Moana-Themed Family Night

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Try out some brand new family night ideas with a fun Moana-themed family night (with free printables). Then find out about our family night disaster. #Moana #ad #RWM

Family nights are an easy and fun way to keep your family growing together. This month is has been a goal for us to make family nights a regular thing. These can be something small like a game night at home or a bigger event like a family dinner and movie. Even the family night failures can be valuable moments that provide years of memories. Try out some brand new ideas with a Moana-themed family night. Then, keep reading to find out about our family night disaster below.

Try out some brand new family night ideas with a fun Moana-themed family night (with free printables). Then find out about our family night disaster. #Moana #ad #RWM

[bctt tweet=”Try out some brand new family night ideas with a fun Moana-themed family night. #Moana #ad #RWM” username=”diyadulation”]

Try out some brand new family night ideas with a fun Moana-themed family night (with free printables). Then find out about our family night disaster. #Moana #ad #RWM

About Moana

Before we get onto the fun family night ideas here is a little background about the movie:

“From Walt Disney Animation Studios comes “Moana,” a sweeping, CG-animated feature film about an adventurous teenager who sails out on a daring mission to save her people. “Moana is the 16-year-old daughter of the chief of Motunui,” says director Ron Clements. “She’s brave, determined, compassionate and incredibly smart. She has a never-say-die attitude and a profound connection to the ocean.”

“So it’s troubling to her, to say the least, that her people don’t go beyond the reef surrounding their island,” adds director John Musker. “They stay within the confines of that reef, and Moana doesn’t really understand why, especially since she’s felt drawn to the ocean her whole life.”…

Telling the Tale

Pacific Island storytelling culture is celebrated as the fi lm opens. Gramma Tala, the mother of Chief Tui and Moana’s greatest confidante, shares the tale of Te Fiti, the mother island. “Her heart held the greatest power ever known: it could create life itself,” she says. “And Te Fiti shared it with the world.”

Gramma Tala’s story culminates with details of Maui, demigod of the wind and sea, who steals the heart of Te Fiti, unleashing a terrible darkness that threatens the life and habitat of islanders throughout the region. Maui is confronted by Te Kā, a demon of earth and fire, and ultimately loses the heart of Te Fiti to the sea.

The film introduces a very special presence in Moana’s life: the Ocean—a living embodiment of the sea who’s chosen Moana to find Maui and return the heart of Te Fiti, saving her island and her people from the darkness that has begun to take over. The only problem is that Chief Tui, Moana’s father, forbids voyaging beyond the safety of the reef that lies just beyond their shores. Tui has seen too many voyage past the reef—and never return—and out of love for his people, has forbade it. Moana must go against her father’s wishes to pursue her destiny set forth by the Ocean.

The mighty demigod Maui, a charismatic character in the film, was inspired by the varied tales and legends about him throughout the Pacific. Says Musker, “We were fascinated by the stories we read, the tales told to us by people of the region. In most islands, Maui is larger-than-life, a trickster and a shapeshifter. He could pull up whole islands from the sea with his fishhook; he had the power to slow down the sun. He is an incredible figure.”

Maui, who’s on his own journey of self-discovery, reluctantly guides Moana in her quest to become a wayfinder and save her people. Together, they sail across the open ocean on an action-packed voyage, encountering enormous monsters and impossible odds, and, along the way, Moana discovers the one thing she’s always sought: her own identity.” – Disney Press Kit

Moana-Themed Family Night Activities

Try out some brand new family night ideas with a fun Moana-themed family night (with free printables). Then find out about our family night disaster. #Moana #ad #RWM

Kakamora Design Contest

Step 1

Before heading to the theater, print out this free printable “Design Your Own Kakamora” worksheet for each family member.

Step 2

Have everyone design a Kakamora, number each one, and tape them to the wall.

Step 3

Next, each family member takes turns voting for his or her favorite by writing the number down on a slip of paper, folding it in half, and tossing it in a bowl.

Step 4

Wait to tally the votes until you get home from the movie. The winner can get an extra piece of leftover movie candy; pick the next family movie theme; or other small reward.

 

Try out some brand new family night ideas with a fun Moana-themed family night (with free printables). Then find out about our family night disaster. #Moana #ad #RWM

Special Dinner Coloring Sheets

Skip the kids menus at dinner tonight. Instead, print out these awesome free Moana coloring sheets for kids to decorate at dinner. They will feel like they know the characters before you even get to the theater!

Coloring Sheet 1

Coloring Sheet 2

Coloring Sheet 3

Coloring Sheet 4

Coloring Sheet 5

Coloring Sheet 6

 

Try out some brand new family night ideas with a fun Moana-themed family night (with free printables). Then find out about our family night disaster. #Moana #ad #RWM

Put on a Puppet Show

Let the fun continue after the movie! Print out these free printable bookmarks on cardstock. Next, cut them out and put in a cute envelope. Surprise your kids after the movie with their new “puppets” and they’ll be giggling the entire ride home.

 

Try out some brand new family night ideas with a fun Moana-themed family night (with free printables). Then find out about our family night disaster. #Moana #ad #RWM

Our Family Night Fail

Now that you have some awesome Moana-themed family night ideas as promised I’ll share our family night disaster with you. As you saw at the beginning of this post, I received 4 free premier tickets in exchange for writing this post. I was stoked and couldn’t wait for us to have our first big family night of the month (prior to this we had only done family nights at home). I set aside money in the budget for a nice dinner out with the 5 of us, childcare for the 2-year-old after dinner, and a fun-tastic Moana movie night at the theater. Ah, the best laid plans. Instead, getting out of the house was a disaster of all three kids insisting on trying to hold my hands while bumping into the door, the wall, the side of the van… pretty much everything. All of this while I’m yelling behind me to make sure the diaper bag was grabbed, there is a sippy cup inside, is the door locked, do we have the keys, and everything else that a large family needs when going anywhere for an extended time period.

[bctt tweet=”Even the family night failures can provide years of memories. Read about our family night disaster here! #Moana #ad #RWM” username=”diyadulation”]

We get to the restaurant and thankfully are seated right away. That’s when chaos took over. Our kids are usually pretty good and, admittedly, they weren’t screaming or anything but they were knocking things over in their haste to get to drinks and crayons. It literally took us 20 minutes to even be ready to order… the appetizer. As dinner winds on, growing ever-more chaotic we still haven’t heard from the sitter. We start trying to get in touch with parents to try to find a back-up. Upon hearing this, the oldest looks at me and says, “I want to see grandma and grandpa. Can I go with them? Wait. What movie are we seeing again?” Talk about a knife in the heart of the momma. I know that grandparents will always trump parents but after all of the stress of the night this was just heartbreaking.

We finally get in touch with the sitter (who had gotten stuck at work) around 6 at which point we are all stressed out and in tears. We realize at this point that it is just not meant to be. We’ll have to take a family night mulligan. On the plus side, we had a dinner that I didn’t have to make and we still have a puppet night to look forward to. Have you ever had a family night goes wrong-side up? I’d love to hear about the tears and laughs in the comments.

Want to know more about the new Moana Movie? Check out the official Facebook and Twitter pages!

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10 Acts of Kindness to Beat Winter Blues

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As the days start getting shorter the winter blues can start to set in. There are many ways to combat this including getting active and soaking up the sunlight when you can. There is another way to get over these seasonal moods that too often gets overlooked. One of the best ways to elevate your mood is to perform acts of kindness. When you give selflessly of your time and resources you can improve your mood ten-fold! To help you get started here are 10 acts of kindness to beat winter blues.

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As the days start getting shorter the winter blues can start to set in. There are many ways to combat this including getting active and soaking up the sunlight when you can. There is another way to get over these seasonal moods that too often gets overlooked. One of the best ways to elevate your mood is to perform acts of kindness. When you give selflessly of your time and resources you can improve your mood ten-fold! To help you get started here are 10 acts of kindness to beat winter blues.

1. Put money in an expiring parking meter.

This is such an easy act of kindness that anyone can do. When your doctor’s visit is running longer than expected, the last thing you want to do is be worrying about your meter. Make someone’s day by taking care of it for them.

2. Donate your gently used books to a local school.

Have you been in a school library lately? My children’s school is excellent and still, the library is so depressing to me. When I think of a library, I want to see walls and walls of books. This just isn’t the case anymore. What’s worse is that there are schools that don’t half even half of the books my children’s school has. Why not donate your gently used books to schools that need them?

3. Give holiday gifts to your neighbors.

The holidays are a fabulous time to do something nice for your neighbors. Make up some delicious treat bags and hang on their doors. If you’re looking for something more useful why not give everyone an ice scraper? The smallest gesture goes a long way.

4. Make a freezer meal for a friend.

You know how crazy dinner time can be in your home. Take some stress off a friend’s plate and take their family an easy freezer meal that they can pop in the oven. Need some ideas? Check out these freezer-friendly chicken nuggets or freezer chicken pot pie minis!

5. Donate craft supplies to a local library.

Have you ever taken your child to a free event at the library? All of those events are run on donations. Say thank you by donating some craft supplies to help out with these fun events.

[bctt tweet=”These 10 Acts of Kindness can improve your mood ten-fold and help you beat the winter blues! #kindness” username=”diyadulation”]

6. Send a thoughtful card or letter.

This one is so easy and all it costs you is a stamp. Everyone is delighted to receive surprise mail that’s not a bill. Make someone’s day with a heartfelt sentiment to show you care and you were thinking about them.

7. Rake a neighbor’s leaves or shovel their driveway.

Shoveling the driveway is one of my least favorite winter chores. A couple of years ago some sweet neighbors stopped by to shovel and salt my driveway for me and I still smile when I think about it. Do the same for someone in your neighborhood as a sweet act of kindness.

8. Offer to babysit so parents can have a date night.

Ah, the baby phase… they are adorable and utterly life changing (in a good way). Babies also can wreak havoc on a marriage. Let the parents you know get a much-needed break and offer to babysit the kiddos for a night.

9. Pay for the car behind you in the drive-thru.

Do you know what makes your Caramel Macchiato even sweeter? Not having to pay for it. This is such an easy and effortless way to brighten someone’s day. The caveat is that you don’t have any control of the cost. If you are on a limited budget, ask to put $10 towards their order instead. That is still a wonderful surprise.

10. Donate toys to the Salvation Army.

This is another one close to my heart. There was a year when my mom had absolutely no money for presents (even things we needed like socks and coats) when we were very little. Imagine having to tell your 4 year old that impossible scenario of that there is no Santa or that Santa forgot them. Neither is palatable. In a true Christmas miracle it turned out that our church had adopted our family that year and arrived not only with presents on Christmas Eve but food as well. When you give to the Salvation Army that is the kind of gift you are giving a family.

Giving selflessly of your time and resources can improve your mood ten-fold! To get you started, here are 10 acts of kindness to beat winter blues.

These are all easy ideas that are low-cost or no cost. The best thing about them is that most of these can absolutely be a family affair. It’s always important to teach your kids early the joy of giving to others. These 10 acts of kindness are also a wonderful exercise in gratefulness. When you and your family see how much you truly have to give you will begin to appreciate all that you have. Usher in the colder months with warmth in your heart this year. Check out this DIY autumn thankful wreath for more wonderful ways to exercise a heart of thankfulness with your family.

See where I’m linking up!

Monthly Goal Setting Planner

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Last week you learned how to start creating your future with monthly goals. Hopefully you took some time to get started with your lists or, even better, finished them. This week I wanted to give you a free tool to make creating your future even easier. The Monthly Goal Setting Planner will lay out everything you need to set your monthly goals, make a daily to-do list to achieve them, and evaluate what worked (or didn’t) each month. This planner is basic, straightforward, and pretty making it the perfect tool for you. Simply print out your worksheets each month and fill them out. All that’s left is to rock your goals!

This free Monthly Goal Setting Planner will lay out everything you need to set your monthly goals, achieve them, and evaluate what worked each month.

[bctt tweet=”Start creating your future today with this free Monthly Goal Setting Planner! #goals #planner” username=”diyadulation”]

This free Monthly Goal Setting Planner will lay out everything you need to set your monthly goals, achieve them, and evaluate what worked each month.

Setting Your Monthly Goals

This is the first sheet you need to start your month out right. You can see the details for effectively choosing goals each month with Creating Your Future. Use this worksheet each month to document your goals and reference it often. Ask yourself “How does this help me achieve my long-term goals?” when deciding on activities to do and even books to read. This determination now is the key to living the future of your dreams.

 

This free Monthly Goal Setting Planner will lay out everything you need to set your monthly goals, achieve them, and evaluate what worked each month.

Creating a Daily To-Do List

You’ve read my tips to Dominate Your To-Do List but now it’s time to take it a step further. Use the second worksheet in the Monthly Goal Setting Planner to create daily actions that work towards your goals. Choose one action per goal each day with the exception of goals that only require weekly or monthly actions. An example of this would be my goal of weekly family nights. This only needs to be slotted once a week.

Note:

  • Choose these from your broader goal categories and not the specific sub-goals. You will notice that there are only 5 numbered points for each day. This is the maximum that I recommend adding to your existing daily to-do list.
  • These to-do lists will not be the same for each day. Be sure that you are working towards each of your sub-goals weekly.

 

This free Monthly Goal Setting Planner will lay out everything you need to set your monthly goals, achieve them, and evaluate what worked each month.

Evaluation

The last step is an end of the month evaluation is the final step to take for ultimate success. The 3rd worksheet in the Monthly Goal Setting Planner will walk you through figuring out what was or wasn’t successful and why. Reference your monthly evaluation sheet when planning your goals for the next month. Make tweaks and changes based on your evaluation to accomplish your monthly goals with growing success.

This free Monthly Goal Setting Planner will lay out everything you need to set your monthly goals, achieve them, and evaluate what worked each month.

Now that you know how to use it are you ready to download your copy of the Monthly Goal Setting Planner? I feel so strongly about helping your create your future that I am offering it for free to everyone! No sign-ups, emails, or money needed, just click the link and download your copy today. Stop reacting to your life and start creating it! Don’t forget that I’m taking this journey with you and you are not alone. Check back at the beginning of each month for an unfiltered look at m CYE Monthly Goals successes and failures.