Backyard Movie Birthday Party

For my Son’s Birthday Party I decided to put together a Backyard Movie Party. See my son has a winter birthday, but this year we decided to have his party in the summer.  He has never experienced a Summer Party with the Yard and the pool like my daughter gets to do being she was born in the summer. It really was not that hard for him to wait being it seemed he had multiple Birthday Celebrations – His Real Birthday, Family Party and now this Party – not too shabby. So if you have this same kind of situation – give it a try for something different.

So of course being the fact that I made him wait I wanted it to be a little over the top, but  still work within a Budget at the same time. So I wanted to do something very different that many kids had not seen and that is where the Backyard Movie Theater came in. I decided to purchase an Inflatable Movie Screen and a Projector for my Backyard. Now I have a Big Backyard, but these can be used in most yards and they are a fun investment. This was not only going to be used at his party, but all summer long for the kids and also my daughter’s party.

I purchased my 12′ Inflatable Movie Screen online through Walmart and got a Combo deal where it also came with a tent. I figured more bang for my buck and the kids can use the tent too. The Inflatable Movie Screen cost me $242. The projector is where you will spend a bit more money, because you want to get a good one for the quality – you do not want to cheese here or you will not be happy. I did my research on what to look for and I actually ended up getting lucky and finding a top quality projector on Craigslist for only $275 and I even got an extra bulb in the deal. While I was doing my research I wrote this page: Backyard Movie Theater Party, which gives some tips on what to look for. One thing that was also important is that there were hook ups on the projector so the kids could also play Video Games outside. We have done that since and playing Wii outside on a 12′ Screen is amazing. So just do your research and read lots of reviews on the projectors and always keep in mind – You get what you pay For – so shop smart.

Now onto the Party Details – get ready this is a long one.  For the Party Invitations my Son and I created Clapper Board Invitations. We did this using Gimp which is similar to PhotoShop. Then we added all the Party Details using a Font called Chalkboard to give it the look like it was written in Chalk.  I made it fun by having on there – Production: DJ’s Birthday Party –  On Location: My Address –  Scene: Swimming, Backyard Movie, Games, Food, Cake – Date – Time and RSVP which I made Bethel Productions (which is my last name). I then printed them out on a Heavy Card Stock Paper and we created them in a way that we were able to cut the top and add one of those Fasteners so it actually worked like a Clapper Board. In addition to that I printed out some Gold Stars on the Heavy Card Stock that said Bring Swimsuit and Towel.  Both of these went into the envelope. I got a lot of compliments from the parents whose kids were so excited about the party just from the invites. Call me crazy, but I also set the party time from 4pm – 11pm  – yes 7 hours, but I had a lot planned.

For the Party Decorations I usually keep it minimal by adding in touches to bring the theme to life and also make some of my own.  So I purchased 2 Big Mylar Balloons – one being a Movie Camera Balloon and the other a Popcorn Tub Balloon. I then got Latex Balloons in Gold, Silver and Black. I was also lucky to be doing a product review on the Balloon Time Balloon Helium Kit so I was able to inflate these all at home which I must say was so convenient to do and I highly recommend it to all.

I also purchased Hanging Metallic Swirl Stars to hang off my Patio Awning, Holographic Star Confetti for the Food Table, A Red Tablecloth for the Table and 2 Packs of 
Clapper Board Paper Plates just to add an extra touch. I then added in just your regular Solo Cups and Foam Plates. So I kept it to a minimum and as you can see just added touches which was perfect.

My fun Party Decoration was my Giant Clapper Board I made. I used a Cardboard Box I had from something I got in the mail. I took one side of the Box and all I did was first Spray Paint it Black. Then I took White Duct Tape and Cut Strips to form all the lines on a Clapper Board using a Razor Knife. I cut the Top off and Taped it on the back to give it the look as if it was partially opened. Then I just used Chalk to add in all the Fun Info I wanted. So Simple and Easy.

I also had some fun making signs for the doors. Being the kids would be swimming and wet I did not want them to be coming in my house leaving puddles. So for my door to the house I put a VIP Only sign for us Producers and VIPs to use and for the other Door that led to the Bathroom I had a Backstage Door Sign so they knew which door to use. Thank God for multiple doors on my house – lol. As you can see from the photo to your left my daughter thought it was too much fun to be a VIP and Show off  from inside the house – typically girl!!

For our Party Food I BBQ’d Hamburgers, Hot Dogs and had out lots of snacks. I had my Watermelon Monster Stand (My New Favorite Item – pictured above) and I had a nice Veggie Tray – it is good to get those kids to eat their Veggies – even at a party.

It was a Hot Day so I also made the kids Snow Cones to enjoy in a variety of flavor choices using my Snow Cone Machine. The kids loved this of course.

For a large part of the Party the Boys spent their time in the Pool – besides of course for Snacks, Snow Cones and Dinner.  It was a very hot day and they were having a great time staying cool in the pool. But after they ate Dinner it was time to play some games. Being these kids are 12 I did not want to have uncool games so I decided to play a bunch of games from the game show Minute to Win It.  I had a bunch picked out and all the props for them, but we only ended up playing some of them to make sure we had enough time for Cake and the Movie.  Yes even with 7 hours of party time I was running out.

The Minute to Win It Game show is a TV Game show hosted by Guy Fieri. The Games are played using every day items you can pretty much find in your home and you have One Minute to complete the Game.  So make sure to have a Timer – I had my Husband who was ready with his iPhone timer. Originally I was going to take the winner of each of the games we played and then have a face off, BUT due to time I changed it around. The Boys played for fun and after they were done with the games I raffled off a prize, by doing the old name in a hat. The Prize was perfect though it was the Cuponk Game. So it made it fair for everyone to have a chance at winning.

Here are the Minute to Win it Games we Played:

Rapid Fire Game- For this Players must shoot Rubber Bands to Knock over a Triangle Stack of 6 Empty Soda Cans completely off Table. They must do this in One Minute or less. So have a pile of Rubber Bands and they must stand at least 8′ from the table. They may shoot one at a time and they all must be off the table in a Minute or less. One one of the boys was able to get this done completely. It was so funny to watch. Oh and one more tip make all the boys go clean up all the Rubber Bands – lol.

Hanky Panky Game – If you have watched Minute to Win It then you should know the Hanky Panky Game. For this game the players using only one Hand must pull out all the tissues from the Box one at a time. What I did was do two players at a time to move it along quicker – it was still timed but now they were racing too. I also have another guest hold the box in place while the other was playing. The kids had so much fun playing this one and it was so hysterical to watch and listen to them routing each other on. You will need 1 Box of tissues per guest – I found Walmart had the best price at only $.86 Each.

Face the Cookie Game – Another Funny Game that will have you cracking up. For this Players using only their face must move the Cookie from their Foreheads to their mouth in a Minute or less. Give each player 3 sandwich Cookies when the time begins they take that cookie and place on their Forehead while their heads are tilted back. They must work it to their mouth without touching it. If it falls off they can use another one, but only 3 in total. My nephew won this one and some just ate their cookies – lol.

Nose Dive Game – This game require the players to transfer 5 Cotton Balls from one Bowl (I used Plates) to another using their noses which have Vaseline on them. I had one plate set up with a small amount of Vaseline, one with the Cotton Balls and one empty. It sounds easy to do, but the Cotton Balls get stuck on your nose and a lot of times you need to shake your head quite a bit to get them off – and do it in under a Minute.

Like I said I had a bunch more planned, but these took up some time – no Biggy they kids loved it and we laughed so hard. There is always next year for the others.

Now lets move onto MOVIE TIME

Before we started setting up for the Movie it was time for Birthday Cake. My son is a big techy so I wanted to do something fun with his cake . So I created a Donut Robot Cake – made from – YES – Donuts. You can imagine how simple this was to create – No baking involved – gotta love that. I also did a separate post to show you Step by Step instructions here:  How to Make a Donut Robot Birthday Cake.

The best part was that the eyes were Battery Operated LED Candles and it was dark at this point so with those and the Candles it looked so cool. The Boys went crazy over it. It is not very often you see a cake made up of Donuts and one that looks like a Robot.

Now it was time to set up the Inflatable Movie Screen and get this Movie going. A few of the boys were ready to help while the rest of them went for a late night dip back in the pool. Setting up the Inflatable Movie Screen is so Easy to do and it goes up in less than 10 minutes.

While they were getting the Screen ready I brought out the Movie Treats. I created a Candy Cake made up of all the kids favorite Movie Candy. This is easily done by taping on packaged candy to a cake dummy. This was a HUGE hit – when it was time to dig in I felt like I saw a group of piranhas. I have a post to show you Step by Step Directions Here: How to Create a Candy Cake.

I also made some Yummy Popcorn Cupcakes that are Cupcakes topped with Mini Marshmallows to look like Popcorn. They are also sprinkled with some Yellow Sugar to make them look Buttered. They are Wrapped using Roundabouts Popcorn Tub Cupcake Sleeves I now carry on my main Website. I also have a post on these showing Step by Step Directions Here: How to Make Popcorn Cupcakes.

I had planned to make regular Popcorn as well, but there was so much food and snacks still out that I just 86’d that plan and no one even noticed.

Now here is my Little Geek getting the Movie ready to go. So what will we be featuring at the Party. The Movie is – Avatar. We all love this movie and I cannot tell you how much better it is when you are sitting outside watching under the stars. I also gave a Glow Stick Necklace to each of them so they could see if they walked into the yard since my yard gets pretty dark. They were the Sticks on a String type.

Ahhhh now I get to relax. The kids all settled down with Cupcakes and Piles of Candy in hand. I think they were all tired at this point – they were busy all day long. I have to tell you the 7 hours went by so fast and I bet the kids all crashed into their beds as soon as they got home.

My Movie Party Favors

For the Party Favors I kept it simple and within the Movie Party Theme. We have a small local Movie Theater in our area that everyone goes to so I decided to give each of the Kids a Free Movie Pass. Then I paired that up with a Box of Sparklers and a Party Popper. This was perfect being the party was the weekend before the 4th of July. I also created my own Tags from some Filmstrip Clip Art and printed them onto Heavy Card Stock Paper – Hole Punched and tied it all together with some Gold Curling Ribbon. That was it Simple and Perfect and completely usable.

In the end the Smile on my Son’s Face says it all and that is what it is all about. Another Year older and Another Party Success.

I hope I was able to give you some ideas and inspiration on having a Backyard Movie Party Theme. If you have something to share just leave it in the Comments Below.