Four Tickets To Anywhere

What better way to bring in October than to spend it with friends and neighbors, watching Hocus Pocus 2?

Finally, after 29 LONG years, we have been given Hocus Pocus 2! Since the release date of September 30th was announced, people all over have been excited, buying themed clothing, food, and merchandise! We decided this would be the perfect movie for our Second Annual Neighborhood Movie Night, especially since we showed Hocus Pocus last year!

I imagine everyone who has a movie night, hosts theirs differently. So, I am going to share our experiences.

Movie Night 2021

Last year, October 30, 2021, was our first time hosting a movie night. We invited the neighbors using our community Facebook group. We made a flyer, gave them the date, and time, and asked them to bring a chair and snack to share! It was our first movie night so, we kept it simple, but fun!

Everyone had a great time! We met new neighbors that we did not previously know, even better, one family had a daughter our daughters’ age! Unsurprisingly, the kids did not last too long in their seats. They enjoyed each other’s company running around and playing on our outdoor play set.

S’mores were made, hot chocolate was sipped, and adult drinks were shared among the adults! Overall, it was a successful evening!

Planning Movie Night 2022

When we heard the release date for Hocus Pocus 2, we immediately thought this was perfect for our movie night! Once the date and time were set, we shared our event on our neighborhood’s Facebook page. This year, we decided to host in our front yard, hoping that more neighbors may come. A bunch of neighbors shared their excitement, only increasing our children’s excitement! We were ready to go with brand-new speakers and a better screen!

During the week before our movie night, I had some concerns about showing Hocus Pocus 2. Knowing the high demand from viewers, I was nervous that the site might crash. I did inform the neighbors, but everyone was on board either way! An additional concern, as always when planning an outdoor event, was the weather. Up until Friday morning, the weather was looking good, albeit clouds were projected, but not rain. I think I checked the weather app on my phone about 100 times during the day and of course, the projection was different about 60% of those times! The start time of the rain kept changing, but I decided to approach the night with a positive outlook.

Movie Night

On movie night, we set up our projector, screen, and chairs, and we were ready to go! Happy that we did so, a couple of neighbors asked what we were doing and then joined us later on. The only change in my plan was our snack table and fire pit. We decided if the rain did come earlier than expected, having less to move inside was better. Thankfully, we converted our garage a few months back to a mudroom and I was able to set it up there for easy access! We decided it wasn’t worth starting a fire, but I luckily have an indoor s’mores maker, so s’mores were still on the menu!

Mother nature was in our favor! We had some outdoor fun for about 2 hours before the rain started. By then, the kids were already running around and the adults were socializing. We decided, instead of ending the night, to move the festivities inside. All in all, it was a successful evening! Kids and adults alike had a great time. We cannot wait to host our next movie night and we do not plan on waiting a year this time!

Some of the products we had at our movie night:

Items I wish I had…

Some links may be commissioned.