Couch Potato Report: How to Create a Free Movie Night

Home alone is a great title for a movie but the concept can be a challenge when you're doing it on a Saturday night. Due to fatigue and illness, my 13-year-old son and I were housebound during a recent weekend. But we created a frugal movie night with several stay-at-home options. Here's a rundown:

Oscar preview: I spent quality time with Brad Pitt, Robert Downey Jr., Mickey Rourke, Anne Hathaway and other high-profile stars thanks to a free video package offered by Newsweek.com. The online version of the magazine offers the 2009 Oscar Roundtable video series. This multipart series features engaging conversation with various actors, who provide insights about their craft and the cinema business.

AOL video: From A to Z, AOL offers a free catalog of classic and recent television hits. My son and I checked out an episode from the original Addams Family sitcom, featuring Carolyn Jones and John Astin. We also found a few documentaries from MTV, with programs from other broadcasters.

Major networks: From news to reality television hits, most networks and cable stations post free episodes online. The schedule includes daytime dramas, evening news shows and popular sitcoms.

Podcasts: Armed with his iPod gadget, my son gave me an online tour of the video programs that are available from Apple's iTunes. New releases can be rented and downloaded for $3.99 and older titles are $2.99

Home movies: With a cellphone, digital camera or standard video camera, you can direct a movie. It's a creative option that enables you to write, direct and star on small screen productions.

Personal collections: An inventory of our home video collection uncovered titles we had overlooked. From our own stock, we created a movie marathon that featured Guess Who, The Pink Panther and Whale Rider.
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Here's how to buy my book:

@ Amazon.com
@ Barnes & Noble
@ Borders
@ Target.com

How to Get Free Books, Music, Movies & Games: Swaptree

It's possible to find free books, CDs, DVDs and video games without leaving your home, according to Adrienne Sylver, a Miami-based book lover and freelance writer. Through Swaptree, (www.swaptree.com), Sylver has completed about 35 trades for books, video games and other merchandise.

''Where else can you find books, DVDs and CDs and no late fees?'' Sylver said, adding that she's been happy with the quality and speed of the service.

Registration and swaps are free, but consumers are responsible for shipping charges, which is typically about $2.20 for most DVDs and CDS, and about $2.50 for the average book, based on media mail rates through the U.S. Postal Service.

To navigate through the site, consumers register two lists. Sylver maintains a wish list of titles she would like to acquire and a second list of merchandise that she would like to get rid of.
''Most people have a pile of books that they want to trade,'' she said.

Based on your give-away list, Swaptree provides a list of available swaps. To make a trade, select the ''get now'' link on the list of possible trades. That link provides information about the condition of the item and the trader's history, including feedback about past transactions. Books can be traded for games, movies or other books. In addition to her own wish list, Sylver hunts for video games and books suggested by her 12-year-old daughter.

All parties involved in a trade --including complex three-way trades -- receive e-mail alerts with a suggested timeframe for completing the deal. If the deal is accepted, shipping information is exchanged.

You don't have to leave your home to ship out the merchandise. Using a credit card, you can download and print shipping labels and postage. Or of course, you can stand in line at the post office.