Create a Budget Friendly Family Movie Night

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This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, Walmart Family Mobile. All opinions are mine alone. #YourTaxCash #CollectiveBias

I don’t know about you, but I am so glad spring has finally arrived. I am ready for warmer weather and lots of sunshine. With 4 children on four different ball teams this season, my desire to spend time soaking up the sun this spring is a sure thing.

Thanks to my new Walmart Family Mobile Plus Plan, I’m also able to multitask while living at the ball fields this spring. Working on the go has never been easier than it is now with this great Unlimited Talk, Text, & Data plan (which includes up to 10GB of 4G LTE then 2G, and a free VUDU movie credit every month per line for $49.88.

I’ve also found the extra data to be a life saver on long evenings at the ballfields to help entertain younger siblings. Whether we stream kid-appropriate videos, send funny photos to family members, or play games the time definitely passes more quickly now!

I’m enjoying my new Samsung Galaxy On5 phone and the great rollback price of $69 makes it even better. What great use of this year’s tax return! All it took to start my service was the $19.88 SIM Kit (since Family Mobile bills you later, you only have to pay $19.88 when you sign up).

Disclaimer: All prices for phones and plans included in this post are accurate as of the date of posting; however, these prices are subject to change. Please refer to http://cbi.as/7e-jr or your local Walmart for current pricing.

During sports season, by the time a free night arrives the entire family wants a laid back evening. A simple family movie night always hits the spot. My free monthly movie credit (a $7 value- the same as a new release rental) on VUDU is the perfect way to watch a new movie with the family.

Since my extra GB of data allow me to work on the go at the ball fields I get to relax and enjoy family movie night with the children rather than using the movie time to pack in extra work.

I have to admit that I also use that extra data for fun, as we begin planning a family movie night I love to surf Pinterest for new and easy movie night snack ideas. When it comes to family movie night our fun must be both quick & easy, and budget friendly.

With the great price of the Walmart Family Mobile Plus Plan, there’s extra money in my tax return to spend on family entertainment this spring. Grabbing a few fun essentials for our frequent family movie nights was a great way to enjoy that savings all year long.

After many squabbles over whose popcorn bowl was the biggest, I decided to make personalized popcorn buckets for our frequent family movie nights. 

These adorable popcorn buckets are so easy and inexpensive to make with my Silhouette machine, plus they can be kept and reused for future family movie nights!
Supplies:

  • plastic popcorn containers
  • permanent vinyl

Directions:

Measure the popcorn containers to determine what size to make name labels.

Open the Silhouette program, choose your favorite font, and create name labels for the popcorn containers.

Load the cutting mat with permanent vinyl into the Silhouette machine. (You can use regular vinyl, but permanent – or outdoor- vinyl will last longer and stand up to washing)

Cut the name labels, then weed the extra vinyl away.

Use a small piece of transfer tape to place the label on the popcorn containers.

*tip – you can reuse the same piece of transfer tape for many containers to save supplies and money! I was able to create all 7 of our containers with just one piece of transfer tape.

No more fighting over popcorn bowls.

While the movie plays, the last thing I want to do is jump up and down to serve children food. Setting out single serving containers of finger food is a great way to allow kids to be independent during movie night.

I pick up these great party cups whenever I find them on sale just for little parties like this. They give the table a festive feel without breaking the bank. To keep this family movie night party budget friendly, simply grab any small containers you have on hand!

Setting out easy to grab snacks in single serving sizes is my favorite way to keep family movie night manageable. Not only can children help themselves, but the small containers keep serving sizes appropriate.

Choose simple, easy to prepare snacks for family movie night using ingredients you usually have on hand. Our favorites include veggies and hummus or ranch, fruit and fluff dip, and ranch flavored snack crackers.

Place a small dollop of fruit fluff dip in the bottom of the party cup, then add fruit on top. Make homemade fruit fluff simply by blending together one 8oz block of cream cheese, one 8 oz container of marshamallow fluff, and one 8 oz container of whipped topping.

Ranch crackers are also very easy. Mix 1/4 a cup of oil with one packet of ranch dressing mix. Then stir in 5 cups of your favorite crackers. (I use a mix of whatever crackers I find open in our pantry.) Spread the crackers on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 250 degrees, stirring halfway through the cooking time.

Make popcorn fun and festive by setting out candies to mix in the popcorn.

Fun popcorn fixings elevate a simple family movie night to party status for my children!
Serve drinks in cups with lids and straws to keep spills to a minimum.

Family movie night is the perfect way to enjoy a stress-free evening with your family during the busy sports season. Head to Walmart to start your Walmart Family Mobile Plus Plan.

Easy Ranch Flavored Snack Crackers

Easy Ranch Flavored Snack Crackers

Ingredients

  • 1 packet (3 tablespoons) of ranch dressing & dip mix
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 5 cups crackers (any mix of oyster crackers, cheese crackers, and/or pretzels)

Instructions

  1. Mix 1/4 a cup of oil with one packet of ranch dressing mix.
  2. Stir in 5 cups of your favorite crackers. (I use a mix of whatever crackers and pretzels that I find open in our pantry.)
  3. Spread the crackers on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes at 250 degrees, stirring halfway through the cooking time.

Nutrition Information:

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 194Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 405mgCarbohydrates: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 1g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

 

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3 Comments

  1. What a colorful party! I love how much you’re able to do while keeping on budget! Great ideas. #client

    1. I bought these from my local Party City store. If you search their website for “Scalloped Container”, you should see them. I’ve also seen them on Oriental Trading’s website.

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