You’ve decided to throw a movie night birthday party. Super exciting! This is such a fun theme.
The best part about throwing a movie night birthday party is the fact that you can stay on a tight budget if needed. Hopefully you have most of the items you need already at your home.
I’m going to give you some ideas for your party – from decor to party games to food ideas.
Let’s roll out the red carpet and get the movie night party ideas flowing!
The Actual Movie
Obviously, the birthday kid needs to have some input on the movie that will be shown.
Perhaps they have a favorite movie that they can watch over and over without ever getting sick of watching the same thing.
Or maybe they are interested in a new release that is available for rent or purchase close to the party date.
Note: If you are on a tight budget and you are renting a movie, note that most rental periods are 24-48 hours prior to starting the rental, so don’t get too far ahead with renting digitally.
No matter the movie or how you are planning to obtain it, I would put the movie on the birthday invitations to eliminate the question of “what movie are we watching?” being asked by every child that crosses your doorstep. Unless you’re way more patient than I am and like answering the same question a thousand times. 😊
Additionally, if there’s a theme (like “Barbie” or “Jurassic Park“), your party guests will know how to appropriately dress.
When choosing the movie, keep the audience in mind. For example, I would not be showing anything rated R to seven year old kids. On the flip side, I wouldn’t be showing Bluey to 13 year old teenagers.
Placing the name of the film on the invitation eliminates a variety of problems you could face into the night, so consider it a wise choice.
Where & How
Where are you planning to watch the movie? You have two basic choices – inside or outside.
Weather permitting, an outdoor movie night has always been the ideal choice for me.
Obviously, it will be easier to see (and more like a movie theater) if you have a large screen outside with a projector. However, this is definitely not required. You can make an amazing movie theater oasis from the comfort of a single room in your home.
Regardless of inside or out, gather all of the blankets, sleeping bags, towels, bean bags, and pillows you can find. If you have air mattresses or inflatable pool mats, those will work as well!
If you don’t already have the projector and screen, I would suggest something like this:
I love this option because it’s well under $100 and it has both the items you need.
If it’s inside or outside, consider adding a small amount of fairy lights so it’s not completely dark during some points in the movie.
Invitations
I use Canva for everything.
If you haven’t given it a shot yet, don’t be intimidated. In the search box, I entered “Movie Night Birthday Party” and a ton of templates popped up.
You could create a specific movie themed invitation or keep it generic. I created a Barbie themed invitation in the example below.
If you do have a theme for the party, I like to let everyone know within the invitation. For example, maybe you want everyone to be comfortable while relaxing during the movie so you ask that they come in their pajamas.
You could ask for simple attire like “dress in your prettiest pink!” for a Barbie movie party.
If you’re planning for a sleepover after the movie, be sure to include that in the invitation as well so the kids know to pack an overnight bag.
Arrival
Make arrival fun! Grab some red cloth and roll it out so everyone feels as though they are making a grand entrance. A few simple balloons to each side and you’re good to go.
I’ve been through quite a few birthday parties where the arrival is awkward for some kids. If they don’t immediately see their “friend group” or kids they know from school, they feel out of place pretty quickly.
So try to help give them direction on where to go once they arrive.
I would suggest a movie night birthday themed craft station. If you can, relate the craft to the movie you have picked out. For example, if you’re having a Taylor Swift themed birthday party watching The Eras Tour, make friendship bracelets.
Something like this Hollywood Star craft doesn’t break the bank from Amazon and it’s a nice take home to fill up a goody bag at the end of the night.
Photo Booth
Photo Booths are a must have for all ages!
It gives the kids a place to go do something fun when they are wandering around mingling. Plus, if you have a polaroid camera, it’s a great gift to add to the goody bag at the end of the night.
I found this amazing 99-piece Movie Night Party decoration kit. It includes a backdrop that will be perfect! Plus it’s super cheap.
If you’re trying to get out even cheaper, see if you have any old movie posters around your house that you could form into a backdrop.
Party Games
For a movie night birthday party, the main event will be the movie itself and most likely that will take approximately two hours of the night. With that being said, I would not overload guests with more than one or two party games.
Bingo is super fun for all ages and costs nothing to create and pennies to print yourself.
Use something creative like M&Ms, Skittles, or popcorn as markers instead of plastic pieces.
A Scavenger Hunt is a fun (usually outside) game that can bond guests that may have not been friends prior to attending the party. No need to try to have the kids collect anything on the scavenger hunt journey. Simply ask them to use a singular phone to take pictures of the items on the list.
I would theme the Scavenger Hunt towards the movie that you are watching during the party.
For example, if watching Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, I would have an outside Scavenger Hunt with the following on the list:
- Something Red
- Bicycle
- Bird in flight
- Street Sign (Cornelia St not required)
- Getaway Car
If you’d rather have an easy way out and not even think about games as you’ve got your hands full planning other aspects of the party, nobody’s feelings will be hurt if you purchase a game.
Movie Night Birthday Party Food
I’ve thrown a movie night birthday party twice for my kids’ birthdays.
Each time, we had pizza for everyone to eat about thirty minutes after arrival time. Almost every party the kids ever had growing up at our house consisted of pizza. 😅 But I completely acknowledge this is the easy way out. For those of you that want to have something prepared, here’s a list of websites that can assist better than I:
Mini Movie Night Foods – The Food Network
19 Movie Night Snacks Just Right For Your Next Film Night – Martha Stewart
Some additional easy movie night party foods:
- Hot dogs
- Nachos
- Pretzels
- Chicken wings
- Burgers
- Mozzarella sticks
- Chicken tenders
Snacking While Movie Watching
For my previous parties, I wanted to make the kids feel like they were actually at the movies. Luckily, when you’re created this yourself, it’s super budget friendly.
First thing I suggest is getting some individually sized popcorn containers. I would go ahead and have the popcorn already in the containers and sitting out for the kids. In my opinion, it will take too long to scoop and fill the containers while the kids are staring at you.
If you want to get fancy for cheap (and I always like to add a little extra), consider adding an area with a variety of popcorn seasoning that the kids could add themselves.
If popcorn containers isn’t the way you want to go, I would suggest at least a variety pack of Smartfood Popcorn.
You can buy full size candy in bulk for around $1 each off of Amazon or from your local Sam’s or Costco.
Consider adding a snack table with a variety of items the kids can come grab for themselves. I do love the idea of a popcorn bar.
The Movie Night Birthday Party Party Favors
If there’s one thing at my current stage of life I do not miss about birthday parties, that’s party favors.
Who even made this up? There have been at least two birthday parties where I spent more on the party favor goody bags than I did on the party.
I’ll stop complaining.
If you’re giving a party favor bag, way to go. Let’s at least give you some fun ideas on how to fill those movie night birthday party bags.
If you created a craft at the beginning of the night, those would be the first perfect item to place into the goody bags.
Did you do create a photo booth with a polaroid camera? If so, great! Make sure the kids collect those pictures and let them add it as well.
Do you have any full size candy leftover? Add them to the bags while the movie is playing!
Do you want to fill the bag just a little more?
Then consider purchasing this 72pc Party Favor kit that even includes the gift bags themselves and pat yourself on the back.
Final Thoughts on a Movie Night Birthday Party
With any party you throw for your child, make sure that they have some input on what the game plan is. You might hate Uno, but if that’s your child’s favorite game and they want it at their party, make it work.
I’ve always asked my kids to tell me what their “must haves” for their birthday party is. Then I take it from there. I also always try to add in something a little where I can that they didn’t already expect.
Enjoy yourself at the party and have as much taken care of in advance that you can so that you aren’t stressing about too much the day of the party.
Have a great time!
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