“This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Universal Pictures, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BoxtrollsFamilyNite http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV”

The Boxtrolls is now on DVD!  I picked it up at Wal-Mart last week and we decided to take the chance and make the release into a fun family movie night.  We love movie night!  Mr. Napping even made his own “big screen” so we can use a projector when we watch movies.  My boys think it’s better than going to the theater!  And they are right, it’s a lot of fun.

Mr. Napping and I have always loved movies.  On our first date, we actually watched two!  But that may have just been because we liked each other and didn’t want the date to end…  While I was pregnant with Big J, Mr. Napping was unemployed for about four months.  I have no idea how many hundred movies we watched.  We were broke and couldn’t afford to go out, so we stayed in.  Movies have always been a big part of our entertainment choices.  We have been able to pass that on to our kids (so far, anyway).  We have found that using the things they see in movies can be a great way to encourage conversations and discuss things like bad or unkind language, bullying and making good choices.  They can relate to, understand and enjoy the movie, making the teaching moment almost effortless.  We are still selective about what they watch, but when things do come up we try to use it to our advantage.  It helps make our movie nights valuable family time spent not only learning, but we’re also having fun!

A good movie is essential to a great movie night, but it’s not the only thing you need.  Awesome snacks can make a movie so much more enjoyable.  Popcorn is a given, and Pop Secret always has our back.  Their Movie Theater Style Popcorn is the perfect touch for bringing the theater right into your living room.  And it’s the ten-pack box, because we eat a lot of popcorn…  But that’s not all!  A comfy place to spend the next hour and a half or longer is a must-have in my book.  You can’t focus on the movie if you’re tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable.  And your couchmates will not appreciate your distracting fidgeting either.

Mr. Napping and I have “our spots” on the reclining sofa, but the boys didn’t have a special place to sit.  They usually just pile on top of us or bounce around the other available seats in the room.  Translation: they jump off the couches and run around the room.  It can be difficult to watch a movie while there are monkeys swinging from from every surface and climbing on their favorite ‘jungle gyms’, a.k.a. mom and dad.  So, I set out to fix that.  Since The Boxtrolls was the movie we had picked out, making them a box couch was perfect.  They felt like they were IN the movie!

KID’S BOX COUCH

Materials:

– Large box.  Mr Napping found one at work that was actually attached to a pallet and that’s what I used.  Any large box would work and if you really want the pallet, you can check local hardware stores or garden stores.  Sometimes, they have some they are willing to part with.

– Box cutter

– Pillows and blankets

– The Boxtrolls DVD

– Pop Secret Movie Theater Style Popcorn (10-count pack, because you know you want it)

Directions:

– Cut the flaps off your box or tape them out of the way with packing or duct tape.  If your box is thin, you may want to fold them down inside for a little more rigidity and and support.

– On one of the long sides of the box, move in from the corner three to six inches and then cut a long line all the way down to the bottom of the box.  Repeat on the other corner of the same side.  If you want to remove the flap completely, cut along the bottom of the box.  I didn’t remove the flap, it just folds down and acts as a ramp for my kids climbing up onto the pallet and they can ‘recline’ just like Mom and Dad.  It also makes a great slide, as my 1-and-a-half-year-old niece discovered this weekend.

– Place pillows or cushions and blankets in the base of the box to give it some padding and make it nice and comfy.  Stand pillows up along the sides and back of the box to pad those too.

– Cover the entire thing with a blanket and tuck the ends of the blanket over the pillows and blankets, down the inside of the sides of the box to help keep all the padding in it’s place.

– Add some cute kiddos.  Turn on a good movie and get out your favorite popcorn!  They now have their own little nook to watch the movie and Mom and Dad might actually get a reprieve from ‘jungle gym’ status this movie night.  And look at those heads… it’s just like the theater!  Actually, since the box is on the floor, it’s more like stadium seating and I was actually crouched down on the floor to get this photo.  A perfect, unobstructed view and no kids climbing on me… it was movie heaven.

Head to Wal-Mart and get your copy of The Boxtrolls on DVD while supplies last!  While you’re there, don’t forget to pick up the Pop Secret Movie Theater Style Popcorn for the ultimate theater experience in your living room!

I put this together and then spent about 30 minutes sitting in it while I was on Facebook (and taking selfies…), waiting for Big J to get home from school.  It was pretty darn comfy for being a box full of pillows.  I also spent an hour and a half watching TV in it later that night (inside a fort, no less).  No lie, you can’t make this stuff up.  While I wouldn’t trade out my sofa for box couches, it’ll be just fine for my crazy boys, the perfect movie night nook.