Category: Netflix

February 21, 2015

Creating Your Own Destiny with Netflix #StreamTeam

Brrrrr it is cold out there!! With these bone chilling temperatures lately we have been spending more time inside catching up on our favourite Netflix shows.

This month, Netflix is bringing back all of our favourite childhood characters but taking it to a new level. Now we get to find out what happened to all our favourite characters – turns out they became parents and had their own children!

In Ever After High, premiering this month on Netflix, the famous fairy tale character’s children are at a boarding school for teens destined to follow in their parent’s footsteps. Ever After High celebrates the idea that our lives are not predetermined for us and only we have the power to change our destiny.

Also premiering this month is Richie Rich (a brand new version of the old favourite!) and Season 2 of Mako Mermaid.

Our favourite show this month? The Mind of a Chef! This show is all about what it is like to think, cook, live, create in a food obsessed world of the mind of a chef. Yum yum! I love to cook so this was perfect for me.

Getting our children to think of the future (so hard to think of my babies all grown up!) and challenging them to set a path for themselves to create their own destiny is important. They need to know and understand that only they have the power to control their future and what happens to them.

So with some inspiration from Meet the Dupiens, we helped our children Reach for the Stars with their own destiny banner.

We asked our boys: What and where do you see yourselves in the future? What do you want to be when you grow up?

Their answers:

Power Ranger or Batman
Soccer Player
FIFA World Cup Player
NHL hockey player
professional gamer
Live somewhere where it is always hot!

Oh to be young again!

Pull out the magazines and pencil crayons and get colouring and cutting! Have your child put together photos of their dream destiny to put on a banner. This banner can be hung up in their room or on their door to be a constant reminder to always aim high.

It is so important for our children (and us too!) to remember to follow our dreams and work hard to achieve our goals.

Catch up with all your favourites this month on Netflix and new shows that teach us to always reach for the stars and that anything is possible.

What are you looking forward to watching on Netflix this month?

Disclosure: I am a member of the Netflix StreamTeam and receive perks with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

January 11, 2015

Bringing Literature to Life with Netflix #StreamTeam

As we begin to get back in the swing of things with school and home life, Netflix has loads of literature inspired movies playing throughout the month of January to help ease this transition. This includes the ever so popular and adorable, Puss in Boots, which premieres on January 16th, 2015.

There are many books that I have first watched on film that inspired me to read the book (or books!) behind it – Divergent, Game of Thrones and The Hunger Games just to name a few. I love how film (when done right!) really brings the characters and setting to life .

Netflix has several fantastic literature inspired movies out this month. One of our personal favourite? The Cat in the Hat. Oh how naughty he is with his adventures! We are always full of giggles watching this movie.

Looking for more family favourites to watch? Why not try Peter Pan or How to Train Your Dragon. I grew up reading The Babysitters Club (how many of you formed your own club because of these books??!!) and can’t wait to sit down with this movie again.

With a few simple supplies (paper bag, construction paper and glue) you can create your own Puss in Boots puppet to accompany the premiere of the movie. Your kids will enjoy acting out sword fights alongside Puss in Boots. You can find all the directions by visiting Sweet Potato Chronicles.

You can’t forget the feast to go along with your sword fighting crafts and movie! Why not try this recipe inspired by the movie. You can find the complete recipe at Sweet Potato Chronicles.

What is your favourite literature inspired movie?

Disclosure: I am a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam and receive perks because of this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

December 23, 2014

It’s Time to Party It Up King Julien Style with Netflix #StreamTeam

Our family loves a good animated comedy – something perfect for the whole family that can leave us all in stitches.

Not too long ago we were able to attend the premiere of the new Netflix series All Hail King Julien in Toronto. King Julien is the love able and cheeky character from the popular Madagascar movie series. King Julien delivers it all in this new series dedicated to his favourite person – himself!

This Netflix original series premiered on December 19th and is available for all to watch (not going to lie we have already viewed the series twice it is that good!). King Julien is at his funniest in this series along with his sidekicks Mort and Maurice.

The kids are on their Christmas holidays now so we are getting in the holiday mode by catching up with some of our favourite holiday movies on Netflix. I was so impressed when I logged in yesterday to find so many holiday themed shows to watch! We started with the traditional Frosty the Snowman and continued in with the Madagascar Holiday series.

For the big kids this holiday season (this includes Mom and Dad!) we are watching Elf and Christmas with the Kranks! Two of our family favourites from when our eldest was young!

We are looking forward to this holiday season and ringing in the New Year King Julien style! How are you planning on celebrating the holidays and New Years this year?

Disclosure: I am part of the Netflix Stream Team and receive perks associated with this affiliation. All opinions expressed are my own.

November 18, 2014

Keep the Laughter Coming This Winter Season with #Netflix #StreamTeam

Brrrr!! It is getting cold outside – this morning was a chilly -21C with the wind chill! I honestly did not want to get out of bed it was so cold. But here I am up and working away even though all I want to do is curl up on the couch with a warm blanket and a great movie playing.

With the temperature drop there seems to always come the rise of cold and flu symptoms which tend to peak in these early months, trend off and start up again near the end of the winter. Last week I was under the weather with a gastro bug for two days. For two days I was pampered by my boys and was able to watch all of my favourite comedies on Netflix (okay in honesty only the second part is true – I like to imagine my boys were pampering me!).

I love my cartoons – the animated movies that they are producing are incredible with humour that both adults and children alike can appreciate. Those two days were spent watching all of my favourite animated comedies and laughing my way back to health. My two favourite movies of all time have to be Despicable Me (love those minions!!) and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. I can’t even begin to count how many times we have watched these movies but they are just as funny each and every time (Bee Do Bee Do Bee Do….).

Laughter is so important for all of us (and too often we are not spending enough time laughing and bonding with the ones we love) so we should always make time to do the things we love together, watch funny movies together and just be plain old silly.

Don’t believe me? Research has shown that laughter is important for:

laughter boosts the immune system
laughter triggers the release of endorphins (remember those natural feel good hormones in your body, yep those ones!)
increase blood flow which in turn helps the heart
decreases stress
improves mood
strengthens relationships

Do you have a go to movie for the winter months when you and the family are stuck in bed unwell? Or maybe not unwell but just want to spend the day in bed getting cuddles from the little ones (how I miss those days!!).

Disclosure: I am a Netflix StreamTeam member and receive perks. All opinions expressed are my own.

October 22, 2014

The Mystery Full Month of October with Netflix #streamteam

I love the month of October (and not just because my birthday falls in it!). October holds my two favourite holidays, Thanksgiving and Halloween. Halloween is by far the best holiday ever! We always go over board starting a week before October with decorations – well I do my poor husband just grins and shakes his head.

One of my favourite things that happens during the month of October is the amount of scary and suspensful movies that are played almost non stop. Of course the boys have taken after their Mother and could not wait to get started watching some mystery flicks on Netflix.

The boys top picks? Here they are:

The Spy Kids has always been a well loved movie in our home. The fourth installment in the series will definitely have your children ready to take on the world.

Anubis is a new show for us! We weren’t aware of this series before finding in on Netflix. Based in England, a bunch of students form a secret group to solve mysteries after one of their friends go missing the same day an American student joins their school.

Always a family favourite is Scooby Doo. I am so happy that my children love the series as much as I do. They are always up to something or on the trail of another mystery. The boys love to help solve these mysteries.

Are your children a little to young for these movies? Why not check out Blue’s Clues, I Spy, Inspector Gadget or Busytown Mysteries.

Celebrate with a Spooky Msyterious Snack!

Now that you have found the perfect movie why not enjoy your movie with a spooky and mysterious snack to go along with it. We love making eyeballs out of marshmallows, worms out of jello, monster juice and the list can go on!

If you are looking for something a bit heartier why not try the delicious mystery mac and cheese. Made with a bit of extra green Hulk powers (kale) your child will fall in love with this family favourite. You can find the recipe on Sweet Potato Chronicles.

October Craft Time!

To round off the month of mystery how about teaching your little one to write in secret code? All you need is lemons, white paper and a couple of Q-Tips. Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl, using the Q-Tip write out your message on the white paper. Allow the juice to dry on the paper. Turn the oven on to 350-400F and place your paper on a baking sheet. Place it in the oven and keep it in for roughly a minute. Just enough for the lemon juices to brown to reveal your message!

Do you have a favourite mystery movie?

Disclosure: I am a member of the Netflix #StreamTeam and receive special perks. All opinions expressed are my own.