Sunday Nights are set aside as family movie nights. Each Sunday, we watch movies from Walt Disney, classic movies, and other uplifting movies.

Family time can be really hard to set up on a regular basis. Even when the family is under one roof, we may be scattered through out the house. Setting up a movie night gets us all in one room, spending time with one another.

Snacks: It is important to have the snacks prepared before the movie. Popcorn poppers are often too loud to allow the movie to continue. People miss out on family time if the kitchen is far from the room where the movie is being watched.

Our family chooses to eat sliced fruit such as apples. We also like popcorn, cookies, granola bars, and other finger foods. As parents, we aim to choose food that has the least amount of crumbs or can be ground into the carpet when stepped on even though vacuuming is inevitable.

Setting: We try to set the lighting up in a way that people can move around without stepping on one another, but dim enough to make it like a movie theater. Dimmer switches come in handy.

We are lucky enough to have a surround sound system. This is another way to create a movie theater atmosphere. Set the sound to a level that you feel like you are in a theater, but low enough to talk with the kids. They always have lots of questions or comments. The point of movie night is to spend time with each other and get to know each other. So, answer their questions or reply to their comments.

Sometimes, we try to emulate a drive-in movie. We'll get pillows and blankets, mats or recliner chairs, and trays for snacks. This works great if the movie is started late because younger kids may end up sleeping before the movie's end, just like a drive-in movie theater.

The Movie: Though we try not to let our kids watch too much TV each day, there are many movies they watch over and over again. We do not choose those movies for movie night. Instead, we go for classics, rare movies, or movies the kids simply never heard about before.

Recent movies include Pete's Dragon, Pollyanna, Lambert the Sheepish Lion, and Follow Me Boys. Even though Pollyanna's main character is a girl and I have mostly boys at my house, we tell them that her best friend is a boy who likes adventure, to climb trees, and other things the boys are interested in.

We try to choose movies that will start a discussion by introducing concepts that are unfamiliar, have no swear words, or body humor. The kids are exposed to more modern shows the rest of the week.

Where can I find old Disney movies? That can be a hard one since Disney got smart and started the Disney Vault. As a result, we do not stick just to Disney movies. Many classics are found on Netflix, Blockbuster online, even Redbox. Big Box stores, such as Walmart, sometimes have old movies in a bin for a very low price. If you have cable or satellite, you may find what you're looking for there, too.

Our favorite way to get the old movies is to record VHS tapes we recorded years ago onto DVD. We used to have a large collection of movies we taped from the Wonderful World of Disney. Remember, do not try to dub purchased, full-length movies onto DVD because you'll infringe on the copyright.

Conclusion: My kids look forward to family movie night just as much as their parents do. It's a great way to have family time and relax while enjoying snacks, such as peanut butter popcorn, that we have only during movie night.