How to Create a Magical Backyard Movie Night

If there’s one thing that brings our family closer, it’s watching a great movie together. We love the ritual of picking a movie, gathering all the snacks, finding a comfy spot with a warm blanket, and enjoying the show.

Over the last year, we’ve watched a lot of movies. But nothing compares to watching a movie outdoors under the stars!

During quarantine, its been so hard for the kids (heck, all of us!) to be apart from family and friends. So we’ve included a few fun ways to incorporate social distancing to still have a movie night with friends.

Pick a movie

When picking which movie to watch, it’s fun to give everyone a vote. Pick a general genre so everyone knows what kind of movie you want to watch (i.e. scary movie, a comedy, a fantasy movie, an 80’s movie, a Disney movie, a classic movie, etc.)

Then have everyone think of a favorite movie in that genre, and write it down on a piece of paper. Fold the papers and put them into a bowl, and select one at random. If you get some disappointed faces, you may want to show a double feature and select another movie to show next.

Snacks

Every movie night needs snacks. A fun way to prepare is to ask everyone for their favorite sweet and savory snacks. Then head to CVS and get some of everyone’s favorites. This makes the experience feel extra personal.

If you have a larger crowd, you can’t go wrong with all the fixings you see at the movies:

• Popcorn with flavored salt toppings. You can make your own popcorn in the microwave, buy packaged popcorn, or rent a popcorn machine from a local rental company.
• Nachos(cheese in the crockpot is the easiest way to keep them warm)
• Hot dogs (put out all the fixings like onions, relish, catsup, and mustard)
• Candy, like red vines, sour patch kids, M&Ms, Reese’s Pieces, and more
• Buy or make individual charcuterie boxes with healthy snacks like fruit, cheeses, nuts, salami, and crackers. Mini boxes from Wine & Cheese please LA are great for movie night.
• Soda, water, Lacroix, and a few other drink options are great. If you’ll have adults in attendance, some wine in a can, beer, or other individually packaged drinks is a fun add-in.
• Ice cream bonbons (stick these in the freezer and bring them out toward the end of the movie)
• If it’s a special occasion like a birthday, make sure you have a wonderful cake or cupcakes, like you can find on Festively

Get Comfy

Ask everyone to come wearing their most comfy attire. Encourage pajamas, fuzzy slippers, teddy bears, and special blankets to make sure everyone feels super cozy and relaxed.

Layout

Think about the space you have and how much room you have to spread out. You want the seating to be comfortable and fun, and make sure everyone has a warm blanket and a pillow. Here are a few layout options:

• Bring your couch outside and get cozy together.
• Put blankets on the floor and add lots of pillows so everyone can lay down and get comfy. Just make sure you put down some type of waterproof barrier since the grass can get wet.
• Set up inflatable mattresses outdoors
• Put out individual lawn chairs or spread out your patio furniture so everyone has their own place to get comfy.
• If you have twinkle lights, add some of those around your space to give it a magical feeling.
• Quarantine friendly idea – Create 6’ squares on the ground with either Christmas lights, small cones, or low caution tape so friends can be together but keep their distance.
• If this is a special birthday, you can buy balloons commemorating the big occasion. Go big and have a balloon stylist come over like Majestic Party rentals to create a beautiful install for the guest of honor. This will make the evening extra special.

Movie Screen

Depending on what supplies you have and if you want to spend a little money, there are a few ways you can go here: simple DIY, mega DIY, and pro. Here’s a breakdown of how to do each.

Simple DIY – You can have a great movie night outside simply by using items you already have. Most likely you have a TV that has a stand. You can put out a low table, put your TV on a stand, plug it in, and use that as your movie screen.

Mega DIY – you can buy or rent a projector and screen so that you can watch the movie with a much bigger view. You can rent these items from a local rental company. You can also project a movie onto the garage door or the side of the house.

Go Pro – you can hire a company to bring in the projector, screen, seating, and all the fixings! One company that does this is Wondertent parties. Their team will do all the setup and make sure you have a great overall experience.

Extras

Gather these things to complete the experience:

• If your TV isn’t loud enough, you may want to consider adding extra speakers to boost the sound.
• Extra extension cords to plug in your TV, projector, and any other devices
• An HDMI cable – you may need this to connect a computer to a TV if your TV doesn’t have the apps for the movie you want to see.
• A networking cable – if your internet isn’t as good outside, you’ll have a much better experience if you connect a networking cable to your TV for a smooth stream.
• A flashlight – you want to be in a dark area to really see the movie. This means you may need a flashlight just in case something falls on the floor or you need extra light to look for something.
• Kid-friendly mosquitos repellent and citronella candles

Conclusion

An outdoor movie night can be so much fun! You can rent or buy the accessories you need and create a magical experience for you and your family, or partner with a great vendor to set up all the magic for you. Kids and friends will always remember watching movies together under the stars.