Netflix: Dragon's party time

Yet another wet summer's day in Ireland. What is a mother to do with her kids (and two extra friends) when it's lashing outside?

But thanks to a massive parcel that arrived in the post recently, courtesy of the lovely people at Netflix, we have lots of inspiration for party ideas.

The treasure box full of goodies contained loads of paraphernalia for a themed party around the new Netflix original TV show: Dragons: Race to the Edge.

So we studied the map, stuck Netflix flags in our food, coloured in Dragons characters, painted our faces and gorged on popcorn whilst watching the new series.

Here's some pictures from that fun day:

Getting faces painted:

The girls didn't want dragons, only butterflies and hearts:

Lorcan went for FIRE:

The package even contained a fab new tin Dragons lunchbox which will do very nicely for Jago's school lunchbox when he's back to school in Sept. Thanks Netflix.

And here they are chillaxing with the popcorn and the new Dragons TV show.

My work here is done.

 

And if you haven't come across Dragons TV yet. The new series is a 13-episode season based on the 'How to Train Your Dragon' franchise. It introduces new dragons and takes place in the period between the first two How To Train Your Dragon films. 

It's kind of like the "college years" of the main characters Hiccup, Toothless and their dragon riding Viking friends.

And the verdict? "We loved it!" they all shouted.

Then guess what happened? The sun came out and the fog cleared up and the kids all ran outside to play on the trampoline.

Happy days.

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** I am part of Netflix’s Stream Team and I’m enjoying every minute of it **

 

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NETFLIX: Something for all ages

Recently I’ve been introducing our Spanish workawayers to Netflix and they look on in awe at the amount of content we can stream in seconds. “I can watch it for free?” they ask, aghast. “Yes, do you not have it in Spain?” I reply, dumfounded. 

We don’t realise how lucky we are that we have this service given that a lot of our EU cousins do not. I tend to look to the UK, where they enjoy so many additional streaming services, including Amazon Instant Video which is not available here in Ireland yet, and I must admit I feel envy. 

But having someone living in your house who has never ever seen or heard of Netflix is like going back 5-10 years. It gives me a little bit of perspective, and makes me glad we live in Ireland where at least we have one streaming content company for everyone to use, even if we might not get as much content choice as our American friends. 

The latest press release from Netflix has me enticed by loads of kids’ programmes to keep me subscribing to Netflix for many years to come. On the heels of this month’s earlier announcement of kids original series Kulipari: An Army of Frogs, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Tarzan and Jane, Netflix is also introducing preschool educational shows Cirque du Soleil, Luna Petunia, Word Party, Kazoops! and True & the Rainbow Kingdom. Many of these won't appear until 2006 and 2007 however. 

In the meantime, Netflix has been going retro, by offering us tons of old content from my youth. Recently, I've been introducing my kids to one of my favourite TV shows as a wee girl growing up in Yorkshire: Dangermouse.  

"He's amazing, he's fantastic, wherever there is danger he is there, Dangermouse..."  

My kids think it's mad that I liked something as hatstand as a superhero mouse who lives in a London postbox, but I did, I was crazy about it, but back then the show was on only once a week and at a set time during the day, and if I missed it, I missed it. There was no such thing as catch up TV, or streaming.

I was so mad about this show that I even made a lifesize Penfold out of papier mache for a school art project! Probably ended up in a bin somewhere!

Now, for my next retro mission, I want to introduce the kids to Bananaman...

"This is 29 Acacia Road. And this is Eric - the schoolboy who leads an exciting double life. For when Eric eats a banana, an amazing transformation occurs...

Eric...is...BANANAMAN, ever alert for the call to action!"

I just wonder what TV shows my kids will be remembering fondly and showing to their kids in 30 years time.

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** I am part of Netflix’s Stream Team and I’m enjoying every minute of it **

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Channelling the Pollyanna Principle

I learnt a new word recently: Pollyanna, a term given to a person who maintains an unbreakable positive outlook on life.

The Pollyanna principle is when you tend to remember pleasant items more potently than unpleasant ones, and sustain this bias towards being optimistic, no matter what gets in your way. 

I used to be like this, before my anxiety levels were increased by having three high-energy, death-defying kids, working really hard and having zero time for myself. It’s amazing how extended periods of hard work, selflessness and stress can eek away at your positive energy lifeforce and drag your vibrational energy down.

I read recently that studies have shown that negative influences can often outweigh the positive 4 to 1, which means that if you allow the negative to cloud your judgement then you need four positives to pick you up. When we are under stress, we don't handle the negative very well so it can eat away inside us, so that's why thinking positive thoughts and not dwelling on the bad can be the best tonic for anxiety.

Thankfully, now that my youngest is nearly four, I’m starting to really enjoy them and not give out so much, I'm getting some breathing space, and I'm regaining that lost sense of joy inside myself. So long Mrs Serious, hello good-time funny mummy. 

Thankfully, I don't have to deal with a tantrum a minute anymore; I don’t have to scream at (2 out of 3 of) them to stop running in front of cars; and I don’t have to carry them and all their stuff around anymore. In fact, every day they’re surprising me by how helpful, polite and capable they can be when they try. Yes, I’m actually starting to have moments of pure joy with them, which is helping to soothe the overwhelmed feeling I've had since I found myself with 3 under 3 a few years back.  

I’m starting to think more positively again now. I’m taking a herbal pill to give me more energy and help with my anxiety (Ashwaganda), doing a spot of mindfulness, and I’m finding the scary thoughts about something bad happening to my kids are lessening (do they ever go away?). 

And I’ve found a new role model for my new happy-go-lucky ambition in life: the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Now, normally I would hate cheesy American satirical comedies like this, but for some reason, the enthusiasm Kimmy has for life is infectious. She lived in a cult for 15 years, imprisoned underground by a religious nutter who told her the world had ended, but now she has rejoined life in New York City and despite everything, always sees the good in people. 

"Life beats you up you can either crawl up into a ball and die, or you can stand up and say you can't break us.”

 

Kimmy Schmidt: New Folk hero of our times

Last year I was all about trying to be more assertive like Claire Underwood. This year, I find her too cold and unfeeling, and I’m drawn instead to the effervescent Kimmy, who doesn’t overthink things, finds positive solutions to everything and refuses to be broken.

She’s my new folk hero!

“Be you, be what you want to be. And then become unbreakable.”

Oh and I love the theme tune, it's so damn catchy! You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WYNbp0u8WjA

Who is your current role model? Do you have one?

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Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is an original Netflix series. I am part of Netflix’s Stream Team Ireland.

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Netflix Ultimate Christmas Survival Guide

Happy Christmas! You’ve probably already wrapped all your presents and stocked up the cupboards with a trolley load from the supermarket. But have you planned your family viewing, so you can slob out to a good movie/TV show after stuffing yourself? Netflix has put together a Christmas survival guide to help the festive season run as smoothly as possible. So, whether you grab a few minutes for a time out and an episode of Orange Is the New Black via the iPad in the kitchen or you get lucky enough to marathon a few episodes of Marco Polo, make sure you make some time for you. Hope you have a great Christmas & New Year! THE ULTIMATE SURVIVAL GUIDE St Stephen's Day – New to Netflix The excitement of Christmas can only last so long, and once you’ve managed to get the relatives out of the door to reclaim your personal space, why not beat the St Stephen's Day blues with some ‘me’ time – you deserve it!  Kids After the kids have finished ripping open all of their Christmas presents and promptly got bored of their gifts, try some of this great content to keep them happy for a little longer Teenagers No matter how many times you ask, you will receive the same blank expression when you request for some help peeling the potatoes. So while they sit glued to their tablets instead of in the kitchen, why don't they watch one of these Mum and Dad Christmas Day has come to an end, the kids are asleep but you’ve been caught up in the rush and haven't had a minute to relax. Thankfully Netflix has lots of comedy specials so you can finish the day with a smile  Family After the post turkey lull and the tears from the annual family game of Monopoly have dried up, there’s nothing better than settling down to watch a great story together, with some of our favourites below   20 Feet From Stardom available on 26th December   **************************************************   ** I am part of Netflix’s Stream Team and I’m enjoying every minute of it **

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Netflix Instant Streaming Tonic for Kids

It’s no secret that Netflix changed our lives by giving us something to always to watch on TV.

When you have impatient kids who are melting down through exhaustion and need an instant distraction, sometimes I find a new movie or new programme is just the tonic to switch their energy.

 

In an instant Netflix means I can switch on their favourite TV show or movie and hey presto, peace is restored to our house.

The only problem I have with Netflix is the limited way in which programmes and movies are displayed. They’re bunched altogether, which is a pain, and a lot of the ‘what’s new’ is actually old content. I’d prefer a top 10 of ‘what’s new’ and ‘highly recommended’ kids shows and a separate list of movies by age and category (eg animations, real actors, Pixar, Dreamworks etc) and target audience, eg girls and boys.

Basically it’s really hard to see exactly what the best movies on offer are, so I figured I would put together a list of my family’s favouries as a starting point for newcomers to Netflix.

 

Jago's favourite: Ninjago

 

Favourite movies for all of them (aged 3, 5 & 6):

• Cars 2
• Toy Story 3
• The Muppets
• Tangled
• A Bugs Life

Movies and TV shows:

6 year old boy’s favourite: 

• Lego Ninjago
• Lego Chima
• Kicking and Screaming (American non-animation film about football)

5 year old girl:

• Barbie Dreamhouse
• Tinkerbell
• Mermaids (non-animation Australian show)
• Tangled

3 year old boy:

• Thomas tank engine episodes and movies
• Lego Ninjago
• Cars 2
• Toy Story 3 

What are your Kids’ faves?

 

 

** I am part of Netflix’s Stream Team and I’m enjoying every minute of it **

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Breaking the bad habit of Breaking Bad

It was a terrible addition. 
 

I had no social life for an eternity.

I never wanted to go out. I had to get my fix every evening. Not just one episode, it had to be two, sometimes three, once four!

Binge TV at its finest. It wouldn’t be so bad if I had loads of time on my hands and I could lie-in every morning, but I can’t, I have small kids, and a job and a life (or so I thought I had until I started watching Breaking Bad).

Five whole series to get through! With anything up to 16 episodes per series. 

That’s a whole of telly to feed an addiction. 

The main characters are normal people who end up cooking crystal meth to survive. They end up turning into killers and bad people, but you can’t help still liking them, can’t help hoping that they live to change their ways. 

The brilliant Breaking Bad grips a hold of you like the addictions that are being fed by the meth in the series. Watching it every night means that you start channelling some of the characters behaviour and expressions. Check out Glennon Melton’s hilarious new blog post about accidentally channelling Jesse to her kids.

It took 6 months before we finally cured our addiction (my hubby and I, who was my partner in crime/watching) – by getting to the end and breathing a sigh of relief. Finished, finally! The final episode finished and we entered cold turkey - it was the only way out for me and Walt (he's the main character if you've never seen it).

And now I’m free… but only free as far as finding another series to binge watch. 

After the heavy shock horror stuff of Breaking Bad, I'm currently enjoying the fun light-hearted humour of Modern Family. Need to get a few laughs in there somewhere...

What do you binge watch on Netflix?

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Disclaimer: I am of the Netflix Stream Team so I'm trying trying to bring you news and updates every now and again, and sharing bits and pieces with you that I find of interest.

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