Ever since we moved in, I thought our backyard would be perfect for a movie night. A sheet, a projector, some blankets, and some popcorn would make for a perfect evening with friends.
Last Friday night, we actually did it! We watched “The Sandlot,” one of my favorites, with the singles ministry and others from church. It was a lot of fun, but I definitely learned on the go that it wasn’t as easy as it looked to put it together. (More on that later.)
Here are some tips for putting together your own backyard movie night:
Items Needed:
Projector + power cord
Speakers + audio cord
DVD player, laptop, or other method of showing the movie + visual cord to projector, power cord
Extension cord
Big white sheet + tape or hooks to hang it
Movie (in whatever format you need to be able to play it on your device)
Blankets
Snacks + paper products
Bug spray
1. Do a test run before the night-of. This would have saved us so much hassle. Make sure you have all the needed cords (FYI – there are a lot!), and that they all work properly. Again, the cords you will need are: audio and visual, connector to movie player, power cords, extension cords.
2. Pick a movie everyone will enjoy. “The Sandlot” is the perfect summer movie, in my mind. Consider the audience. Other ideas are: animated films to gear towards kids; classic movies for a romantic night; superhero movies which seem to appeal to a range of ages; or pick a genre and make a theme out of the whole night!
3. Set up the backyard. Make sure the grass is cut! Lay out blankets, set up the projector and all the A/V equipment, hang your sheet/movie screen (we bought a cheap one and cut holes in it, then hung it from hooks on our gutter). We have garden lights in the backyard, which were super helpful as well.
4. Set up snacks inside. Avoid bugs by keeping the food inside, but make it easy for people to carry it out with paper plates and cups. I recommend a popcorn bar for people to make custom mixes, popsicles, and watermelon
5. Have bug spray available. Because mosquitoes will crash the party. Encourage people to use it away from the masses.
6. Enjoy the show!
I LOVE this idea! We did an outdoor movie in our yard last summer, and it made for such a fun memory with the kids and friends.