On Thanksgiving Day 2015, something magical happened – my daughter’s first movie theater experience. It was cold, absolutely pouring outside, and somehow my husband, daughter, and I found ourselves at home on Thanksgiving. We spent the weekend before and after with each of our respective families doing the turkey and dressing shuffle. And here we were in the quiet of our own home on an otherwise chaotic holiday, just the three of us. It was perfect – quiet and without (more) turkey. It was also the perfect day to take our recently-turned-three year old to her first cinematic experience – giant bucket of popcorn and all.
New experiences with any kid that age can really go either way. It can open the door to a whole new world of adventures for your family to share. Or it can slam that door and end in tears, flailing, and being doomed to never do [insert new activity here] again. As someone who LOVES going to the movies, I was really rolling the dice. So, I set the stakes low and settled on the dollar theater in Plano, the very theater I had spent countless summers viewing slightly old, but not quite ancient movies for literally one dollar. Times have changed, tickets are now $1.50. I figured, if the entire experience went south, I would only be out $3 and whatever dignity and expectations I brought with me to the theater. It’s a win-win, really. We settled on Minions, because I knew I could count on fart jokes to sell the experience. (We all know how three year olds love fart jokes.)
The rest is history. Movie outings have become a regular family event for us – a great way to spend a Sunday morning. Most of the theaters in the area have kid-friendly morning and matinee screenings where they will turn the volume down just a bit (do we really need to feel it in our teeth to get the full experience?) and the lights up just a bit (pitch black makes it difficult for my pre-schooler to examine each piece of popcorn before eating it). It’s like they know how picky kids can be. And with the influx of movie/eatery theaters in the area, we can all have bite to eat! Plus with the hot summer months coming up, any place with air conditioning is appreciated. One day, when she is old enough to stay up very late, we will be sure to check out the new local drive-in theater. The possibilities are endless!
Here’s our summer movie list:
- Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (rated PG)
- Cars 3 (rated G)
- Despicable Me 3 (rated PG) – We have been waiting on this one forever!
- Leap! (rated PG)
For a more comprehensive list of summer movies for all ages, check out the Common Sense Media Kids’ Summer Movie Guide 2017.
What movies are on your viewing list for the summer? Comment below!
