Lights, camera, action! Creative ideas for your family's summer movie nights

For many families, movie nights are a staple of summer. They're cheap, easy, and don't require much advanced planning. Here are some of our best ideas to make your movie nights a little more exciting:

Up your snack game

Don’t just pop some popcorn, spice it up a little! Mix it with cinnamon and sugar for a sweet twist, season with parmesan and butter for something more savory, or make kettle corn for something totally different.

Or, make a variety of snacks and set it up buffet style. Everybody can fill their plate with the things they want.  If you want to bring a theater feel into it, buy some concessions popcorn boxes from the dollar store to fill with goodies.

Head to the backyard

What could be better than a night under the stars? Set up a projector, a sheet, and a few lawn chairs, and you’ll be good to go. For a creative twist, consider these ideas

• Backyard drive in – Round up the cardboard boxes lying around your house and convert them into mini cardboard cars for kids to sit in during the movie. This could also be an enjoyable craft project if you recruit the kids to decorate their own box.
• Enter the fairytale – Decorate your backyard with a little extra lighting or themed items to give it more of a whimsical feel. Pulling out the Christmas lights or light a few candles for a quick and easy fix.
• Play before dark – You won’t be able to start the movie until the sun goes down, so consider setting up a few games or bring out the cards to enjoy the time before the movie starts.

Use the movie to create a theme

Center snacks, activities, and decorations around the movie you’ve picked. Enjoy some banana splits with the Jungle Book, the iconic “eat me” cookies with Alice in Wonderland, ice cream treats with Frozen, or similarly themed foods with other movies. You can get pretty creative thinking up recipes that go along with your choice.

Don’t just watch it, do it

Think of some ways to make the movie more engaging. For classic Disney musicals, make it a sing-along night! If you picked a movie that younger kids might have a harder time getting into, try some movie bingo to keep their attention.

Read up on it

So many childhood classics have been made into movies, why not read the book together first? It’s a great way to engage the kids and get them excited about reading. Plus, it can open up some fun conversations about how the book compared to the movie, or about the benefits of reading. Consider these books that have movies to go with them:

• Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
• The Lorax by Dr. Seuss
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
• Matilda by Roald Dahl
• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Dress up

Make it an elegant affair with gowns and crowns, or sport your favorite pair of comfy pajamas. The attire is totally up to you. Your outfits could even go along with the theme, and everybody could come dressed as their favorite character from the movie. This could be especially fun for younger girls watching princess movies, or boys with a superhero or pirate movie.

Build your seating area

Pull out every blanket, pillow, sleeping bag, and stuffed animal you own and spread it all out on your living room floor. Create one massive fort, or have each person make their own area. The kids will have a blast helping you with this part.

You could rearrange chairs and couches around to make it feel more like a theater. The goal here is to try and change things up a bit from the everyday norm to make the night feel more special.

Make it an event

Plan your movie night ahead of time, and get the kids excited about it. A fun idea is to print out homemade movie tickets and give one to each family member the week or day before. That way, they’ll remember and have something to look forward to.