Ready for some summer fun? This is the perfect time of year to throw an Outdoor Movie Night Party at home! We have everything you need from a playful bohemian theme with relaxed seating, to setup ideas and delicious movie snacks in this adorable Backyard Movie Night Birthday Party! Keep scrolling for inspiration for this ultimate outdoor night of fun!
When the weather is great outdoors during the summer I love spending time in the backyard with family and friends. A Backyard Movie Night Party is a great excuse to gather everyone together and celebrate the lazy days of the season. Today, let’s take a look at Isabella’s 7th birthday party, where she invited her favorite girlfriends over for a fabulous movie night in her backyard!
Backyard Movie Night Ideas
As you’re planning your movie night, the first thing you want to consider is your schedule and the time of day you’ll begin your party. The sun sets late in the summer, so you’ll likely have an evening party. You’ll need to decide whether or not you want to serve dinner beforehand and how you want to setup your dinner table.
At Isabella’s birthday party, planned by Jessica Ralph with Parties A’ La Carte, the girls arrived early for a picnic dinner setup at a gorgeous low table with pillows for chairs. Set atop beautiful outdoor rugs, several wooden pallets were stacked as the table, providing a casual picnic-style eating space for the girls.
This bohemian styled dinner table is great for outdoor parties and a similar setup was used at this backyard Moroccan style 40th birthday party too. If you don’t have the items to setup something similar, it’s likely a local party rental company has the pallets, rugs and pillows you can rent for the evening.
The bright blooms down the center of the table designed by Bruce Wayne Florals, the bamboo plates and crystal glasses all added style and elegance to movie night. Stringing patio lights like these above the table would also be a great way to add a little ambiance to the event!
As far as menu goes, keep things simple (and easy on yourself)! What goes better with movie night than pizza? That’s what Isabella and her friends enjoyed. You could also grill burgers or hot dogs, or serve sandwiches, chips and fruit.
Other fun activities at an outdoor movie night are backyard games like Giant Jenga, Tic-Tac-Toe or a huge Connect Four. You can set up a few stations around the yard with oversized outdoor games, chalk for drawing on the sidewalk or patio, or even create a bubble station for littler kids.
Backyard Movie Night Snacks
Since Isabella’s party was a birthday party, there were a lot of delicious sweet treats! A lovely dessert table was set up with stacked pallets that had beautiful greenery and red and white roses peeking out of it from all sides. Izzy’s friends shared a gorgeous sprinkle covered birthday cake, custom flower covered sugar cookies and the loveliest Rice Krispie treats I’ve ever seen, all provided by Hands on Sweets!
And of course, what’s movie night without popcorn! You’ll definitely want to create a special popcorn bar for your event. At Isabella’s party, a bar cart was used to display giant baskets of flavored popcorn and dressed up with a pretty pink tassel banner. You can also set out some colorful striped popcorn boxes to make movie night feel like the theater too!
The girls ate and played until movie time, which was adorably displayed on this chalkboard sign near the movie screen. This is the perfect way to let guests know what to expect for the evening’s festivities.
Outdoor Movie Night Setup
Once you identify a large open space in your backyard to setup the big screen (which you can rent locally or buy your own), you’ll want to add lots of comfortable blankets, pillows and maybe even some air mattresses or inflatable loungers for everyone to relax and settle in for the big show. You can see the girls here snuggled together up front with blankets ready to watch “The Little Mermaid.”
Party Tip: Make sure you test audio and video before everyone arrives so there are no delays in getting the show up and running on time.
As everyone settles in to watch the movie, make sure there are plenty of drinks, snacks and popcorn as everyone helps themselves throughout the evening. Then sit back, relax and enjoy the fun of a big screen movie right in your own backyard.
Isabella and her friends had an incredible time at her backyard bohemian-inspired movie night and I know your outdoor movie night will be a memorable hit as well! Be sure to Pin this post for later summer party planning!
Featured Vendors
- Photographer: Photography by Avery
- Event Designer: Jessica Ralph with Parties A’ La Carte
- Floral Designer:Bruce Wayne Florals
- Bakery: Hands on Sweets
