The Secret to a Perfect Outdoor Movie Night

There’s nothing like watching a film under the stars. Today I’m sharing the secret to a perfect outdoor movie night!

Our 11 year old, Conor, has been begging and pleading to do an outdoor movie night for quite some time. We havn’t gone to the movies for 15 months. We decided to head to the library to take out a movie screen. Scituate Town Library has a Library of Things where you can borrow things like tents, garden gear, cricut, oversized games. We thought it would be so simple. We’d borrow the screen, grab a film, and invite some friends over. Well, it seems like EVERYONE in Scituate had the same idea! There are 25 holds on the movie screen. Conor’s face nearly crumpled into a jumbled mess when the librarian told him that the list was only on the people from LAST August. I told him we’d figure it out, which we did. Here’s how we did our movie night and my simple tips.

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The Secret to a Perfect Outdoor Movie Night

The Set Up

The most important aspect of an outdoor movie night (I think) is the set up. You need to make sure you have a good system from screen to projector to sound. I’m not saying you have to spend tons on this either. We also used some things that we already owned as well, which I’ll break down in detail below.

• The Screen – we opted for this 15 foot screen which inflates and then packs away into a bag for easy storage. We’re so impressed with this screen. It came with lines and stakes to hold it into the ground and it was really easy to set up.
• Projector – we used an old projector we have that I use for furniture. You can see that I used it for my Octopus Dresser. The projector we have is an HDMI 1080p which is the resolution. I found this one on Amazon and it includes a speaker.
• Sound – For sound we just used a speaker we had. We used this one. The sound was great and actually had to turn it down. The speaker is bluetooth so you can connect the computer via bluetooth or use a cable for a DVD Player.
• DVD Player or Computer – To play movie you’ll need either a DVD Player or a computer. We streamed from our computer. You could also use a chromecast into the projector.
• Stand – You’ll need a stand or table to place the projector on. We used an old outdoor patio table.

Test Out Your Set Up Prior to the Movie Night

I feel like this is an obvious one BUT thought I’d mention it. Luke put together the screen at lunchtime and made sure the sound and movie quality was good enough. This way we could troubleshoot any issues before people came over.

Set up was pretty quick. Probably took 15-20 minutes.

Comfortable Seating

We love our all-weather Adirondacks for viewing enjoyment. Our sun loungers from Ikea are also very comfy (the boys pulled them over to watch the movie after they got out of the pool). If you’re having a crowd over you may want to ask your guests to bring their own chairs or blankets to sit on.

Crowd Pleasing Snacks

The movies just wouldn’t be the movies without popcorn. Am I right??? I can never resist that buttery smell and the sound of the popcorn popping. For an easy and healthy hack I love this popcorn, but I often make this for the boys. If you’re English or from the UK, you may want to try this one – it really tastes like the sweet and salty one they have in the theaters there.

The emamel bowls are from the Hearth and Hand line at Target. It looks like they’re doing these orange rimmed ones this year.

We enjoyed our popcorn with Spindrift.

More Snack Ideas

• Assorted candy packs (like at the cinema). You could go to the dollar store and stock up.
• Mix in popcorn and M&Ms.
• Twizzlers
• Popsicles or ice cream
• Homemade brownies
• You could rent a popcorn maker and / or cotton candy machine to make it feel old school.

We were trying to keep our first movie night simple but you can get as fancy or elaborate as you like!

Movie Night Themes with Film Ideas

Since we had two of Conor’s friends over we just did a PG movie. The new Pixar movie, Luca, on Disney+. It’s a really sweet film with a lovely message. When planning a movie night you need to think of your audience and make sure it’s appropriate for your whole audience. This list includes some adult films if you’re planning a night just for grown ups.

• Classic 80s – ET, Indiana Jones, Goonies, Splash, Big, Stand by Me, Big, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Princess Bride, Back to the Future
• Classic 70s – Close Encounters, Grease, Rocky, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Jaws
• Hitchcock Night – The Birds, North by Northwest, Psycho, Vertigo, To Catch a Thief, Rear Window
• Family – Coco, Moana, The Lego Movie, Mary Poppins, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Lorax, Jumaji, Lion King
• Action – James Bond (with Daniel Craig – my favorite bond!), Mission Impossible, Die Hard, Speed
• Musicals – Hamilton, The Greatest Showman, Bohemian Rhapsody, Yesterday, Into the Woods, Mama Mia
• British – Bridget Jones’ Diary, Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Downton Abbey, The Holiday, Love Actually

Who to Invite

Movie nights are so versatile. You can do multigenerational or ones just for teens. Here are some ideas of who to invite:

• Teens / Tweens Only
• Family (mixed ages – parents / grandparent / caregivers and kids of all ages)
• Adults
• College or high school reunion
• Neighborhood Movie Night
• Ladies Night
• Mens Night

Other Things to Consider

• Have bug spray on hand as mosquitos will come out a dusk.
• Wear or bring layers of clothing to prevent bug bites, but also keep warm when the sun goes down.
• Blankets – I also recommend having extra cozy blankets on hand for when it gets chilly at night.

I hope this post gave you some ideas and helpful information for your own movie night. Conor just had two friends over for this first one, but I have a feeling our screen and projector are going to get a lot of use this summer, particularly because our local cinema is closed for good.

Conor just had so much fun. You can see him and his friends watching the movie from our pool.

If you’d like to see more of our summer yard you can here. You can shop more summer ideas on my Amazon store page.

I’m sharing this post as part of my friend Jennifer’s Cozy Living Series. I couldn’t think of anything more cozy than enjoying a film under the stars with family and friends! See more ideas below.

Hymns and Verses / A Stroll Thru Life / Vinyet Etc.

Finding Silver Pennies / Town and Country Living