One of the best by products of the Gulyas family Christmas gift swap – Ben gave grandma a movie night. Complete with liquorice, chocolates, shaker salts for the popcorn, and he even threw in a few cousins for good measure.
Be sure to check out “my lucky elephant” for a good tear-jerker. Your call as to whether or not you buckle down for the double header and push play on “baby geniuses and the temples of Egypt”.
There was every possible permutation and combination of cuddles on the couch. The kids devoured an innumerable mass of clementines. And we skipped dinner altogether in favour of popcorn. It was awesome.
Perhaps the best element of the night was “my lucky elephant”. I was surprised by the emotional triggers In this movie and it certainly would have been a lot for the kids to grasp. And while the movie was a good one – the way the kids interacted with it was better. One of the reasons I prefer to let my children watch movies on their own is because they have a need to talk about the movie the whole way through. They can't just watch it and enjoy it. They have to process it in a live feed. And the emotional content of “my lucky elephant” certainly required this! I don't think I could have pulled it off – and grandma did a spectacular job – it was as though the kids had an emotional narrator/interpreter throughout the whole movie. Grandma just sat there through the whole thing – as only a grandma could – answering questions, helping the kids to understand what was going on, and providing the commentary necessary to help the cousins enjoy and understand everything in the movie. She's a very skilled grandma.
Blueberry pancakes and puddle jumping after breakfast the next morning!
Don't mind the nasty man behind the bowl of popcorn. He shall remain nameless.
3 Ginger Snaps 