There are few family activities as classic as snuggling up together for a pajama movie night before bed and relaxing.  To help your family truly get into these late night films — and seamlessly slip into bed after them — here are 3 films that are perfect to watch dressed up in pajamas or other easy costumes.

Where the Wild Things Are

Where the Wild Things Are may have origins as a classic bed time story, but with its film adaptation, it has also become the perfect before-bed-time pajama movie too.  True, Max may be wearing a wolf costume throughout the movie, but it looks pretty darn close to a set of footed pajamas.  If your kids have a grey wool cap or hooded sweatshirt, you can easily cut out some card board ears and attach them to the hat or hood to match Max’s wolf costume.  Then you can all throw on a pair of grey footed pajamas (if you don’t have footed pajamas, you can purchase some at www.CrazyforBargains.com) to complete the look.  This way you and your kids will be ready to romp and stomp along with the movie.  So, what are you waiting for, let the wild rumpus begin!

Elf

Summer is about to start, and with that comes the heat.  A great way to cool down with your family on a sweltering summer night is to blast the AC and hold a Christmas throwback with Elf. In this hilarious tale, a man (Will Ferrell) who was raised as one of Santa’s elves journeys to New York City to find his father — and brings more than a bit of Christmas cheer on the way.  While it may not replace a Christmas Story any time soon, this movie is quickly becoming a holiday classic.  A great and silly way to watch Elf with your family this summer could be to get some red and white striped pajamas, don a few Santa hats, and munch on candy canes (they are probably on sale right now).  This way your whole family can have a great time beating the heat and getting a taste of the winter holidays during the off season.

Star Wars

The Star Wars movies are great because while parents can reminisce about the older trilogy, many kids love the action packed newer movies with silly characters like Jar Jar Binks.  Many children already have a pair of Star Wars Pajamas lying around to change into for the movie, and even if yours don’t, there are a number of easy ways for your family to match up with characters from the movie without spending a dime.  For example, getting dressed up for the movie could be as simple as throwing on a bathrobe, and transforming into a Jedi or Yoda.  If your or your children are more interested in dressing like Princess Leia, wrapping up in a white sheet with a belt around your waist can do the trick.  Because Star Wars’ huge cast of humans and aliens has so many different costumes and outfits, no matter which characters your family identifies with, you should be able to find a way to dress up like them.

One of the best ways to truly get into a movie is to make yourself look and feel like your favorite character.  By changing into pajamas or easy costumes, you and your family can bond while doing just this.  Best of all, by having everyone in their sleepwear, they can slip straight into bed after the movie!

*Thank you to our guest author, Ryan, for these great ideas!