Please note: the giveaway in this post is now closed.
It’s Saturday. And I’m kind of feeling like a movie. And a giveaway. Let’s do it!
First off, we love Netflix in our house. The kids especially love Netflix. It’s actually a little terrifying how adept they are at using the iPad. Even little 2-year-old Owen can find his way around an iPad, inevitably landing himself on the Netflix app watching an episode of Thomas the Train. In fact, if the house is ever a little too quiet, I usually find him hidden away in a corner with a stolen iPad cuddling with Netflix. It would be cute if it wasn’t so naughty!
So, you know, I have to be the mean mom who says “no” like twenty times a day when the kids ask if they can “watch a show on the iPad.” It’s not that I never let them watch shows, it’s just that they would seriously go onto Netflix 24 hours a day if they could. But, when I think back to my own childhood, I realize I must have watched way more TV than my kids do. I mean, I have about 3 billion movies completely memorized. Not to mention all the TV shows I remember watching. I’m not saying my mom just stuck me in front of the TV all the time. I also remember roaming with friends outside everyday, too. (Ah, the good old days.) But what I am saying is that I think I can cut my kids some slack.
But I have decided it’s time that the kids don’t always get to choose what they watch. (I told you I was a mean mom.) There are just so many great movies from back in the day that they have never seen. They prefer watching shorter shows like Wild Kratts (which I actually think is fabulous). But, kind of like our music education, I think it’s my responsibility as a parent to make sure my kids see all the awesome, especially the awesome that takes me back to my own childhood.
So, whenever I tell them “Movie Time!” they get excited. And then when I tell them “And you’re watching this!” they groan at me. They say things like, “I only like watching what I’ve seen already.” Or “That’s going to be too SCARY.” (We have wimpy kids. The Little Engine That Could was too scary for them, even our 3rd grader. Wimps, I tell ya.) But I hold my ground and insist that they are watching what I’ve chosen. And I tell them they will love it, just like I did when I was a kid. And, you know what, they always do. And then I say, “I told you so.” (Okay, not really, but I want to.)
Today I decided it was time for them to watch The Sword in the Stone. I LOVED that movie when I was little and it turns out Nate did, too. The kids complained so much when I started to put it on, it was like I was torturing them. (Silly kids.) But I persevered. I made them cuddle on the couch and suck it up. And they loved the movie. Owen honestly guffawed through the whole thing. It was awesome.
In celebration of my victory over my children, I think a Netflix giveaway is in order! One randomly-selected person will win a 3-month subscription to Netflix streaming! To enter, simply leave a comment telling us your favorite tv show or movie from childhood. I can’t wait to read all your comments and take a little walk down memory lane with you! (Comments must be posted by Midnight, PT on Thursday 5/1.)
The giveaway winner was Karen G., who said, “The Jetsons was good! My brother and I would fight over a time slot that showed GI Joes on one channel and Jem and the Holograms on another. Jem is outrageous! :)”
I am a member of the Netflix Stream Team, which means they send me cool stuff from time to time. For the record, I would be addicted to Netflix in spite of said cool stuff.
Hi! My name is Jane Maynard and you've landed yourself on my blog, This Week for Dinner™. Every Sunday I share a weekly menu...and count on you to share yours! You'll also find other deliciousness that I hope you'll enjoy!
I loved “Annie” when I was a kid.
It’s hard to pick just one. I remember loving the movie “Pollyanna” when I was little, watching it w/ my sisters.
I always laugh when the grandchildren ask for shows and just expect they can watch whatever they want any time of the day – well and they can with on demand, DVR and Netflix. A far cry from my childhood where if you missed an episode you only had one other chance to see it – during ‘summer’ reruns.
An interesting question Jane – it’s been many years and lots of TV but two that stick in my mind from young childhood are Sleeping Beauty and the Wizard of Oz. Just like it was yesterday!
The Brady Bunch for sure.
Goonies
Loved The Cosby Show! 🙂
full House!
I loved musicals. I watched Annie, Singin’ in the Rain, and The King and I over and over. Magic.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Mary Poppins a close second. loved Dick Van Dyke.
The Goonies was my favorite.
I love Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland! TV shows… love, love The Cosby Show!
So nice – sounds like you are a good mom for caring what they watch! I have never tried netflix. Growing up, my favorite show was “Little house on the prairie”……
I loved scooby doo and happy days!
Nothing like speed racer and batman! Remember superman and the ruffle man from my nana’s too…70’s!
I love “The Princess Bride”!
I loved Kurt Russell Movies and Bewitched was my favorite TV show.
I’m not sure I can pick just one show! My husband and I are always laughing when we talk about old shows we like, because I’m telling you, he and I both must have spent our entire childhood watching t.v. and like you, still remember playing outside. I loved Little House on the Prairie, The Brady Bunch, Gilligan’s Island, The Incredible Hulk and I Dream of Jeannie…also later, The Love Boat and Dallas and Highway to Heaven.
Where does time go!? In the first pic I thought that was you on the couch, not Cate. What a mini-me you have!
My fav kids movie was The Little Mermaid. I actually went on a Goonies boycott in grade school b/c all my friends showed it at sleepovers I refused to watch it for many years. Seeing it last year or so I can’t believe Josh Browlin is the big bro!
I don’t recommend The Dark Crystal, that movie still gives me the heebie jeebies! And my older sisters still make fun of me for having to sit on my dad’s lap throughout The Gremlins, I was only six!
Smurfs and Jetsons Tv The Little Mermaid movies
Annie, Princess Bride and Goonies!
The Parent Trap with Hayley Mills.
My favorite childhood show was The Jetsons!
Love the Brady Bunch!
I loved Silver Spoons and Bugs Bunny!
TV shows: Wonder Woman with Lynda Carter, CHiPS, Punky Brewster, Three’s Company
Movie: E.T.
Love The Sandlot!
The Jetsons!
Ok we have no kids but my husband and I watched Peter Pan last year since he had never seen it and I could not handle it!
Benji movies, original Herbie the Love Bug movies….
I loved watching Lost in Space. I can’t believe how long ago that was!!
Loved Saturday morning cartoons and shows..Scooby Doo, Sigmund the Sea Montser and , Land of the Lost!
Loved the Brady Bunch!
Loved Little House on the Prairie, I Dream of Jeannie and the Wizard of Oz!
Boy meets world
When I was your kids’ ages–Smurfs and Scooby-doo were my favorite tv shows! And we loved all the Disney sunday night movies.
The Jetsons was good! My brother and I would fight over a time slot that showed GI Joes on one channel and Jem and the Holograms on another. Jem is outrageous! 🙂
I always enjoyed Family Ties.
Nate laughed uncontrollably at “The Money Pit”. I think we were the only ones who ever saw it but I laughed more at him laughing than at the movie!
The Wizard of Oz. That witch still makes me scrunch my shoulders!
I am of the “TGIF” generation, so Full House and Family Matters (aka Michelle and Urkel).
My favorite TV show from childhood was Little House on the Prairie.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Goonies!
My favorite TV show from childhood was The Partridge Family because I had a teen crush on David Cassidy.
I loved watching scooby doo as a kid and was so excited when the cosby show was introduced
Goonies for sure!
As a family of ten including Mama, Daddy, and six sisters with my baby brother on the end… I remember watching Cinderella every year, no not the animated one, the one with Leslie Ann Warren.
Dinner, baths and jammies were earlier, blankets and pillows were spread over the den floor. Popcorn was made no not microwave but made on the stovetop, and the movie was enjoyed. It was probably ONE of the quietest times in that house. We also did this for the Wizard of Oz.
I think I was pretty into Strawberry Shortcake and the Smurfs.
Love Goonies and I think I watched every episode of the Brady Bunch about 100 times. I do not have Netflix and my friends are constantly on me about getting it so this would be a perfect way to check it out. Thanks for the giveaway!
my “naptime” movies were alice in wonderland and dumbo. i guess i watched one almost everyday from about ages 2-5, or so says my mom. 🙂
I loved “Parent Trap” the movie. I also loved “Footloose” and “Flashdance”. For TV shows, I really like Little House, Facts of Life, Cosby Show, and Family Ties. My favorite cartoons were Smurfs and Spiderman.
my favorite when I was in my pre-teen years was Hogan’s Heroes; my brother and I would act out the scenarios at night, playing “spy” on the neighborhood
I was really young when this came on and I barely remember this, but I remember I would dance and sing the songs for days after it was on. The Rodgers and Hammerstein version of Cinderella with Lesley Ann Warren. “In my own little corner, I can be what ever I want to be!”
Troop Beverly Hills, now and then, or the sandlot!
My favorite was Little House on the Prairie 🙂
I loved Willow as a kid, and I still do, or Star Wars, but Willow was still my favorite.
I used to love Dinosaurs!
My favorites were Lost in Space and The Twilight Zone.
I was obsessed with The Facts of Life as a kid
loved Wizard of Oz every year
I liked watching bugs bunny.
Batman the Animated Series!
I LOVED The Sound of Music! I still know every single song by heart and watch it whenever I get a chance. I really liked Grease, Pollyanna, The Sandlot and The Goonies too, but nothing topped The Sound of Music!
I loved watching saved by the bell after school.