Category: FAMILY

Family Movie Night: 90 Non-Disney Family Friendly Movies (Rated PG and Under)

Weekly family movie nights, now doesn’t that sound wonderful? Imagine it, getting into pajamas and snuggling up on the couch or pillow-strewn floor, munching on a special snack. There are many ways to create happy memories, and this is one of them!

We’ve already had three family movie nights this year and they were fun and relaxed. Our only rule is no screens except for the one the movie is featured on.

I’ve created a list of 90 non-Disney family movie ideas rated PG and under. I did not include many sequels for the sake of length, but most of the sequels are worth watching too! If you have any family favorite I did not include, please let us know!

  1. The Adventures of Tintin
  2. All Dogs Go to Heaven
  3. Alvin and the Chipmunks
  4. An American Tail
  5. An American Tail: Fievel Goes West
  6. Anastasia
  7. Babe
  8. The Bad Guys
  9. Balto
  10. Bee Movie
  11. Beethoven
  12. The Boss Baby
  13. The Brave Little Toaster
  14. The Care Bears Adventure in Wonderland
  15. The Care Bears Movie
  16. Cats & Dogs
  17. Cats Don’t Dance
  18. Charlotte’s Web
  19. Chicken Run
  20. The Chipmunk Adventure
  21. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
  22. Despicable Me
  23. Epic
  24. Ferdinand
  25. Ferngully: The Last Rainforest
  26. The Flintstones
  27. Free Willy
  28. Garfield
  29. The Grinch
  30. Happy Feet
  31. Home
  32. Horton Hears a Who!
  33. Hotel Transylvania
  34. How to Train Your Dragon
  35. Ice Age
  36. The Iron Giant
  37. Jetsons: The Movie
  38. The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones
  39. Kung Fu Panda
  40. The Land Before Time
  41. The Last Unicorn
  42. The Lego Movie
  43. The Lorax
  44. Madagascar
  45. Minions
  46. Monsters vs. Aliens
  47. Mr. Peabody and Sherman
  48. My Little Pony: The Movie
  49. The NeverEnding Story
  50. Once Upon a Forest
  51. Over the Hedge
  52. The Pagemaster
  53. Paw Patrol: The Movie
  54. The Pebble and the Penguin
  55. Peter Pan
  56. Pokemon: The First Movie
  57. Pokemon Detective Pikachu
  58. The Powerpuff Girls Movie
  59. Puss in Boots
  60. Quest for Camelot
  61. Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer
  62. Rio
  63. Rise of the Guardians
  64. The Road to El Dorado
  65. Rock-a-doodle
  66. The Rugrats Movie
  67. Scooby-Doo (any)
  68. The Secret Life of Pets
  69. The Secret of NIMH
  70. Shirley Temple (any early years)
  71. Shrek
  72. Sing
  73. Snoopy Come Home
  74. Sonic the Hedgehog
  75. Space Jam
  76. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
  77. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
  78. Stuart Little
  79. The Super Mario Bros. Movie
  80. The Swan Princess
  81. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
  82. Thumbelina
  83. A Troll in Central Park
  84. Trolls
  85. Turbo
  86. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Wererabbit
  87. We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story
  88. The Wild Thornberrys Movie
  89. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
  90. The Wizard of Oz

If you’re looking for animated Disney movies, I’ve created a list of that too! Check it out here and enjoy!

How to Clean – Classic My Little Pony Plushies

Growing up reading The Velveteen Rabbit and then watching the Toy Story films, I became convinced (as I’m sure many children do) that toys are alive and they have feelings. This made giving them up extra hard, and although I had to say goodbye to a lot of them over the years to keep my room and storage from overflowing, I did save a lot of toys that were meaningful to me in the hopes I could pass them on to my future child (like I believe Andy should have done in Toy Story 3). Now we have a daughter and I cannot wait to share some of my beloved toys with her in the hopes that they will be beloved to her too.

I dug through my parent’s garage and found my classic My Little Pony plushies (or Hasbro Softies) from the 1980s! In my memory they were in perfect condition, in reality their bodies are in good condition with no visible stains, but their manes and tails were a matted mess! I also noticed a great deal of their eye paint had scratched off!

I set to work cleaning, repairing and styling my My Little Ponies and now they are all ready for Zoey! I want to help you do the same so you can share them with your little ones, or collect them for yourself, the choice is yours!

First thing’s first let’s assess these ponies! The tags warn that these plushies are surface wash only; submerging them in water could ruin them, so let’s avoid that! I am fortunate that my pony plushies had very little discoloration or staining, so I used soap water to clean them. If I come across a dirtier plush, I will test other methods on them, so stay tuned!

SUPPLIES
  • Castile soap
  • Toothbrush
  • Washcloth
  • Conditioner
  • Detangler spray
  • Comb or wet brush
  • Small towel
  • Paper towels
  • Clothespin
  • Masking tape
  • Oil-based paint markers ( I used fine tip and wider)
INSTRUCTIONS

*Do not submerge this pony in water*

  1. Create a sudsy mixture of castile soap and water in a small bowl. Dip your cleaning toothbrush into this mixture as needed and use it to gently clean the pony’s body.
  2. Once you’ve cleaned the whole pony, dampen a soft washcloth and wipe away the soap.
  3. While avoiding getting the pony’s body wet under a faucet, carefully wash and rinse the mane and tail using castile soap or shampoo.
  4. Apply conditioner to the mane and tail. Allow it to sit for 5 to 10 minutes, then use a wet brush or a comb to gently brush through any tangles. If any of the knots are really stubborn, spraying a little detangler spray on them will help!
  5. Avoiding the pony’s body again, carefully rinse the hair out and use a small towel to give the hair a couple of squeezes to remove any excess water.
  6. While the pony’s hair is still damp, comb through it again so it’s smooth and set it with paper towels and a clothespin. Whichever way you want the pony’s mane to fall (sometimes it’s already decided for you) place a paper towel under the mane, against the body, then wrap the pony’s mane around its neck in that direction with a second paper towel over it and secure it with a clothespin. The tail could air dry, but you are always welcome to wrap a paper towel around it and tuck it between the pony’s legs to smooth it down.
  7. Allow your pony to completely air dry (overnight or 24 hours), then remove the paper towels.
  8. Once the pony is completely dry, we can repair their eyes. Before painting, use masking tape to cover the fur around each eye. I used oil-based paint pens and began with the pupil, coloring in the pupil. I did not have a color that perfectly matched the iris, so I chose the closest color and re-colored the whole iris to match. Use a finer tip for the eyelashes and liner. Allow this paint to dry and then add white highlight marks to each eye.
  9. Once everything is fully dry, enjoy!

What My Little Ponies plushies do you have?  How did they turn out? I hope you and your loved ones enjoy them!

 

How to Play – Boggle Jr.

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played Boggle Jr. by Hasbro for 1 to 2 players! 

This game will help children with their spelling in a fun, rewarding way! If this means setting up a reward system for if they could finish all the 3 letter words, then the 4 letter words and then the combined deck, do it! Education should be fun and rewarding! I could see improvement in Zoey’s word recognition and spelling almost immediately.

Let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • Boggle Jr. game tray
  • 8 letter cubes
  • 30 picture/word cards (double-sided)
INSTRUCTIONS

Game # 1: Match it-Spell it

  1. Shuffle and stack the picture/word cards so the 3-letter words are all face up and turned in the same direction.
  2. Place the stack in the tray above the cube slots, facing the child (the word cover is flipped down & out of use).
  3. Point to the picture on the card and ask the child what it is — i.e. a pig, a jar, a pie, the sun, etc.
  4. Point to the word below the picture and say the word, then spell the word out loud letter by letter.
  5. Go back to the first letter and have the child find that letter on one of the cubes and place the cube in the first slot of the tray, directly under the letter as it appears on the card.
  6. Proceed through the other two letters until the 3-letter word is spelled out in cubes under the card.
  7. Reinforce what the child has just accomplished by saying the word and spelling together. Give the child the top card and proceed through the rest of the remaining 3-letter words in the same manner.
  8. Next play with 4-letter word cards. Then shuffle the cards and play with 3 and 4 letter words mixed.

Game # 2: Cover it-Spell it

  1. Shuffle and stack the picture/word cards so the 3-letter words are all face up and turned in the same direction.
  2. Place the stack in the tray above the cube slots, facing the child (the word cover is flipped up & in use).
  3. The child glances at the word under the cover, then hides it again. Now he/she is no longer matching letters with letter, but is actually spelling the word from memory.
  4. Next play with 4-letter word cards. Then shuffle the cards and play with 3 and 4 letter words mixed.
  5. For two players the children take turns. Each time a child successfully spells a word from memory, he or she wins that card and continues to the next.
  6. If a child spells a word incorrectly, that card is placed on the bottom of the pile of cards and that child’s turn ends. When the card comes up again, the player whose turn it is attempts to spell the word.
  7. The children alternate turns until all the cards have been used, whoever has won more cards during the game wins!

ENJOY!

Happy New Year 2024!

Happy New Year Friends! I wish you all the best and sincerely hope all your hopes and dreams for 2024 will come to fruition. These last few years have been rocky, to say the least, but its a time for fresh starts and new beginnings, so let’s make the most of it!

I believe in making resolutions; they give you the focus to complete certain tasks. Resolutions can be made any time of the year, and should be in some cases, but it’s traditional to make them for the fresh start of a new year and it’s all in good fun!

I’ve set 12 resolutions for 2024, check them out!

  1. Become a YouTube Partner.
  2. Delete Facebook.
  3. Learn how to draw in Procreate.
  4. Use Procreate to create at least 12 designs and upload.
  5. Play and complete 12 video games.
  6. Progress in Duolingo lessons.
  7. Read and complete 12 books.
  8. Take Zoey to Universal Studios.
  9. Watch and complete 12 movies I’ve never seen.
  10. Weekly family game nights.
  11. Weekly family movie nights.
  12. Yoga 5 days a week.

How to Play – Candy Land

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played Candy Land by Hasbro for up to 4 players! 

This is one of my childhood favorites that I hope will also be one of Zoey’s childhood favorites. Gameplay is relatively easy with movement based on drawing cards and associating colors, but the board is very busy to navigate. Zoey is currently more interested in playing independently with the gingerbread characters than progressing the game, but we’re hoping her attention will change over time!

Let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • A game-board
  • 4 gingerbread character pawns
  • 64 cards
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Open up the game board and place it on a flat surface.
  2. Shuffle the cards and place them facedown in a pile with easy reach of all the players.
  3. The youngest player takes the first turn. Play then passes to the left of that player and onward.
  4. Each player picks a gingerbread character pawn and places it as the start of the path near the four children.
  5. The youngest player goes first, play then passes to the left.
  6. On your turn, draw one card from the deck and then move the gingerbread pawn as directed. Always move towards the castle, unless a picture directs you to move backwards on the path.
    • When you draw a picture card, move your pawn forward or backward on the path of to the pink picture space on the board that matches the pink pictures pace on your card. For example if you draw a lollypop card, move your pawn to the pink space on the board that shows the lollipop.
    • Two or more gingerbread pawns can be on the same space at the same time.
    • When you draw a card with one color block, move your pawn forward toward the castle to the first matching color space on the path.
    • When you draw card that has two color blocks, move your pawn forward toward the castle to the second matching color space on the path.
    • There are two shortcuts on the path, Gummy Pass and Peppermint Pass. If your gingerbread lands by exact count on the yellow space below Gummy pass, or the blue space below Peppermint Pass you can take the shortcut immediately to yellow space above Gummy Pass or the yellow space above Peppermint Pass.
    • There are two licorice spaces on the path. If you land on one of these sticky spaces by exact count, your gingerbread pawn is stuck there for one turn.
  7. Your turn is over. Place the used card in a discard pile.
  8. If you are the first person to reach the multi-colored rainbow space, you’ve reached King Kandy’s Castle. You win!

ENJOY!

How to Play – Yeti in My Spaghetti

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played Yeti in my Spaghetti by Play Monster for 2+ players! 

This is a fun one with lots of laughs! Zoey does not “carefully or strategically” remove the noodles yet, she’s our wild card, and more often than not, she causes the yeti to fall to the bottom of the bowl! Set up is very easy, so if this happens too quickly it’s easy to reset and play another round!

Let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • A bowl
  • A yeti
  • 30 noodles
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Place the bowl on a flat, level surface.
  2. Arrange the noodles over the top of the bowl, criss-crossing in a random way.
  3. Gently set the yeti on top of the noodles (in the middle is best).
  4. The oldest player goes first, carefully and strategically removing a noodle by sliding, slipping, pushing, lifting, etc! Be careful not to disturb the Yeti enough to let him fall into the bowl.
  5. If you touch a noodle, then that is the one you must remove, no touching and testing the placement of the noodles!
  6. You may use both hands to remove a noodle, but you can only use one hand at a time.
  7. If you successfully remove a noodle and the yeti does not fall to the bottom of the bowl, the player to your left goes next, and so on.
  8. If the Yeti falls to the bottom of the bowl during your turn (or immediately after your turn before the next player goes), the game is over! If the Yeti shifts or ends hanging by a noodle, keep playing. The game stops only when he falls completely to the bottom of the bowl!
  9. The player who last successfully removed a noodle before the player who made the yeti fall is the winner!

ENJOY!

How to Play – Monster Mash

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played Monster Mash by Parker Brothers (and others) for up to 4 players! 

If you can’t tell from the packaging, this is a game from my childhood that my mom saved because we loved it so much! There are newer versions being sold now (like this one by Cra-Z-Art), but the premise is the same; press the button on the monster-maker, then find the matching monster and claim it before the other players do!

Let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • A monster-maker machine
  • 27 monster cards
  • 4 thwacker hands with suction cups
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Remove everything from the game box, and set the monster-maker machine on the playing surface so that everyone can see the monster that appears on it.
  2. Spread the monster cards face-up in the middle of the playing area so that no cards overlap and everyone can easily reach them.
  3. Each player takes a thwacker hand and the player closest to the monster-maker machine will press the button to start each new round.
  4. The monster-maker machine randomly selects and shows one monster for all the monster hunters to mash and capture. Look closely at the monster on the machine when the button pops up!
  5. Quickly all the players try to find the face-up monster card that matches the monster on the machine and mash it with their thwacker hand so that the suction cup picks up the card (if two players slap the monster card at the same time, the player whose thwacker hand is at the bottom of all the thwacker hands captures the card).
  6. If a player picks up the wrong monster card, he or she simply returns it face-up to the middle of playing area and everyone keeps hunting.
  7. The player who picks up and captures the correct monster card places it face-up in front of him or her. This ends the round everyone stops hunting.
  8. To start a new round, press the button on the monster-maker machine.
  9. If the monster-maker machine shows a monster that has already been shown and captured, players can try to capture it from the player that has it in front of him or her, unless that player mashes it first with his or her thwacker.
  10. Game play continues until one player captures 5 monsters, the first player to do this is the monster mash winner!

ENJOY!

How to Play – The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played The Sneaky Snacky Squirrel Game by Educational Insights for up to 4 players! 

Zoey has loved this game since before she even knew how to play! She would pull everything out and play with the Squirrel and the acorns, honestly it’s surprising that there are no missing pieces! Then we learned how to play the game together, and she loves it even more! She loves picking up the acorns with the squirrel squeezer; we find it super fun and easy collecting and replacing the acorns to the tree stumps and back.

Let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • A game-board (part of the box)
  • A squirrel squeezer
  • A spinner
  • 20 acorns in five colors
  • 4 tree stumps
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Remove everything from the game box, then scatter the acorns onto the tree on the inside bottom of the box.
  2. Give each player a tree stump.
  3. The youngest player takes the first turn. Play then passes to the left of that player and onward.
  4. On your turn, hold the squirrel squeezer, spin the spinner, then follow the directions below according to your spin. Then it’s the next player’s turn.
    • Color: If the wheel stops on a color, use the squirrel squeezer to grab a matching acorn and place it in a matching hole in your tree stump. If that hole is already full, skip your turn.
    • One acorn: Pick any one acorn from the tree and use the squirrel squeezer to pick it up and place it on your tree stump.
    • Two acorns: Pick any two acorns from the tree and use the squirrel squeezer to pick them up and place them on your tree stump.
    • The Sneaky Squirrel: Use the squirrel squeezer to steal any colored acorn you need in your tree stump from another player’s tree stump.
    • Sad Squirrel: Pass the squirrel squeezer to the player on your left and skip your turn.
    • Squirrel Storm: Oh no! A furious storm blew all of your acorns back into the tree! Put them back and skip your turn.
  5. If you’re the first player to collect all of the acorns to match the ones on your tree stump, you win!

ENJOY!

How to Play – Sophie’s Seashell Scramble

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played Sophie’s Seashell Scramble by Educational Insights for up to 4 players! 

Zoey has loved this game since before she even knew how to play! She would pull everything out and play with the Sophie and the seashells, honestly it’s surprising that there are no missing pieces! Then we learned how to play the game together, and she loves it even more! She loves picking up the shells with the Sophie pincers; we find it super fun and easy collecting and replacing the seashells to the mats and back.

Let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • A game-board (part of the box)
  • A Sophie pincer
  • A spinner
  • 20 seashells in five patterns
  • 4 seashell snack mats
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Remove everything from the game box, then scatter the seashells onto the seascape on the inside bottom of the box.
  2. Give each player a seashell snack mat.
  3. The youngest player takes the first turn. Play then passes to the left of that player and onward.
  4. On your turn, spin the spinner, pick up the Sophie pincers, and follow the directions below according to your spin. Then it’s the next player’s turn!
    • Pattern: Find a shell that matches the pattern (the color of the shell doesn’t matter) and use Sophie to pick it up and place it on your seashell snack mat.
    • One Shell: Pick any one shell from the seascape and use Sophie to pick it up and place it on your seashell snack mat.
    • Two Shells: Pick any two shells from the seascape and use Sophie to pick them up and place them on your seashell snack mat.
    • Big Wave: A big wave is crashing the shell-collecting party. All players lose a shell back to the seascape.
    • Hungry Otter: Use Sophie to take any shell from another player and place it on the matching space on your seashell snack mat.
    • Otto the Octopus: Take any shell from for seashell snack mat and place it on the table next to Otto. Spin the spinner, if you land on Otto or the pattern that matches the shell you chose you can take your shell back and take any other shell from the seascape. If you don’t land on Otto or the pattern that matches your shell, Otto tosses your shell back into the seascape.
  5. If you’re the first player to collect all of the shells to match the ones on your seashell snack mat, you win!

ENJOY!

How to Play – Hi Ho! Cherry-O!

Part of the fun in raising Zoey is finding things that delight and educate her; I want to find fun, creative board games to play with her during our family game nights! This week we played Hi Ho! Cherry-O by Milton Bradley! 

Zoey has loved this game since before she even knew how to play! She would pull everything out and sort the fruits by color or put the puzzle together, honestly it’s surprising that there are no missing pieces! Then we learned how to play the game together, and she loves it even more! She loves counting out the fruits; we find it super fun and easy collecting and replacing the fruit to the baskets and back. 

Let’s play!

IN THE BOX
  • A game-board
  • A spinner
  • A puzzle
  • 10 “apples”
  • 10 “blueberries”
  • 10 “cherries”
  • 10 “oranges”
  • 4 baskets
INSTRUCTIONS (CLASSIC)
  1. Place each basket in the game-board hole to the left of its matching color tree/bush.
  2. Each player chooses a tree/bush and places the matching colored fruit in each of the game-board holes.
  3. The puzzle is only for co-operative games so place it back in the box.
  4. The player whose birthday comes next takes the first turn. Play then passes to the left of that player and onward.
  5. On your turn, spin the spinner, then follow the directions below according to your spin. Then it’s the next player’s turn.
    • One Fruit: Pick one fruit from your tree/bush and put it in your basket.
      • Two Fruits: Pick two fruits from your tree/bush and put them in your basket.
      • Three Fruits: Pick three fruits from your tree/bush and put them in your basket.
      • Four Fruits: Pick four fruits from your tree/bush and put them in your basket.
      • Bird or Dog: Someone’s nibbling at your fruit! Take two fruits out of your basket and place them back on your tree/bush (if you only have one fruit, put that one back. If you have none, do nothing).
        • Spilled Basket: Uh-Oh! Take all of the fruits out of your basket, and place them back on your tree/bush.
  6. If you’re the first player to have all 10 fruits in your basket say “HI HO! CHERRY-O!” You win!
INSTRUCTIONS (CO-OPERATIVE)
  1. Place each basket in the game-board hole to the left of its matching color tree/bush.
  2. Each player chooses a tree/bush and places the matching colored fruit in each of the game-board holes.
  3. Break up the puzzle and place the pieces facedown near the game-board.
  4. The player whose birthday comes next takes the first turn. Play then passes to the left of that player and onward.
  5. On your turn, spin the spinner, then follow the directions below according to your spin. Then it’s the next player’s turn.
    • One Fruit: Pick one fruit from your tree/bush and put it in your basket.
    • Two Fruits: Pick two fruits from your tree/bush and put them in your basket.
    • Three Fruits: Pick three fruits from your tree/bush and put them in your basket.
    • Four Fruits: Pick four fruits from your tree/bush and put them in your basket.
    • Dog: Remove one fruit from your basket and place it back on the matching tree/bush (if you have none, do nothing).
    • Spilled Basket: Remove two fruits from your basket, and place them back on your tree/bush (if you only have one fruit, put that one back. If you have none, do nothing).
    • Bird: Turn one piece of the bird puzzle face up. Every time you turn over a puzzle piece, try to fit it into the bird puzzle. If you can’t do this leave it face up until it fits.
  6. The players win if they pick all the fruits and say “HI HO! CHERRY-O!”, before the puzzle is completed. The bird wins if the puzzle gets completed before all the fruit is picked.

ENJOY!