How to Host an Outdoor Winter Movie Night [Comfortably!]

Winter is coming

It is! Depending on what time of year you’re reading this! If you’ve come across this one I’m guessing it’s because it’s either really cold where you are or you love watching movies outside so much that it has to be a year round thing for you. If you’re both then allow me to assist. Everyone else who lives in perfect weather conditions year round, just get yourself a blanket and call it good. Watching a movie in cold weather or even snow can actually be an awesome and comfortable experience if you follow some of these tips.

It gets to be around 30 degrees F where I live and have my setup. This means there’s a couple of extra steps I have to take if I want this winter to be equally enjoyable on my patio and for movie nights. In this article, I’ll show you some of the things you can do to make your outdoor winter patio significantly warmer and more enjoyable. The best things you can do to host the perfect outdoor winter movie night is to keep equipment safe from the elements, keep the audience warm with a patio heater and stadium blankets, prepare hot drinks and use food warmers.

Why winter is a better time to watch movies outside …

There are no bugs out this time of year! Imagine how comfortable you could sit outside with friends and family not having to worry about bugs biting and flying all around you. If you can find a way to mitigate the cold then you’re more than set. Plus, your friends won’t think it’s weird for you to drink hot chocolate. Take a look at the following things you can do in order to host the ultimate movie night. This article can also be useful even if you don’t plan to watch a movie outside.

Keep your equipment safe from the elements

Projectors and DVD players (if you still have one). This one applies to any device that will be running during the setup. You will have to account for moisture developing near the area you have everything set up. In cold conditions, media players can become damaged either by frost or excessive exposure to cold. The solution to this is to lay your equipment on a water absorbing surface like a towel or bed sheet. Don’t place them directly on a hardwood table. Placing a light bed sheet layer over the top of the projector is only a good idea when it’s extremely cold outside and you actually think it will affect the projector’s ability to function.

Screen. The screen needs to be the last thing you put up for your movie set up. Don’t put up the screen and then leave it for hours and hours before starting the movie. Frost and dew easily accumulate on it throughout the night. Take the screen down first and don’t leave it up overnight. As much as you want to go to sleep after watching the epic finale of Harry Potter on the big screen, don’t leave it hanging up overnight because you’re too lazy. Dew WILL accumulate and damage the screen if you leave it up all night and I can personally attest to this.

Cords. Just be safe with how you manage your cords. Don’t lay them extending out across wet grass if you can help it. The cold doesn’t affect them but if there’s snow on the ground, your intuition should tell you to lay down a towel or something before routing them to an electrical circuit. As always, make sure they’re dry and don’t have moisture on them before you plug them in to anything.

Keep the audience warm

It’s 100% not fun to sit and watch a movie in the cold especially if you know you could have just done it indoors. I’m not the kind of person that likes having to wear pants and a sweatshirt let alone putting on five pairs of blankets to reach luke warm. My complete suggestion to would be to look into getting a patio heater …

This is the model heater that I got for my mom’s birthday. I’m about 6ft in this picture just to give you an idea of how tall it is. We got it this past June and have had the chance to use it a couple times during colder summer nights. I’m actually really excited to use it this winter when there will be no bugs! I like the amount of heat this thing puts out. The reason standing heaters as tall as this one are good is because you can sit right under it when watching movies. All it takes is a propane tank (the same kind you would use for a grill).

I can’t speak yet for how long the flame lasts yet, but it’s comparable to the same life you would get from a tank on a grill. It also depends on how much you use it. All models come with a knob to turn the intensity of the heat up or down. We put ours close to an umbrella so even more of the heat is protected throughout our circular set up and that’s worked really well. We plan to get a second one of these in the future since we got it for a very reasonable price. I recommend getting two if you have a larger set up than ours.

How to Choose a Proper Patio Heater

Spaces larger than the setup in the above picture will likely need 2 heaters for max comfort
Electric, propane, or natural gas? Consider an electric one if you have outlets nearby or a patio that permits it. 38,000 BTU is good for small and medium areas. Anything above is best for larger spaces. These numbers are the best way to tell how much heat a propane and natural gas heater will be able to put out.
Freestanding, wall mounted, tabletop, or hanging?

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Provides amazing warmth in small and medium areas

Good for small areas and want them out of reach from children and pets

Also good for small areas or if you want the heat closer to where you’re sitting

Best if you have an enclosed space like a gazebo, where heat can contain itself

Stock up on the best winter blankets

Wool, cotton fleece, flannel, and velour are the warmest materials to have. Hopefully, you have at least one or many of these blankets in addition to other heating elements. Below are some of the better brands of blanket manufactures that I’ve researched and have stood out to me.

HYSEAS. They make double sided blankets, one that’s extremely soft and warm and the other that’s water resistant. They make blankets designed for stadium events and have a good reputation for blankets that do well in the snow.
Instant Heat Blanket. They make single designs of the same blanket that is basically instant heat. It’s basically an aluminum blanket that reflects your body heat. You can easily get this online for under $30. I think this one would be good because it’s one you don’t have to take care of and feel free to leave outside by your patio whenever you want.
Hood River (stadium blanket). Also for under $30, you can get a massive size that multiple people can cover under. This one would be better if it wasn’t snowing outside since it’s not waterproof.
Wooly Mammoth Explorer Collection. This is a more expensive one but definitely higher quality. The stitching design is quality and comfortable and this would no doubt be able to survive the coldest of winter weather.

Prepare Hot Drinks

Nothing like a quality homemade hot chocolate recipe right? My girlfriend thinks I go a little overboard with how much time I spend looking at the best possible hot chocolate recipes. I think it’s paid off because now I’ll share with you some of the awesome ones I’ve found too and some of these I’ve made myself and can attest to their awesomeness.

Gharadelli Inspired: 2 pieces Ghiradelli dark chocolate, 2/3 of your cup with milk, rest with heavy cream, 1 tbsp powdered sugar and vanilla. Combine all but the chocolate until brought to a simmer then add and stir. The more you let it settle on low heat the thicker it will get
Easy Chai Tea: (4 cups) 8 cloves, 8 cardamom seeds, 4 black peppers, cinnamon powder/sticks, 2 cups whole milk, 4 bags black tea, 8 teaspoons sugar. Bring to simmer, remove from heat, steep for 10 minutes, strain.
Warm Mulled Cider: 1 orange, apple cider, honey, 3 allspice berries, 3 cloves, pinch ground nutmeg, thinly sliced ginger clove, cinnamon powder / 3 sticks. This one can be adjusted in many different ways and you don’t even have to have all the ingredients to make it work for you.
Mexican Hot Chocolate: 1 packet hot chocolate (any flavor), 2 pinches ground chipotle chili pepper, 2 pinches ground cinnamon, 2 tablespoons sweetened whipped cream.

Now that I look at it, a lot of these recipes could actually be swapped around a little bit to create your own. One more thing that I always enjoy is the Abuelita’s Mexican Hot Chocolate tablets you can get from Costco or almost anywhere else. The instructions call for a whole tablet but that is way too much. Use 1/4 of it and stir it into simmering milk. The longer you let it sit in the simmer, the thicker it will get!

Use food warmers for popcorn and food

I extremely enjoy eating entire meals while watching a movie. Even if you don’t, warm snacks best if they can somehow stay warm. Throughout the duration of an entire movie, wouldn’t it be awesome if your cookies, brownies, or cobblers could stay warm and not feel pressured to have to eat them right away? Take a look below at some of the items I found that can help you if you don’t already have one. Crockpots, Rachel Rays Lasagna Lugger, and Pyrex Portables are some of the best products to help keep your food warm outside.

Tips for keeping food warm in a cooler:

It’s 100% doable, but don’t just put them straight in the cooler itself.
Line the bottom with some warm aluminum foil or with a towel to make the internal heating process go faster.
Don’t use a large cooler for only a small amount of food if you can help it. If you’re going to use a big cooler, put more towels in it.

Hydroflask bottles are my favorite for keeping drinks warm (or cold). Did you know they also make food containers? Any company that makes similar containers to Hydroflask would be worth looking into as well. The Stanely Adventure Vaccum and its counterparts are also great alternatives to wrapping food in aluminum foil or other containers.

Try to Keep Your Speaker System Close to You

I put this one in here for a reason. I think the most common way people rig up an outdoor movie is through a portable, Bluetooth speaker. This is what my family does at least. You don’t want to have to de-blanket yourself to get up and walk to the player or speaker to turn up or down the volume. If you can find a convenient way to keep the speaker close to you then you won’t have this dilemma. You may think this is second nature, but make sure you have everything you need before you settle down and get comfortable. Remotes, cookies, popcorn, make sure it’s all good to go (again so you don’t have to de-blanket).

In the event the weather gets worse or it starts to snow, it’s still feasible to continue watching if your equipment isn’t exposed. You could even place a small cover over the top of the speakers, projector, and player.

Verdict

Hosting an outdoor movie night is totally doable! And if done right, it could be an even more enjoyable time that staying indoors. I’m looking forward to this winter in California especially with the heater we got. I also want to mention that fire pits are also another way to stay warm! We have a Mexican firepit that projects heat in all directions based on its design. That combined with our heater makes for a very comfortable night. Even if you just applied one or two of these things towards your movie night, I guarantee it would be more enjoyable.

If nothing else, I think getting a patio heater would give you the biggest bang for the comfort. Plus you can enjoy your patio even when you’re not watching a movie. I apologize for anyone who doesn’t have winter coldness issues and all the stuff that goes along with that. If you’re one of those, then it’s awesome you can enjoy a place in your yard almost year round. For the rest of us, hopefully you’ve found that there’s still a lot you can do to make your patio more comfortable for you and your friends. Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment or reach out at entertainmentden.ns@gmail.com. I’ll leave with one more link to some of the equipment I use to set up movies outdoors.

My Favorite Projector Review

My Favorite Projector Screen For Indoor and Outdoor Movies

My Outdoor Speaker: Sony SRSX55

*I use a PS4 for watching everything. I don’t have a DVD player.*