Friday Night at the Movies

Friday Night At The Movies

Get ready for Friday Night at the Movies.

This will be the most anticipated annual event in your Children's Department.

Movie tickets, snack tickets, themed snacks, specialty popcorn (to match your event), drinks, intermission time with a popcorn devotional, sleeping bags, pillows, friends, and soooo much fun!

Before you set a time for your event, make sure to include time for the children to get their snacks, an intermission devotional, and time for them to get their snacks a second time. If you plan on doing a photo booth or something else, make sure to allow time for that as well.

Recommendation: DO NOT plan two movies...such as Cars 1 and Cars 2 on the same evening. It gets to be a loooong evening, and some children will even fall asleep during the second movie.

Select Your Movie
Create fun movie tickets for your children and extras for them to pass out and invite their friends. Tickets can be generic, like the one below, or you can replace the pics with ones from the movie you are going to be watching.
Download the PDF below to create your own ticket. The font that I used is canned Digital-7. The ticket can easily be adapted to fit your theme.
Make sure to add the date, time, and your church's name on the ticket.
Make enough ticket copies for your children, plus extras for them to pass out to their friends. This is a great outreach event.
Promote, promote, promote
If you can do an online sign-up, do it! Have them call the office, or have them text a certain phone number if they plan on attending so that you can have an accurate number for snacks and food.

TICKETS

Generic Ticket With Instructions-merged.pdf

Samples of what you can do with your ticket!

SNACK TICKETS

As the children arrive at the ticket booth, exchange their ticket for a "snack card"

I always give them one card when they arrive. They are allowed refills on their popcorn anytime during the movie as long as they get up quietly. They will also receive a second card after intermission. The PDF below contains many colors of tickets for you to choose from. Match your theme or use two different colors for their first ticket and then their second ticket.

I always give the servers a hole punch and they will punch a hole in the ticket beside the item they chose. Have a hole punch at the check in desk as well so you can punch the movie ticket option.

I also normally allow the children 3-4 treats instead of one...because there are so many amazing treats! You can announce the quantity and each treat worker can punch the ticket that many times.

Food Tickets

Blankets/Pillows/Sleeping Bags

Have the children select their spot...on the floor, and lay out their sleeping bags/blankets and pillows.

Once they are all set, they are allowed to visit the snack tables.

Tables

I normally set up about 6 tables. Each table is covered with a plastic table cloth for easier cleanup. Choose a color that matches your theme.

Give each table a special name and hang a sign on the table...that matches your movie. Laminate the sign if possible. You can reuse them for a later date if you show the movie again or if a sequel comes out.

Here are a few examples from the "Frozen" movie that I chose.

FOOD

Go Hog Wild on the Treats!

This is where your event will become their most anticipated event of the year!

It's your time to shine!

Here are a few food samples that I used for the movie "Cars," "Frozen" and The Minions.

Creating a name tag for the food item also adds to the fun!

POPCORN

Get creative!

Each time I host a movie night, I provide 4 types of popcorn.

May of my recipes...such as the Kool-Aid popcorn (one of my favorites) can be used each year by just using a different flavor of kool-aid to match the theme color.

I ALWAYS have one bowl of regular popcorn...there are children who only want the regular popcorn.

Here are a few popcorn pic examples.

Note the "NEW" oil pans and funnels used for our "Cars" movie night? Presentation is everything for a Friday Night at the Movies Event

I have attached a few popcorn recipes below (PDF) but don't be afraid to get creative!

Popcorn Recipes - Merged.pdf

Intermission (Devotional)

Below, is a devotional that you may want to use during intermission time.

Just Popped In.pdf

Just Popped In.pdf

Photo Booth

Make sure to try out a photo booth. They can be customized for your theme and they are always a fun hit with the children.

Sleeping Bags, Blankets, Pillows and Cuddlies

Remind the children to bring their sleeping bags, blankets, pillows and a cuddly if they choose.

Name Tags - Movie Characters

If you are showing a movie with a lot of characters in it such as "Cars" or "Smurfs," creating fun name tags for the children to choose from is always fun for the children.

They will go by that characters name throughout the evening.