NETFLIX Now Says Happy Birthday

We signed up to Netflix (initially just for a trial - a successful one at that) at New Year during the Christmas vacation. Yes only this year 2017. I know where have we been!?!?! All of the #NetflixAndChill that we have sorely missed out on.

We've had a Smart TV since 2012 but when we moved house I didn't keep the bag of cables to make it go online in a safe place but that all changed at New Year as I bought the hubby a DVD player as a late Christmas present and it just so happened it was WiFi enabled. Somehow through it we could watch YouTube on the big TV and Netflix. This was life changing for us all and has lead to many happy hours on the sofa. Aaron no longer grabs my phone to watch YouTube, so I can play work on Instagram as long as I like whilst he catches up with his favourite YouTubers on the telly. It also means I get to really appreciate Stef's editing over at the Michalaks as it really does their videos justice. Having Netflix has meant we've even been able to have a smaller cheaper TV package as Aaron's more often than not on Netflix or Youtube now rather than traditional telly although he does adore Cartoon Network due to The Amazing World of Gumball. As for Lottie, she's now watching whatever we put on for her as she doesn't know any different although I did discover yesterday that Paw Patrol gets me some Mamma Me Time as she sat transfixed by 2 whole episodes.

I am online right now blogging 

to tell you about a new feature: 

drop the party poppers and cancel the princess, 

Netflix has an easier way to 

make kids’ birthday dreams 

come true, 

courtesy of Barbie, King Julien, My Little Pony and More.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that Britain’s most popular birthday over the last 20 years falls on 26th September, that's today, with eight of the top 10 birth dates being towards the end of September. After investigating the celebrations, Netflix reveals that two thirds (64%) of children’s parties are themed after their favourite TV shows or movies. In order to add that extra magic to the festivities Netflix is releasing 15 Birthdays On-Demand, where characters, from:

• DreamWorks All Hail King Julien
• Beat Bugs 
• DreamWorks Dinotrux 
• Las Leyendas
• LEGO Friends
• LEGO Ninjago
• Luna Petuni
• Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir
• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
• Pokémon 
• Project Mc²
• Skylanders Academy 
• DreamWorks Trollhunters 
• Word Party
• Barbie 

join the birthday celebrations to make kids' birthdays unforgettable!

Here's a video to show the new Netflix Birthday Feature.

Kids may be the ones wearing the crown on their birthdays, but Netflix knows that it’s parents who are the real heroes on the big day. We know that parents often pull their hair out trying to think of new, innovative ways to beat last year’s party, in fact 70% of parents recently admitted to finding their kids’ birthday parties stressful... 

Well, Happy Birthday to you, mum and dad.

With this new feature, you Mums and Dads can simply press play anytime and anywhere, and your little one's favourite characters will sing them a special birthday greeting - made just for them (or so they’ll think). Launching in the world’s most common birth month of September.

Simply search “birthday” on Netflix to unlock 

a special performance from 

kids’ favourite characters, 

including DreamWorks All Hail King Julien, 

Barbie, Beat Bugs, DreamWorks

Dinotrux, Las Leyendas, LEGO Friends, 

LEGO Ninjago, Luna Petunia, 

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug* 

and Cat Noir, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, Pokemon, Project Mc 2 , Skylanders Academy, DreamWorks Trollhunters and Word Party.

The best Netflix hacks that every parent needs to know:

1. Get to Know the Kids Profile: The Netflix kids profile gives parents peace of mind that their child is watching age appropriate content. Added bonus? The background of the kids’ Netflix profile is white vs. the typical black - this way parents can easily spot their kids straying from one profile to another.

2. Be the TV Boss: We know that when mum and dad aren’t in the room, kids may try to bend the rules for more TV time. By disabling auto-play, parents can make sure their kids don’t sneak in that extra episode without asking.

3. Creating Family Time: Parents can create a “Family Night” profile to discover content that everyone can agree on. Create a rotating schedule of which family member is choosing the movie or TV show that night and start a new and fun family tradition.

4. The Secret to Kids’ Birthdays: With 15 new Birthdays On-Demand, parents can take the celebrations to the next level by simply pressing play and having their kids’ favorite characters sing a special birthday greeting just for them - no cake baking all-nighter required.

5. Master of Thumbs: Did your kid watch All Hail King Julien on your profile and now it’s

flooded with kids content? On Netflix, removing those shows from your recommendations is as easy as pressing the thumbs down button.

My favourite things to do with Netflix are twofold. One, I love watching a soppy movie by myself when nobody else is around (I've enjoyed A Family Man, Me Before You and another that was amazing but the name escapes me right now). Two, I love watching a family movie, all 4 of us on the sofa (most recents being "Are We There Yet?" and "Baby's Day Out") and it's great as you can watch a movie as and when, which is novel for us as we've never ever had Sky Movies so we normally relied on DVDs and a movie being on the telly (at a time you can't control). But actually I have a third one which is that I love binge watching a series (think Prison Break - yes I was years late to the party). I viewed all of these episodes within a silly amount of days, like 48 episodes in 4 days or something like that. VERY soon after getting Netflix Aaron discovered a show called Little Lunch and watched Season 1 real fast and has watched every episode lots of times. I can't wait for season 2 to come to Netflix as it will make his day.

If you don't have Netflix why not?