Keep Your Romance Sparked With A Movie Date Night

Do you remember the moment you met the love of your life?  For me an attractive blonde caught my eye standing outside a restaurant where I was headed to meet some friends for dinner as I drove past heading to the public parking lot on the block.  I swear our eyes locked and she gave me a smile.  When I arrived at the restaurant there she was at our table as one of our mutual friends had also invited her to join the group for the evening.  She smiled at me and said "didn't I just see you outside as I was coming in here?"  We dated for two years and this year will be our 11th wedding anniversary.

With busy professional lives and the parenting responsibilities for 6 year old twins it can be hard to make time for one another.  With the cost of babysitters, not much family close by to conveniently watch the kids, and young children that suffer from life threatening food allergies which can make others watching them tricky to put it simply getting away for a date night can be just plain tough. Sometimes though you just need to take a drive to dump the kids off with grandma and grandpa for awhile or put them to bed early to have a date night that may be as simple as watching a movie at home together to keep the stresses of life from tearing your relationship apart and to enjoy being with your special someone.  So while we love having Family Movie Nights it is also important to make time for some Couple Movie Date Nights as well to help keep the spark alive.

Since our Family Movie Nights with our kids are dominated by animated movies and when we go to the theater my wife normally lets me pick out an action or sci-fi flick for us to see when it comes to picking the dvd or digital download we're going to see for our in-home Date Nights I leave that selection to my lovely bride.  She likes the work of Nicholas Sparks and so we've had quite a few Date Night watching movies like A Walk To Remember, The Notebook, The Best of Me, and Safe Haven.  I'm sure there will be a Date Night for us coming up soon because a new Nicholas Sparks movie The Longest Ride will be available soon to bring home with the digital download available to purchase on June 26, 2015 and the Blu-ray/DVD being released on July 14th.

Thanks to our friends at Fox Home Entertainment, one lucky A GEEK DADDY blog reader will win a free DVD/Digital HD Download of The Longest Ride so he or she can enjoy an in-home date night with a spouse or significant other. Must be a U.S. or Canadian resident over 18 years old and submit one or all of the following entry methods to earn up to 3 entries prior to 11:59 pm EST on Friday July 17, 2015:

UPDATE: Congrats to Terry from Missoula Montana who won The Longest Ride on Blu-ray!

E-mail thegeekdaddy [at] yahoo [dot] com your name and mailing address with the story of the moment you first met your spouse or significant other. Email subject line should be DATE NIGHT SPARKS. (1 ENTRY)

Visit our Facebook page and on the contest post leave a comment telling us about the moment you first your spouse or significant other (2 ENTRIES)

 **By submitting your story you grant permission for it to be published on this blog or via A Geek Daddy's social media accounts as part of the #InsidersLongestRide promotional campaign** 

All valid entries will be assigned a number in the order they are received and one number will be  selected to determine the winner using random.org.  E-mails will only be used to contact the winner and deleted following the selection of a winner.

Based on the bestselling novel by master storyteller Nicholas Sparks, The Longest Ride centers on the star-crossed love affair between Luke, a former champion bull rider looking to make a comeback, and Sophia, a college student who is about to embark upon her dream job in New York City's art world.  As conflicting paths and ideals test their relationship, Sophia and Luke make an unexpected connection with Ira, whose memories of his own decades-long romance with his beloved wife deeply inspire the young couple.  Spanning generations and two intertwining love stories, The Longest Ride explores the challenges and infinite rewards of enduring love.

DISCLAIMER:  A Geek Daddy Blog will be responsible for selecting the winner of this contest, but Fox Home Entertainment is responsible for fulfillment and delivery of the prize.  By participating in this contest you waive any liability towards A Geek Daddy Blog or its publisher that may arise from your involvement with this promotion.  If you win this prize on another blog, you will not be eligible to win again.  Winner is subject to eligibility verification. Prize will be delivered by UPS or FedEx so no P.O. Boxes are allowed as mailing addresses. A Geek Daddy Blog did not receive any financial compensation but did receive a review DVD for the blog and the prize that is being awarded to one of our readers for this contest.  A Geek Daddy Blog is hosting this contest as a benefit to our readers. Any opinions in this post are my own.  #InsidersLongestRide

Xfinity Kids Sale Kicks Off Summer Movie & TV Viewing

 

Wow! Summer is going to be here before you know it and kids across the country are soon going to begin the annual extended break from school.  While hopefully a lot of that time will be spent having fun and playing outdoors, there will be those incredibly hot days, rained out times, and moments when mom and dad might just be tuckered out and want the kids to give them a little peace and quiet where a nice kids friendly movie would really come in handy.  Just in time for Memorial Day Weekend Comcast Xfinity subscribers can take advantage of a special sale on digital downloads featuring some great kid friendly selections that families can enjoy over the summer break.

From May 19-25, Comcast customers can browse the virtual aisles of the Xfinity Digital Store and stock up on a collection of the best and newest kids’ releases at discounted sale prices.  Headlining this sale will be a special SpongeBob Squarepants promotion.  Beginning Tuesday, May 19th, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, will be available to own through Xfinity On Demand two weeks before it is released on blu-ray & dvd plus during this Summer Kids Sale both this film and the original Spongebob Squarepants Movie can be purchased as a high definition HD digital download combo for the price of one at $19.99.

Additionally, the sale will feature a great collection of kids' titles including the new Annie movie, The Boxtrolls, Earth to Echo, the two Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs movies, and Lego DC Super Heroes that Xfinity customers can purchase for just $4.99 HD.  With Monster High Haunted, Barbie Princess Power, and Thomas the Train Dinos & Discoveries there is something to entertain almost every kid available to pick from in this $4.99 virtual bargain bin.  With Annie (2014) normally priced at $19.99 and Barbie Princess Power, Boxtrolls, Earth to Echo and Thomas the Train Dinos & Discoveries normally priced at $15.99 for example, this summer sale is definitely a great opportunity to build up your family's home video library.

Purchases made during the Kids Summer Sale can be viewed on your television at home and are also accessible to be downloaded or streamed to your personal computer, lap top, tablet, or smart phone.  So it's as easy as clicking the flick you want your kids to watch when accessing your purchase through #Xfinity.  Whether its being rained out on a camping trip and pulling out your tablet to watch your movie in the tent or enjoying a show from the air conditioned comfort of your living room on a one hundred degree day, your selections will be conveniently available to you on the go or at your home.

The one caveat to these purchases is that if you discontinue your Xfinity subscription you'll lose access to watching them via your television though you would still be able to watch them on your PC through the Xfinity TV Go website or on mobile devices through the Xfinity On Demand Purchases app.  Just something to keep in mind when making your purchasing decision.  If you are an Xfinity customer who will have young kids at home over the summer, this is an opportunity I wouldn't pass up as these are some quality selections at bargain prices.

Xfinity customers who have children watching television should also check out the Kids Zone. When in Kids Zone, children can browse all on their own, selecting live programming, free Xfinity On Demand content, movies and TV shows purchased through the Xfinity Digital Store, as well as any saved programming on your Comcast DVR — all of which has either been flagged by the network or studio as kids programming, or deemed age-appropriate for kids 12 and under by the great folks at Common Sense Media.  Additionally, while in Kids Zone, children can quickly find recently-watched programming, browse by their favorite network and even sort by their favorite theme such as "superheroes," "princesses" or "talking animals."

What is specifically nice about Kids Zone is that parents can lock the television down so that children can't leave this mode and flip through the rest of the Xfinity channel and OnDemand offerings without a parental control pin code being entered.  No more worrying about some unauthorized movie rentals or purchases showing up on your bill or your kids being too scared to go to bed because they caught a glimpse of The Walking Dead while flipping through the channels.  Parents can also filter the programming within Kids Zone to specific age ranges.  So if you don't want your child 4 year old watching episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Monsters High just yet you can just allow then to view just programming that has been tagged preschool appropriate.  Parents can set programming to specifically cater to the following age groups:  2-4, 5-7, 8-9 and 10-12 years old.  With my having 6 year old twins that 5-7 year old category fits in really nicely for our family.

**Disclaimer**  I have been provided a complimentary subscription to the Xfinity TV Go app and access to the Comcast cable programming lineup as part of the Xfinity blogger reviewer program.   Opinions expressed are my own. #Xfinityreviewer