Aria's Drive-in Movie Night

For my daughter Aria's 12th birthday, she really wanted a "hang out" vibe with optional sleepover. She didn't really care about anything else...you know, your typical tween.

Knowing that my friend Erin at Whimsical Teepees has an awesome backyard movie night rental package, I decided that was the way to go so I started to formulate a color palette and look for the event.

I found some tin signs that had a Grease/1950s vibe and remind me of the intermission cartoon in the background of the "Stranded at the Drive-In" scene from Grease. I created my own Ice Cream cartoon character, Mr. Ice Cream Cone, to coordinate with the characters on the tin signs. I loved it and used Mr. Ice Cream Cone on all of my signs, the cookies + the invitations!

I worked with Erin to create a custom backyard theatre with lounge, concessions and of course, the movie projector + screen. Erin rents out the movie projector, screen, seating for up to 8 people, tables, rugs, and pillows and a concessions cart filled with candy, cookies, chips and juice boxes.

Since I already had a similar cart that matched my colors, I just had Erin fill it up with yummy treats and added one of the tin signs to the top and some balloon accents. I also did not need the juice boxes, since this was more of a soda-loving crowd. I got some fun bottled pop and displayed it in my pink retro cooler, accented with balloons. It looked great! I also did a table with more concessions and a cute sign next to these displays.

In addition to the pillows Erin provided for the chairs, I created some really cute frosted animal cookie pillows that were inspired by these Studio DIY ones - https://studiodiy.com/diy-circus-animal-cookie-pillows/ (but I just created my own patterns and used 3 colors of fleece). To tie these cute (albeit random) pillows to the party more, I baked some sugar cookie bars and added some crushed up cookies into the batter and put full cookies in the icing on top -- plus sprinkles.

Instead of a traditional cake, Aria opted for an ice cream cake which we got from a local favorite - Batavia Creamery. They decorated it a little to match my color palette/theme (included in the price) and I just made 2 dimensional cake toppers to finish the look. It was cute and totally delicious!

For food, I focused on BETTER versions of the food they sell at movie theaters. Frozen pizza, soft pretzels + dip, popcorn, and nachos + cheese. Guests also ate copious amounts of boxed candy, chips and cookies (because why not?!).

Decor included the beautiful setup that Erin @ Whimsical Teepees did plus the favor pillows, linens, balloons and signage that I created. My favorite detail was this really genius idea that came to me a couple months before the party. I wanted to create a movie marquee with balloons for the bulbs (with LED lights inside so it actually functioned as a true marquee sign at night!). I also made the movies interchangeable by putting Velcro on the back. The end result was really, really cool and unique! I hope it inspires others!

Activities for this party included the obvious outdoor movie watching of Footloose and Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World and lots of eating of sweets + treats! Some of the kids also spent the night (indoors) and they mostly just hung out, talking and laughing into the wee hours of the morning!

A breakfast of pancakes, hashbrown patties and sausage was served to the overnight guests the following day.

Our very tired guests took home their pillow favor as well as a custom sugar cookie when they left. Everyone had a great time and Aria got a kicked up version of the hang out party she had hoped for!

• What People Ate

  or food, I focused on better versions of the food they sell at movie theaters. Frozen pizza, soft pretzels + dip, popcorn, and nachos with cheese. Guests also ate copious amounts of boxed candy, chips and cookies (because why not?!).

• What People Drank

  Bottled pop + water

• Desserts

  Ice cream cake, sugar cookie bars, cookies and lots of CANDY

• Party Favors

  Frosted Animal Cookie pillow and a custom sugar cookie favor

• Activities / Games

  Watch movies in backyard, have sleepover, eat.

• Kio Kreations

  Designer, Planner, Balloons, Signage

  I designed this event for my daughter
  https://kiokreations.com/

• Whimsical Teepees

  Backyard Theatre Setup

  Screen + projector rental, seating and decor for 8, concessions
  https://whimsicalteepees.com/outdoor-movie-night/

• Jennifer Kaye Photography

  Photographer

  Jenny took these great photos (except for the night time ones at the end of the gallery)
  https://www.jenniferkayephotography.com/

• Just Breathe Custom Cookies

  Sugar Cookie Favors

  Sarah made the awesome sugar cookie favors that matched the theme!
  https://www.facebook.com/justbreathecustomcookies/

• Batavia Creamery

  Ice Cream Cake

  Batavia Creamery made a delicious, lightly decorated cake that I added cake toppers to that was perfect for our party!
  https://bataviacreamery.com/