Movie night can become a fun and inexpensive way to have your friends over, if you know how to host it properly. Be the ‘hostess’ with the ‘mostess’ and make your home the place to be on a weekend night with these tips for hosting movie night.
Pick the Flick
The hosting endeavor starts with the choice of movie. Pick a genre of film that will appeal to those you intend to invite over for movie night.
Type and print out movie name and a short synopsis about the movie and/or lead actors. Use colored printer paper or cardstock to print the movie name and synopsis and use this as the invitations to hand out to potential guests. To save even more money, these steps can be done entirely online via email.
Arrange the Home Movie Theater
Few of us actually have a room in our home set up solely for the enjoyment of movie watching, but a few tweaks can give an ordinary family room a movie theater feel.
Arrange all seating to face the TV, which can include the couch, chairs and comfy cushions on the floor. Provide side tables and/or coffee tables within reach of each seat so guests will have a place to sit their food and drinks. Make sure the room can be completely darkened for best movie viewing.
Set Up Concession Stand
Set up a concession stand so guests can help themselves. Place the concession stand in another room so lights can be on without hampering movie viewing. Offer favorite beverages and traditional movie fare like boxes of Raisinettes and Goobers. Popcorn is a must-have for movie watching, but think outside the popcorn bag or box to save on prep and cleanup time. Pop the popcorn ahead of time and place it in non-traditional serving bowl such as Chinese take out cartons or homemade rolled up paper cones (make from craft paper with edges glued down).
Candy can also be placed in plastic, wide-rimmed champagne glasses. These plastic glasses are sold cheaply during the summer and come in a wide range of colors. When possible, use a re-occurring color for invitations and serving utensils, tying the color to the movie, like red for Red Dawn, will garner you some ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from movie guests.
Start on Time and Schedule Bathroom Breaks
The movie theater experience is always tied to a show time. Select a start time and stick with it. Schedule an intermission time in the middle of the movie so guest can take a bathroom break and replenish snacks.
Make sure guests know where the bathroom(s) is located prior to the lights dimming for the movie and keep a nearby light on so guests can find their way during the movie viewing. Placing a box of toothpicks and a container of dental floss on the bathroom vanity will help dentally challenged guests dislodge popcorn husks and sticky candy particles in private.
