When we learned that June would be Outdoor Home Month at Apartment Therapy, we quickly dug up our old issue of Sunset Magazine and reread their great article, "How to Host Your Own Backyard Movie Party".
The article gives some great suggestions on how to turn your backyard, patio -- or even your rooftop -- into an outdoor theater that you and your family can enjoy. Plus, when was the last time you went to the movies and were able to pause the film for a kiddie pee break?
For the screen, Sunset recommends a 4' x 8' sheet of foam-core, but you can totally go old school and use a sheet or wall. You can use a DVD player or laptop and rent a projector at a local camera or electronic store.
For seating, use folding chairs or go the fancy route and rent director's chairs, or be extra comfortable and use pillows and blankets.
Add some tasty snacks and you're all set for an evening at home with the kids, with all the excitement of going out.
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Comments (3)
We have a projector in our basement for movie viewing and my husband found out that the material used for lining curtains makes an excellent and affordable screen. I'm thinking that for outdoor viewing you could even put grommets in the top if you want to get fancy, but thumbtacks work just as well.
We do backyard movies with our kids (ages 2 and 5) and their friends/families. We bought our projector and screen through Costco online. They weren't cheap (I think the projector was $500 and the screen was $150) but it's worth it for us since we show movies every other weekend all summer. I would highly recommend the screen from Costco. At first we started by trying to make our own, and my husband priced out some PVC pipe for a frame and curtain lining material for the screen. By the time you factor in all the materials it was at least $80 to make it (plus with little kids we didn't really have the time). One thing we found is that you want a screen that doesn't move a lot in the breeze because it will distort the movie and make it very annoying to watch. The above idea of using white foam core board seems like a great inexpensive option. Also, the speakers included on the projector were not nearly loud enough (all we could hear was crickets and owls and kids talking). We used a pair of old computer speakers that my husband held on to (hoarded) in the basement. :) Good luck, everyone. The experience of watching movies under the stars with the kids is worth the cost and effort!
OH! And an outdoor movie party makes a great birthday party, too. We had my son's entire preschool and their families over for a movie (over 75 people) and it was so cheap! All we had to buy was a bunch of popcorn, cookies, and lemonade. One of these times, when we have a big crowd, I want to rent an old fashioned popcorn maker. A girl can dream. :)