The perfect festive family night in {watching Elf!}

Post in collaboration with E.ON.

We’ve had a busy few weeks but I’m pleased to say things are finally slowing down enough to let us enjoy the festive season. This is a magical time of year but it can be tricky to enjoy it when there is an endless round of Christmas parties, nativity plays and Santa’s Grottos’ to visit! Last weekend was the first weekend in a long time that we’ve been at home. Of course we had a few festive things planned but we were all really looking forward to a family film night.

This time of year is perfect for staying with, stocking up on unhealthy snacks and choosing a good Christmas film. And it seems like we’re not alone, research from E.ON among 2,000 Brits shows that nearly half (46%) of us look forward to snuggling up on the sofa as Christmas gets closer!

The research also asks Brits which Christmas films we’d most like to step into for a day. Here are the top eight chosen:

1. It’s a Wonderful Life
2. The Holiday
3. Love Actually
4. Serendipity
5. A Christmas Carol
6. The White Queen
7. Elf
8. Frozen

I came across Love Actually last week and couldn’t resist staying up late to watch it. It’s a crazy, feel good film, and absolutely perfect for watching at this time of year.

Elf is a firm family favourite so when we were invited to take part in E.ON’s Winter Watching Blogger Challenge we decided that it was a film we would all enjoy. The 2003 classic stars Will Ferrell as Buddy, the very tall human who thinks he’s an elf. It must be one of the most quotable films of the modern era.

Buddy is a human being who has spent his whole life believing himself to be an elf. Brought up by Santa and his elves at the North Pole, Buddy has spent the last 30 years happily working in Santa’s toy workshop. But when his ungainly size starts to become a liability in the elf-sized working environment, Santa suggests that Buddy head to New York City to find his biological father. Needless to say, the unlikely spectacle of a 6’5′ man dressed from head to foot in bright green stands out a mile on the streets of the Big Apple, and the good-natured Buddy finds himself in all sorts of scrapes as he gets used to his new family and surroundings – and they get used to him.

I wanted to make sure we had plenty of fun snacks as you can’t have a great family film night without the snacks. I tried to find some Elf themed snacks but couldn’t find anything suitable. Then I thought it would be fun to base them around quotes from the film. But would anyone really want to eat Beef and Cheese snacks? I didn’t think so, instead I made us hot chocolates with cream and sprinkles, and placed tubs of marshmallows, popcorns and candy canes on a tray so everyone could help themselves.

 

We had a great time as Elf is so funny. The kids got their bean bags and we all got comfortable under blankets and had a lovely, relaxing evening. I think we need our own Buddy as life would be so much fun! I love his idea of his best day – “I planned out our whole day. First we’ll make snow angels for a two hours, then we’ll go ice skating, then we’ll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse Cookiedough as fast as we can, and then we’ll snuggle”.

I would love to hear your favourite festive film for a family night in. Does it feature in the top 8 listed above? Let me know in the comments below!

E.ON is now proud sponsor of Sky Cinema Premiere and SkyCinema Family.