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Over the summer my husband took our girls to the movies to see the highly praised film, Inside Out, while I stayed at home to take advantage of a quiet Saturday afternoon and get some work done.

Not going to that movie turned out to be one of my big regrets of the summer, because my girls AND my husband, Tim, simply could not stop talking about how wonderful it was. Over the next few months Tim would draw on situations that happened in the movie when coaching the girls through emotional struggles. I was so thrilled to see what a great learning tool a movie could actually be. And I was definitely jealous that I couldn’t make use of it since I hadn’t seen it.

So I marked my calendar for the Inside Out DVD release date, which was November 3rd, and high-tailed it to Walmart that day so that we could watch the movie as a family, and also so that we could create our own Feelings Headquarters at home. If you didn’t realize that the DVD is out and you need to go high-tail it to your Walmart, no worries. I’ll wait for you! 😉

Headquarters is a really important part of the story, as that is where the feelings live, and where they take turns getting to play center stage. I thought it would be great to create our own little space in Layah’s room where the girls could hang out with the various emotions and also where we could talk about how we are feeling. Joy and Sadness have been with us since this summer, and when we went to Walmart a few days ago, we scooped up Fear and Anger as well (they were sold out of Disgust, so now she’s on our Christmas wish list!).

And of course, I snagged the DVD I’ve been waiting for months to see. I noticed that Walmart has 3 different DVD options (standard, Blu-Ray, and Blu-Ray 3D). You might even notice that Inside Out has its own cute display area!

While we were at the store, my girls tried to convince me to buy Bing Bong, as well, but since I hadn’t yet seen the movie, I had no clue what his importance was in the film, and so I refused. My girls, being clever little things, fashioned their own Bing Bong, complete with a sack full of “core memories!”

Now that mommy has seen the movie (and cried profusely during a certain scene starring Bing Bong) he’s been put on the wish list right next to Disgust.

If you haven’t seen the movie, friends, I am going to have to insist that you do. I don’t mean to be pushy, but this is honestly one of the best family movies I’ve seen in years. The story is truly engaging to people of all ages (I get bored VERY easily at movies and I didn’t budge from my couch throughout the entire thing). The opportunities for discussion are plentiful. And of course, the characters are just plain fun.

And it’s so easy to keep the feelings talk going by carving out a little headquarters in your child’s room. We used a simple chalkboard sign and some chalk markers, along with the licensed TOMY Toys that we have and some improvised products to round things out.

Just this morning my oldest was playing in this corner of the room and said, “Mom! Come and see how I’m feeling this morning!” and I found her holding both Joy and Sadness. She was happy to be going to school, but a little sad because she realized that she didn’t eat enough breakfast. We remedied that situation before she headed out the door, of course. But that was just such a cool moment, seeing my girl literally embracing her emotions, and recognizing that her feelings can be complex.

Have you seen Inside Out? I’d love to hear what you thought about it! And if you are looking for an awesome gift to give to a family with kids this holiday season, I think you’ll have a winner on your hands if you pick up Inside Out and some TOMY Toys from your nearest Walmart.