Making a Family Play List

How to make a family play list that rocks

We love to have fun at our house, and one thing that everyone in our household loves to do is dance! From the toddlers to the tweens to the adults…we love to get our groove on! However, while dancing is universally liked by our family members, we are not always in agreement about the music. To that end, I came up with some strategies to get us on the same page. Perhaps you can use these same strategies when making your family play list.

Tip #1 for creating a great family play list – Watch a movie together

Whenever we watch a movie together and it entertains everyone, there are usually some great songs on the soundtrack. The Trolls movies are the perfect example of this for our family. The songs are generally upbeat and catchy, and the singers have phenomenal voices. Three other movies that have provided fun songs for our family play list are Sing, Despicable Me and Vivo. These are some of our favorite songs from those movies:

• “Can’t Stop the Feeling” Justin Timberlake
• “Hair Up” Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake, Ron Funches
• “September” Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake
• “The Other Side” Justin Timberlake, SZA
• “Don’t Slack” Anderson .Paak, Justin Timberlake
• “It’s All Love” Anderson .Paak, George Clinton, Mary J. Blige

• “Bamboleo” Gypsy Kings
• “Shake It Off” Reese Witherspoon, Nick Kroll (Note: We generally default to the original version by Taylor Swift.)
• “Set It All Free” Scarlett Johansson

• “My Life” Robin Thicke
• “You Should Be Dancing” Bee Gees
• “Happy” Pharrell Williams

• “My Own Drum” Ynairaly Simo

Tip #2 to curate a list that gets you moving – Go Old School

I know that most of us never thought we would be using the following phrase with our children…”I don’t know what is going on with music these days. Back in my day…” Yet, here we are. Own it. But I have found that when I introduce my kids to truly good music from my generation, they tend to love it.

Now, one thing that I recommend is that you listen to the songs again before you play them in the presence of your children. When I became a parent, I realized just how inappropriate many of the songs were that I was able to enjoy as a child/tween/teen. And honestly, there are a few that I allow into our dance mix which have questionable content that goes completely over the heads of my children. But the beats are too good to resist. Most likely, when my kids get hip to the concepts and start asking questions, I will discuss the topics with them and possibly delete some of these songs. But for now, here are a few from my era that never fail to get my kiddos off the couch. **Disclaimer: I am in no way endorsing these songs for consumption by younger children. Parents, please listen to the words ahead of time and use your own judgment. This applies to all of the songs on my family play list.

• “Remember The Time” Michael Jackson
• “Everybody Dance Now” C+C Music Factory
• “It Takes Two” Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock**
• “Bust a Move” Young MC**
• “This Is How We Do It” Montell Jordan**
• “Heartbreaker” Mariah Carey
• “Poison” Bell Biv Devoe (Edited Version)**

Tip #3 to get everyone ready to dance – Go New School

There is a lot to be said for how kids feel about the music of their own generations. My household includes toddlers, a kindergartener and tweens. The songs that they tend to agree on generally come from movies that they all like, as referenced earlier. However, sometimes they listen to current songs that just hit them all the right way. You know the ones I’m talking about. No matter what our age, when we hear them, the groove thangs just get to shaking!! :o) Do an internet search for current Top 40 or Top 100 hit songs. You can also search for the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The current songs on our play list are not so new now, but they definitely belong to the current generations.

• “Uptown Funk” Mark Ronson, Bruno Mars (Clean Version)
• “Single Ladies” Beyonce (or The Chippettes)
• “Problem” Ariana Grande
• “Taste of You” Allen Stone
• “BAMM” Kylee Russell, Meg Donnelly, Milo Manheim
• “24K Magic” Bruno Mars (Clean Version)

How will you make a play list that’s pleasing to the whole family?

Family dance parties are one way to make some lasting memories while spending time at home with your family. If you need other ideas for having fun with kids at home, check out this post I wrote when we were all still neck-deep in quarantine: https://chucksducksandcoconuts.com/2020/04/28/fun-activities-when-stuck-at-home-with-kids/

Music can bring your family together in many ways. Science has proven that dancing together to music is an outlet that, when shared, releases so many feel-good hormones and helps us to bond and connect with each other. Take some time to curate a family play list that will bring your crew to the dance floor. Whether you get inspired by the movies you like, pull from musical memories of yesteryear, or know all of the latest Tik Tok favorites, you will be so glad that you created the soundtrack that turns your home into a family house party!