Hanging out while watching movies outside by the fire seems like one of the best ways to spend some quality time with your friends and family. Here is what you need to do to organise the most epic movie night for your close friends and family members.
Choose your film wisely
The first thing you need to take care of is picking the right movie. Before you choose a movie you are going to be watching think about what choice would be the best for you and your friends. Who is the audience? Is it more of a girls’ night, a gathering of family members, or a movie night for wannabe movie-critics? Brainstorm through some ideas that you have and think about what movie choice would be the best one according to the people who are watching. If it’s a group of close friends you might already know what movie genres they are most into. You might even know who their favourite actors and actresses are. You can even choose to make a movie marathon and watch a series of movies instead of just one. If it’s a family gathering, consider choosing a family-friendly movie, preferably a comedy. Consider all of these factors when choosing a movie.
Encourage voting
If you’re still not sure what movie to play, it’s always a good option to go for voting. You can narrow down your options to 3 movies that appeal to all categories of age, genre, and any other preference and then let your guests choose one. Popular vote wins and you get to watch the movie they picked. You can even turn this voting into a fun game. Plus, you can use this same strategy for picking snacks and drinks.
Project Big
Whether you decide to organise an indoor or outdoor movie night, projecting a movie on a big screen is always the best choice. If you’re making an indoor movie night, use a projector screen that you can install in the living room as a permanent feature. If you don’t want it permanently there, you can also get one of the mobile models. For an outdoor movie night, you can simply use a plain painter’s canvas. You can find one at any local hardware store and then you simply attach it to your house wall or hand it between the trees.
Project Sound, Too
To make it feel like you’re in a real movie theatre, make sure you connect your projector to an indoor surround sound system. It’s not only important to project the movie on a big screen. It’s important to project the sound the right way too. If you’re organising an outdoor movie night, you don’t need much to project a loud sound. All you need to do is simply place a few computer speakers in order to create that booming sound and a movie theatre-like experience.
Cosy Up
Now that you’ve picked a movie and taken care of the projector and sound system, it’s time for you to create a cosy and comfortable space for watching a movie. If you’re indoors, simply place a lot of pillows and blankets on the couch. On the other hand, if you’re outdoors, place as many bean bags as you need so that people can sit and provide enough blankets for everyone so that they can stay warm. If it gets a bit cold you can make a tiny fire pit in the middle to keep you warm, or you can get one of those freestanding heaters as well.
Get snacks to suit
Lastly, you need some snacks. If you’re having an adult party, you can offer some delicious wine and cheese by the outdoor fire pit. Otherwise, you can just opt for popcorn, which is always a classic choice. If you think this snack is way too simple, there are ways for you to spice it up. The following are some of the most delicious ways to make popcorn to offer your guests a wide variety of snacks for your movie night:
Sushi Popcorn
For this simple recipe, all you need to do is whisk 1 and a half tablespoons of soy sauce and vegetable oil with 2 teaspoons of sesame oil and rice vinegar. Then, drizzle it over 16 cups of hot popcorn. Lastly, toss this mixture with 2 cups of torn roasted seaweed snacks and add a cup of wasabi peas.
Maple Pecan Popcorn
To make maple pecan popcorn you need to heat 2 cups of sugar, ½ cup of light corn syrup, and 1 cup of maple syrup in one large pot. Wait till it reaches 260 degrees F. That’s about 12 minutes. Then, add 3 cups of pecans and cook this mixture for 2 minutes. Make sure to stir this properly until the mixture is completely melted. Pour this over 16 cups of hot popcorn, spread it on some baking sheets and let it cool.
Cinnamon Sugar Popcorn
This last one is also very easy to make. Simply drizzle about 6 tablespoons of melted butter over 12 cups of popcorn. Then, toss some cinnamon cereal (4 cups), 1/3 cups of sugar, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
Read the room
Lastly, for all of this to work you need to be able to read the room and be flexible if needed. You don’t have to commit to one movie. People can easily change their minds and you should be able to adapt to any possible changes. You can pick one movie days before your movie night, but if your mood changes on the night of the event you can easily switch to something else and that is completely fine. Just make sure to read the room and ask people how they are feeling about the movie choices.
Conclusion
Organising a movie night can be very fun. You can always ask your friends to help you pick a good movie, create a cosy atmosphere and make some delicious snacks together. Movie nights will be a whole lot better this way.