One of my summer goals was to watch musicals with my children. I LOVE musicals and I want to pass on that love to my children. Luckily for me my children love music. For years I have been listening to musicals while I cook, clean, craft, or whatever else I do. We even play a games when we are listening to my Spotify playlist, Musicals, and the kids have to guess what musical it comes from. A little tricky as they haven’t seen most of them. And there’s the problem that Julie Andrews sings in so many of them. (Although it confuses my kids I really have no problem with that) We can even play this game when our friend Percy is around because his family really likes musicals too. He’s pretty good at it too. Having my children love the music before watching the movie really helps my kids get excited while watching the film.
I have gotten a couple of my kids to watch a couple of musicals, but they aren’t always itching to watch new ones. That’s when I had this idea. Food. It really makes everything better. And not just any food, coordinating food. Watching the Sound of Music would be lovely, but add some yummy themed treats and you got yourselves a night to remember. So begins our series of Musicals and Food, or Musical Mania. And I knew what musical to start with: The Sound of Music. Surprisingly I didn’t watch this movie till I was an adult. And I couldn’t believe it. {SPOILER} Nazi’s were in it. That makes two musicals I have seen with Nazi’s in it. This classic movie was perfect for our first choice. They already loved the music. It has a great feel good story. A wonderful message. And the food options are truly tasty!!!
I found this recipe for Chicken Schnitzel at What’s Gaby Cooking. Really yummy! My first time making Schnitzel. Next time I am going to butterfly the chicken breast and then beat them crazy thin. We served it with noodles and topped it with butter, lemon juice, and green onions. (Fresh out of chives) Gandalf gave it five stars. Draco a thumbs up. Everyone loved this meal. Gandalf says it’s in his top 5 favorite dinners.
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Read more: Maria – My Favorite Things Lyrics | MetroLyrics
Gandalf asked if we were going to have “crisp apple strudels” as well. Although that would be really tasty we went with a different route. During Intermission we made Palatschinken or Austrian Crepes. My boys are already a big fan of our traditional crepes. They were pretty similar. We loved them! We were all out of whipped cream so we had to make some from scratch. I wish I would have recorded my oldest son’s face when he realized we didn’t have any so we would make some fresh whipped cream. The crepes were probably the highlight of the night for Draco.
After the movie it was the perfect time to talk about what we learned. We asked questions like, “Who was your favorite character and why?”. It was awesome to get insight to how each of my children felt and to practice listening when it wasn’t our turn to talk. This movie has a great story about how Maria and Captain VonTrapp change and become better. But it also has a message on the importance of standing up for what is right, even if you stand alone. (It reminded me of this sweet message that our kids love watching) This cheerful and fun movie took place in a very scary time in history. It was wonderful to talk to our children about this hard time and tough subject. Part of what I love about Musical Mania is exposing my children to new music and foods and sometimes new cultures. But even better is helping my children learn about our past and putting themselves in that situation so they can learn to be more compassionate. My girlfriend Edie writes for the city of Newport Beach. I loved what she shares about reading with our children and helping walk in as many other “shoes” as possible. Watching great movies and discussing them afterwards have to have a similar impact. (Although we can all agree, books are always better than the movies) This movie also has a great message about doing our Father’s will. That was what Maria learned while in the Abby. And it’s a great lesson for all of us to learn. After our heart to heart we also watched the music scenes and let each kid pick his favorite song. We even watched about how they have tours in Austria all about The Sound of Music. We put it on our family vacation someday list.
It ended up being a memorable night. And my kids are excited about our new Musical Mania night tradtion. It was so great spending time together. I loved seeing them recognize a song or learn something new about history. Apparently my kids didn’t know about Nazi’s, only their leader. And I loved the great conversations we were able to have because of this time we spent time together. We would love for your family to join us as we watch musicals and create great family memories. Share your favorite Austrian recipe or favorite part of Sound of Music. Kind of makes you want to make your family some clothing our of curtains doesn’t it?
Happy Summer!
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