorn, a board game, and a whole lot of laughter.
That’s where family game nights and movie nights come in. These simple traditions offer more than just entertainment—they provide a rhythm of togetherness, an opportunity to bond, and a chance to pause to enjoy one another, connect, and even teach valuable lessons.
If you are looking for more ways to connect, check out my post 10 Powerful Ways to Strengthen Parent Child Relationships
Why They Matter
In a world of distractions and digital overload, having intentional screen-free (or screen-together!) time is incredibly grounding.
Family nights help…
- Foster connection in a low-pressure, fun way
- Help to encourage teamwork and good sportsmanship
- Encourage communication and laughter
- Provide consistency and something for your family to look forward to
- Promote the implementation of traditions in your home
Family Game Nights
Bring on the family game nights, mama.
My oldest grandson is 5. Playing games with him is the next step in our relationship and another thing we can do together to build that relationship.
You can start playing games with your children early on. I’d say 3-5 is when they can begin.
I have four children. There are 10 years between the oldest and the youngest. When they were little, this made family game nights difficult.
I remember when our youngest daughter wanted to join us for the games. My husband made a wooden card holder because her little hands couldn’t hold all the cards.
Get creative and find ways to include everyone. Our favorite games were…
- Monopoly
- Risk
- Speed Uno (still everyone’s favorite game to this day, and they range in age from 34 to 24 and are all married.)
- Hearts
- Spades
- Bananagrams
- Greedy (a dice game)
- Jenga
Oh, how I love a good family game night, especially if it doesn’t end with a disagreement (which, in all honesty, happens sometimes when your children are competitive like ours were/are today even 🤪).
Teens & Game Nights
Many parents start to feel a disconnect when their children become teens. One of the ways we connected with our teens was through games.
Don’t miss out on an opportunity to disconnect from devices and connect as a family. The best way to make the most of family game and movie nights is to disconnect from distractions.
Put away phones, turn off unnecessary screens, and be fully present with your family. These moments are about connection—laughing, talking, playing, and making memories your kids will cherish for years.
As parents, choosing to unplug shows your children they are a priority, and it sets a tone of togetherness in your home. Ask your teens to do the same. Provide a basket for everyone’s phones, turn off the TV, and give your focus to the game at hand and the moment in time. You won’t regret it.
We have had so many fun family game nights over the years. There are nights when we have laughed so hard we cried. Those moments are when core memories will be embedded in your child’s mind for the rest of their life.
Family Game Nights Are a Valuable Teaching Tool
I cannot emphasize this enough. It’s not just about fun (even though that is important too). Game night provides a great opportunity to do the following:
- Teach good sportsmanship
- Teach how to lose and how to handle disappointment
- Teach how to be a humble winner
- Teach how to encourage and cheer siblings on
- Teach how to reconcile after a disagreement
- I cannot emphasize enough that game nights are not just for fun, but are for training, teaching, and learning.
Don’t have a family game or movie night just for the sake of it. Be intentional in using it to train and teach your children to become better humans. This is, after all, your most important job in life.
Proverbs 22:6
“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
Deuteronomy 6:6–7
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Could you imagine family game nights being such an educational activity? Yes, Mama, it sure can! This is what I mean when I encourage and teach about intentional motherhood! It can change your life and the life of your family!
Family Game Night Ideas
Family game nights are perfect for all ages and can be as relaxed or high-energy as your family needs or wants. Here are some ideas to get started:
Games for 3-6 year olds
- Candy Land
- Chutes & Ladders
- Hungry Hungry Hippo
- Old Maid
- Let’s Go Fishing
- Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game
- Hi Ho! Cherry-O
Little Kids (4–7):
- Candy Land
- Memory
- Zingo
- Uno
- Guess Who
- Connect Four
Elementary Age:
- Guess Who
- Trouble
- Sequence for Kids
- Spot It
- Monopoly
- Parcheesi
- Checkers
Tweens/Teens:
- Codenames
- Monopoly
- Pictionary
- Taboo
- Bananagrams
- Card Games
- Tenzi
- Quatan
- Dominos Mexican Train
- Backgammon
- Chess and checkers
All Ages Together:
- Charades
- Apples to Apples
- Skyjo
- Jenga
- Sequence
- Scattergories
- Pictionary
Make It Special:
- Let your kids take turns picking the game
- Add fun snacks or a themed treat night
- Create a “winner’s trophy” or family leaderboard
- Play by candlelight or in pajamas for a cozy twist
Family Movie Nights
Family movie nights are great for winding down after a long week. They can spark great conversations, build traditions, and offer a chance to enjoy something as a family.
Even if you don’t watch TV very often, every family needs to have movie nights. It is a great way to gather everyone on the couch and cozy up together.
Grab all the pillows and blankets and, of course, popcorn. Turn the lights down and make it a whole thing.
Family movie nights can be a time to snuggle together and be with each other. You can read about the importance of that in my blog post How to Awaken Your Child’s Senses At Home. But they can also be a great teaching opportunity.
Movies can unite you as a family. A movie can draw you in and cause you to root for a character together. Being unified and on the same team is a powerful connector.
Leave time to discuss the movie and find a lesson you can take away from it. Have a few questions ready and take advantage of a captive crowd.
Every movie has a lesson or several lessons that can be taught and learned. This is a fabulous and fun way to teach and train your child! You can even use it to point out how not to behave.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to find great movies and sit down with your family and watch them.
Movie Night Ideas:
- Let a different family member pick the movie each time
- Create “movie tickets” and let kids “buy” popcorn and treats
- Rent a popcorn machine or make gourmet popcorn together
- Have theme nights: Faith night, Disney night, Superhero night, Sports movie night, Animated night.
- Make a blanket fort or watch outside under the stars
Great Family Movies
As a subscriber to Kim Grant Home Subscribe, you will have access to my complete movie list to help you on your endeavor to implement family movie nights.
Faith-Inspired:
- Prince of Egypt
- The Chronicles of Narnia
- Miracles from Heaven
- The Star
- Unsung Hero
- The Forge
- I Can Only Imagine
- Soul Surfer
- Because of Winn-Dixie
- Facing the Giants
- Woodlawn
- Someone Like You
Animated Favorites:
- Inside Out
- Finding Nemo
- Toy Story
- Frozen
- Up
- Moana
- Encanto
- How to Train Your Dragon
- The Incredibles
- Tangled
- Zootopia
Family Classics:
- The Sound of Music
- Mary Poppins
- Parent Trap
- Cheaper by the Dozen
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
- Remember the Titans
- Annie
- Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory
- The Love Bug
- The Muppet Movie
- Princess Bride
- Home Alone
- The Sandlot
- Princess Diaries
- Little Women
Make It A Tradition
Make family game night and movie night a tradition! Making game night and movie night a tradition can do the following:
- Strengthen bonds
- Provide a sense of connection
- Bring unity among family members
- Foster closer sibling relationships
- Give your family an identity and a feeling of belonging
For more on traditions, you can check out my post 32 Family Christmas Tradition Ideas: Make Memories
Schedule It
You don’t have to do both every week—pick what fits your family’s rhythm. Maybe it’s “Friday Fun Night” with a rotating schedule. Or perhaps you do game night once a month and movie night twice a month. The key is consistency and intention.
Even 60–90 minutes of focused family time goes a long way in building relationships and creating lasting memories.
Final Thoughts
Family game nights and movie nights aren’t just about the games or the movies. They’re about showing your children that you enjoy being with them. That you’re willing to pause the hustle to sit, laugh, and be present.
So grab the popcorn, pull out the board games, and hit play. These moments? They’re the ones your kids will carry with them for a lifetime. And if you want to dig deeper into intentional motherhood, check out my course, Intentional Motherhood & Home. It’s a 5-module experience designed to help you bring intention into your daily rhythms, cultivate a Christ-centered home, and build lasting, heart-connected relationships with your children.
These are the moments that stick—the shared jokes, the heated Speed Uno competitions, the agonizingly long never-ending monopoly, the famous movie quotes you’ll still be repeating years later, and so much more.
Don’t miss the opportunity to add these special nights to your family tradition list! Oh, and this has been one of my favorite parts of being a mom. I will stay up late into the night, no matter how tired I am, watching a movie or playing games with my adult children when they are home. I am willing to bet you will too one day 😘
If you are looking for a deeper dive into being an intentional mom at home, you are in the right place! Be sure to check out my course, Intentional Motherhood & Home. It is a 5-module experience designed to help you bring intention into your daily rhythms, cultivate a Christ-centered home, and build lasting, heart-connected relationships with your children. It could help you change the trajectory of your family!
For more like this, subscribe at the top or bottom of this page to join the journey of intentional motherhood & home.
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