Now that the weather is cold, gone are the days of the outdoor pool parties and people are planning fun indoor party themes instead. One of my favorite party themes that is great for all ages is a Movie Night Party. Who doesn’t love a fun movie night complete with a concession stand of delicious treats?! This party works for young guests with short cartoons or even older kids with a double-feature movie and slumber party.
To set the scene for this party, think red carpet, gold stars, and marquee signs. For this party, I used a lot of red, gold, and silver for decorations with paper lanterns, a sparkly tablecloth, and a movie camera piñata.
A movie night party wouldn’t be complete without a concession stand! To fill this concession stand, I went to a local specialty candy store to find some unique treats for the guests to try along with some movie night party favorites like popcorn, soda, and more. It was a lot of fun shopping for unique candies that you don’t normally see at stores. You could also pick up a few extras for putting together favor bags for guests to take home. Movie night favorites include licorice, M&Ms, cotton candy, chocolate bars, potato chips, or even frozen yogurt with a variety of candy mix-ins.
This candy buffet could be set up with candy in its original packaging like you’d find at a movie theatre, or you could go to a bulk store and fill up candy vases for guests to help themselves, too. For a candy buffet, make sure you have scoopers and bags for the guests to fill.
If you have an old-fashioned popcorn machine, that would be a great idea for this party. If not, simple microwaved popcorn set out in bowls with a variety of flavored popcorn salts is perfect, too. Don’t forget the butter and extra napkins! You could also serve sweet popcorn like caramel, chocolate-coated popcorn, or marshmallow popcorn balls.
You can set up your own display of concession stand items using boxes or baskets you have around the house. Different heights work great to display all the candy, but make sure it’s all within reach for even your youngest guests.
For a party that runs over dinner, another fun idea is to have a little pizza party complete with a red carpet entrance, stars on the Walk of Fame, and cute movie-themed tableware. Pizza is usually a hit with all ages, so it’s a great and easy choice for a party meal. If you’re having a concession stand with candy after dinner, keep in mind that most kids won’t eat a lot of pizza because they’ll be saving room for all those delicious sweets. With a concession stand of sweets, you may want to skip the traditional birthday cake for this party.
Then, of course, you’ll want to set the scene for watching a movie. Some old holiday lights, extra blankets and pillows can help your guests get comfortable for the special movie screening. If it’s a sleepover party, invite your guests to bring their own sleeping bags and pillows to set out for your movie night.
Party favors could include inexpensive DVDs, specialty popcorn or popcorn salts, concession stand candy, a personalized popcorn bowl, or other movie-themed treats. Depending on your budget for party favors, another great idea would be to give everyone a gift card for your local movie theatre.
Lights, camera, action! I hope you have a fabulous party filled with laughter, great memories, and all the candy you can handle!
Cheryl is a married mother of one. She is the owner and writer for Moms & Munchkins, momsandmunchkins.ca, which is filled with ideas for family fun, activities for kids, party ideas, party planning tips, holiday fun, moms’ night out ideas, and more.
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