Movie night can be a special time for families, friends, and couples to enjoy one another’s company, be entertained with laughter, drama, suspense, action, and perhaps even a little romance for amazing moments and wonderful memories.
Some people really enjoy movies and almost everyone loves to relax. Doing movie night right can bring you these simple pleasures while strengthening your connection and bond between your family, friends, or spouse.
Whether you’re looking to create a DIY home movie theater, have a Netflix and chill, or a movie night for the whole family filled with fun activities, then you will love these awesome ideas to bring the big screen into your living room.
Family Movie Night Ideas
There are so many fun ideas that the entire family will love. Naturally, there will be some requests from your family members to play their favorite movies which will make it easier for you to come up with other cute hacks that will bring even more family fun.
Of course there are lots of different age groups and personalities between families and within the family dynamic itself, so let’s look at a few ideas that may bring you insight on creating a movie night for your family.
Add a Movie Theme Aesthetic
You’re setting the tone here by adding some cinematic vibe to your movie night. This will naturally get everyone in the mood and increase the probability of having a really good time.
You can do this simply or elaboratively depending on how much time you think is worth investing.
A simple way would be to have everything setup and ready, meaning all seats, blankets, pillows, and snacks are prepared in advance along with your TV and sound system.
A more elaborate means of a creative family time movie night would be to incorporate other fun activities or props that plays to the movie theme. For Instance, let your kids cosplay their favorite house for Harry Potter movies, or get hands on to build Lego contraptions with your kids that they can use while watching the movie like Lego cup holders. You can also host Lego contests with awards where the winner gets more movie candy, a better seat for the show, or gets to stay up later. Think about what you would do to enhance the vibe for a movie night on Halloween and bring that energy with you for every movie night. Your family will absolutely love it.
Make family movie night with games
Combining movie night and game night can be a hoot, especially if you’re customizing your family game to represent the movie theme of your movie night. Here are some ideas.
- Movie Charades – Reenact your favorite scenes and see if your family can guess the scene. This can be done afterwards or beforehand (before hand is fun for people who rewatch their best movies time and time again. This can be especially fun for younger kids too).
- Movie trivia – If you’re familiar with the movie this can be done prior to watching, but this will be fun to have everyone come up with 5 questions during the movie for a post movie trivia game. Handout a couple note cards and pen to make it official. No phones.
- Scavenger Hunt to Select the Movie – Sometimes people just cannot agree on a movie. When this happens you can use a game to decide (or just play anyway because it’s fun). Have each member find something in your house that best represents the movie title they want to see. The winner gets to play their movie of choice.
Make it an Outdoor Movie Night
While the weather still permits it, you may want to consider doing an outdoor movie night. It’s fun in more way than one. You can have a family BBQ dinner and backyard games that is capped off with a relaxing movie for everyone to enjoy. Outdoor movie nights can be combined with backyard camping which most kids adore (plus, it’s educational). Plus, you get to breathe in the fresh evening air of late summer/early fall.
Outdoor movie nights can also be a very intimate experience for couples. How nice would it be to have a beautiful candlelit dinner with wine and a movie. You can be really creative with outdoor movie nights since it’s outside. One of my personal favorites is creating an old school drive in home theater.
Of course you will need a projector to make any outdoor movie night possible (more on that later), but it also enables you to have a one of kind memorable experience for your loved ones. You can enhance the memory by creating “movie tickets” saying “admission for one” with some other cute things you may want to communicate. This way your loved ones have something tangible to keep for the memories.
Family Friendly Movie Night with Kids
- Always choose friendly movies that are acceptable for kids.
Simple examples are Disney or Pixar films such as Moana, Finding Nemo, or The Little Mermaid. Those are easy examples but there are lots of movies out there, some of which you may not know if it’s ok to play for your kids. If you’re unsure about the content of the movie to be appropriate, leverage services like Common Sense Media which offers age based media reviews for families to determine if the blockbuster in question would be ok for your children to watch.
Best Tech for Movie Night
There is no doubt that technology and specifications make a huge difference when it comes to cinematic entertainment. The visual and audio quality will be the difference in how immersive your movie night is. It is a lot easier to be engaged in something when you’re feeling like your in it. You will also find more peace and relaxation when your immersed in the story. That is why your home entertainment is worth investing in. New TVs are released all the time and not everyone is able to buy a new TV every year, but if your TV is getting old, there are always deals with great value if you do consider shopping for a new one. If you’re happy with your TV, consider making it better by adding a surround sound system. Although you cannot see it, the power of sound has the ability to move mountains. Imagine what it can do for your home entertainment setup.
TVs & Projectors
Samsung and LG are both leaders in home televisions. Both companies offer amazing 4K HDR Smart TVs at affordable prices in a range of sizes. Depending on the space you have available you can get anywhere between a 55” and 65” TV for about $1500 give or take which is pretty good for the technology they use. If you’re into the latest and greatest, you may want to consider one of Samsung’s higher end 8K QLED models. There is not that many shows and movies that stream or play in 8K yet (key word is yet), but the TV will noticeably upscale everything you’re watching for the most beautiful and vivid picture.
If you love the outdoor movie night idea, you will need to get a projector. Projectors are actually very versatile and you will find that there are many uses for them throughout your house and virtually anywhere you go that has a power source. Some things to consider before buying one is the Lumens (brightness) and throw (distance from the screen. Use this to figure out if it will fit in the space you want to use it). You will also need a projector screen. It is also worth noting that many households have already moved on from conventional televisions and switched to projectors since the technology is catching up plus the perks of a projectors portability.
There is nothing like the immersive sensation of rumbling subwoofers and crystal clear sound during any kind of movie but especially ones that feature action or thrills.
Samsung Surround Sound Systems are top notch and can easily be connected to all of your electronic appliances and devices. Go big with Samsung’s 11.1.4 channel wireless Dolby Atmos system or something simple like an all in one sound bar. TVs are not known for their excellent sound, so anything you can add for audio will make a big difference in your experience. Besides if you love music, this should be something you’re after anyway.
Movie Snacks
Snacks are a must for the overall move aesthetic and experience. The more authentic you can make your snacks the better. Candy and chips are ok, but movie theater popcorn is ideal. Don’t be lame with microwaveable tasteless popcorn. One of these popcorn makers are a perfect tool for movie lovers to make authentic fresh popcorn any time they choose. They’re also very affordable.
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