Outdoor Movie Night in a Small Space

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Wanting to spend as much time as possible outdoors during the warm summer months, I was tempted to move my movie watching outdoors as well. Problem? As most city dwellers can relate, SPACE is the problem! Those huge inflatable movie screens, large lounge chairs and picnic tables for snacks are not in my outdoor movie watching future.

Yet, relaxing outside on a warm summer night with a bowl of ice cream and a great movie with girlfriends is too perfect of an evening to pass up. Always looking for creative ways to enjoy time with my friends (brunch and even exercising!), I was pretty confident I could find a way to create a perfect outdoor movie night with limited space.

Plus if you buy 2 Häagen-Dazs® products at Walmart, you’ll earn a free movie night from Redbox®.  Simply:

• BUY | Buy any (2) Häagen-Dazs® products at Walmart
• TEXT | Text “Redbox” to 35350 for receipt submission instructions
• ENJOY | Get your code & enjoy your free movie night!

Always up for a challenge (and a reason to entertain), I knew if there was a will there was a way. OK, maybe a little dramatic, but with a small space a little planning and thought go a LONG way. The roof deck of our town house is large enough to fit patio furniture and I knew with some creative rearranging, I could comfortably create the perfect outdoor movie night space.

When setting up your own outdoor movie night, you’ll need 5 key items:

1 Video Source

AKA, the place your movie is played from. The easiest solution is using a laptop with a built in DVD player. Plus I HATE having to learn new technology, so using my computer is ideal!

2 Sound System

While your computer likely has speakers attached, they MAY not be loud enough for an outdoor movie. I can hear the street noise from my roof deck so I needed a louder solution than my computer speakers. A small portable speaker worked great and easily plugged into my computer. Plus it was loud enough to block out any city noise.

3 Projector

If I had to guess this might be the item that you do NOT currently have. While a projector IS required, there’s lots of affordable options now a days. Many reasonably priced projectors work great for an outdoor movie night. Plus over the years, projectors have gotten a LOT smaller, which is ideal because space is limited on my deck!

4 Screen

Skip the huge inflatable projection screens for items you likely already have around your home! First you’ll want to find an outdoor wall of your home to attach the DIY projection screen to. Don’t worry about windows getting in the way. I created a screen using a large white poster board taped with masking tape over our bedroom window (which looks out on to the roof deck). If you do use a wall with a window, just don’t turn on the light inside the room while watching the movie and you’ll be all set. Another great option is using a white bed sheet.

5 Movie 

When  you buy 2 Häagen-Dazs® products at Walmart, you’ll get a free movie night from Redbox®. Select your favorite, pop it in your laptop and enjoy … for FREE!

Is it movie time yet? 

Almost! Before my girlfriends arrived, I did a ‘seating check‘. Not wanting to have even one bad seat in the house, I made sure that the movie ‘screen’ was view-able by all our roof deck seating. Since our furniture wasn’t set up to be staring in our master bedroom window (aka the movie screen), I had to do a little rearranging.

Next, I grabbed some blankets and outdoor pillows to ensure everyone was comfortable as possible.

Last, but definitely not least, ICE CREAM! I used some adorable paper bowls, napkins and spoons at Walmart when shopping for the ice cream. Displaying the dessert on a white serving tray made setup and clean up ridiculously easy. It also used up very little space. Another plus!

I can’t think of a better way to spend a warm summer night and I even had room to spare!

What’s your perfect summer activity?