Magical Movie Challenge

I wanted to think of something to keep their brains engaged this summer but I also really wanted to keep things simple and NOT add too much to my own plate. (That tends to happen when my squirrel’s nest of a brain gets going so I’m working on honing my ideation skills. It’s a process.)

We are obviously a Disney family so I came up with the idea of a Disney challenge. I listed out 20 Disney movies (a range from old to new) and numbered them. I told the kids that they would pick a number and then we’d watch the movie listed by that number. The twist is that during or after the movie, they’d need to come up with a food item to make that coordinated with the movie. It could be an entree, a side, or a dessert. They were each given the option of 15 minutes of tech time to use to research, but both mostly have used cookbooks they own. (Don’t ask how many they have. The answer is— too many.)

The kids picked a number to start us off. First up was The Incredibles. Little man used leftover burgers to make us palm trees (which he’d sketched out as art as “matching decorations that’s also my plan”). He later made pizza dough from scratch and I helped him make a little marinara to fill up his island volcanoes with. Big man made a brownie-in-a-mug, rolled it into a ball, and coated it with chocolate to make the Omnidroid 2000. We all taste tested and agreed that the volcanoes won.

Little man got to pick our next number since he’d won. This one was 101 Dalmations. Big made us some dog biscuits (bone shaped biscuits from scratch) and Little made us pawprint cookies (thumbprint cookies but with pawprints instead). Big won that time but he thought it was really a tie so together they picked the next number.

It takes us a few days to watch each movie (think 20-30 min at lunch, a little night watching) so it’s not just screentime all the time. They’ve been so thoughtful with their ideas so far and they’ve supported each other beautifully.

I hope this inspires you and your kiddos to try something new!