Brave Movie Night

Brave Movie Night

We love having themed movie nights as a family, and today’s Disney Family Movie Night is inspired by one of our favorites: Disney’s Brave!

Brave Movie Night

This Disney’s Brave Movie Night is one of our most simple themed movie nights, with breakfast for supper and a simple knot craft to keep kids happy during or before the movie.

It’s the cute touches that take this simple menu and transform it into a magical family night the kids are going to go crazy for. In the post below I outline the menu (including recipes for those cute Cherry Bakewell Tarts and my Strawberry Whiskey Smash), what we used for decor, and the simple Celtic Heart Knot necklaces Ella entertained herself with making during the movie.

These Family Movie Nights are a fun tradition that I try to keep up about once a month and they always get Ella so excited – it’s like a mini party for just our family!

This same menu and itinerary would also work for a family movie night for:

  • Loch Ness
  • Greyfrair’s Bobby
  • Secret Garden
  • Shaun the Sheep
  • Wind in the Willows

If you’re planning a Disney trip anytime in the future, this is a fun way to build anticipation and count down to your trip. If you have kids with distinctly different movie tastes, try alternating who gets to pick the movie and get everyone involved in planning the menu and activities.

Check out the bottom of this post for a printable shopping list to make planning your own family movie night easier.

Disney’s Brave Movie Night Menu

You don’t need plenty of time or a crazy elaborate meal to make a fun, themed movie night extra-special. I decided to serve a simple Scottish-inspired “breakfast for supper” and introduce one new food to Ella – black pudding. I love using our family movie nights to help expand her palate, but of course, you can skip that – or check out the alternative meal suggestions further below.

(Black Pudding is a special preparation of sausage that gets it’s dark color from pork blood, which sounds odd but this sausage is rich, salty, and mildly sweet. It’s a classic breakfast sausage found in the UK and Ireland. You can order it online, but I’ve always just purchased it from a local butcher or our local British shoppe.)

For our movie night, I served: 

  • Eggs, to individual preference
  • Plenty of buttered toast
  • A side of veggies (fresh tomatoes for me, sautéed mushrooms for Ella)
  • Black Pudding
  • Cherry Bakewell Tarts (recipe at the bottom of the post)
  • Strawberry Lemonade for Ella
  • Strawberry Whiskey Smash for me (recipe at the bottom of the post)

While I decided to make our Bakewell Tarts from scratch, you can order them online as well.

I’m kind of disappointed that I didn’t know about Scottish Potato Scones when I prepared this menu – they would have been a perfect addition.

Other meal ideas that would be great for a Brave Movie Night include:

  • You can make these Bear Paw Cookies from scratch, or just grab some Bear Paws and a handful of silvered almonds. (Disney Family)
  • These Celtic Knot Cookies from Sprinkles Bakes look complicated but they are super easy with her step-by-step tutorial.
  • These free Printable Brave Cupcake Wrappers do all of the decorating work for you!
  • Scottish Mince Tatties (from My Kitchen Love) are a delicious comfort meal using minced beef, veggies and potatoes. 
  • Scottish Oat Cakes from Kelly Neil are a super easy and traditional oatmeal cookie.
  • Beef Steak Pie from House of Nash Eats is a filling and super delicious supper option if you want something hearty!
  • Scottish Tiffin from Luci’s Morsels is a traditional Scottish chocolate with cookie crumbs and dried fruit mixed in.

Brave Movie Night Decor

As usual, I just searched the house for items that could be repurposed as decor for our movie night.

I had this gorgeous tartan tablecloth made a few years ago, but you could use a plaid throw blanket or just a large piece of plaid fabric as a tablecloth. I think the vibrant colors and pattern do half of the decorating work for me!

After that, I pulled these golden arrows off of our walls and scattered them on the table, and also borrowed Ella’s Brave figurines and Merida bow. (This bow is almost the same one we bought from DisneyWorld and is half the price.)

I picked used pretty metal bowls and cups, as well as a stone serving platter, because I think they suited the medieval setting of the movie. Wooden serving platters would be great, too.

As you can see, we have a bit of a Disney theme going in our new living room!

You can also download these Printable Brave-themed posters to frame and put on your TV table or mantle.

Disney’s Brave Craft

For her craft, Ella made Celtic Knot Heart Necklaces, which look super complicated but couldn’t be easier! These are super simple to do while watching the movie and would be a great gift – for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, or a special friendship necklace.

You can make this necklace to just tie at the back, or go one step further and add a proper necklace clasp to the ends.

Materials to a Celtic Heart Necklace:

  • 40-inch length of colored beading cord

Optional materials:

  • Pliers
  • Pair of crimp-style end clasp clips and O-rings
  • Necklace clasp

Get the full tutorial here.

Cherry Bakewell Tarts Recipe

There are lots of theories as to what exactly those scrumptious looking cookies featured in the movie actually are. While they probably aren’t Cherry Bakewells, the cute white icing with a cherry on top remind me of these classic tarts.

I decided to spend most of my efforts on this dessert, and take it easy with serving “breakfast for supper” for our main.

BAKEWELL TART INGREDIENTS

For the shortcrust:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 3 Tablespoons cold water
  • Pinch salt

For the almond filling (frangipane):

  • 1/2 cup ground almonds (almond flour)
  • 1/2 cup powdered icing sugar
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 large egg, beaten
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract
  • 10 teaspoons cherry or raspberry jam

For the icing:

  • 1 cup icing sugar
  • 3-4 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1½ teaspoons glycerine, optional
  • Maraschino cherries, to decorate

Get the full directions and step-by-step pictures to make our Cherry Bakewell Tarts here.

Strawberry Cocktail

I wanted a simple and delicious cocktail that incorporated Whiskey or Scotch, so our Strawberry Whiskey Smash was the perfect choice. It also easily converted into a tasty virgin mocktail for kids. (Basically, it’s a homemade strawberry mint lemonade.)

How to Make a Strawberry Whiskey Smash

  • 1 strawberry, chopped or mashed
  • Pinch mint leaves
  • 1 1/2 oz lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 oz simple syrup
  • 3 oz Jameson
  • Ice, for serving

Get more info on this Strawberry Whiskey cocktail here.

Planning Your Own Family Movie Night

I’ve made this free Family Movie Night planning sheet for you to plan your own movie night – whether that be for Disney’s Brave or another family favourite.

The first couple times you host a family movie night, try to take it easy – stick to recipes that you’ve tried before, pick a craft or activity well within the kids’ skill level, and don’t over plan the night. The movie will probably get started later than you expected and the kids might be a little over-excited at the new family tradition (especially if eating supper in front of the TV)!

We originally tried to do these weekly, but for now doing them every 2 weeks has allowed them to still be a fun family time that we look forward to, without feeling like just another thing I have to schedule and plan for.
Pirates of the Caribbean family movie night with complete menu (Jamaican tossed salad, jerk shrimp, banana fritters, and Jamaican rum punch), fun craft for the kids to do while everything is cooking, and a free printable to plan your own family movie night. Disney movie nights are a fun way to count down to a Disney vacation or just establish a fun family tradition

And be sure to pin this Disney’s Brave family movie night for later:

Does your family host movie nights, or have any other fun traditions for spending time together?

What movies would you like to plan our next family movie night for?

For more Disney-inspired fun, check out our Pirates of the Caribbean Movie Night or Princess and the Frog Movie Night.

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