Turning Your Backyard Into A Movie Theatre

We always have the best intentions.

Big back yard + movie screen and some popcorn = homemade drive in.

We’ve wanted to build a large screen for years and invite any and all over to enjoy a little comedy and Hollywood, right here in Dutchess county.  Seemed easy enough; we’ve seen these movie screen how to’s all over Pinterest.  Absolutely, we could build our own.

So after years of saying someday, we set out to build said movie screen.  The invites had been mailed, movie night was in less than 24 hours, and like so many projects, we had put ourselves into a time crunch.  So, we buckled down and started to build the screen….

In the wind.

Ominous clouds overhead.

No such thing as level ground to build on.

I shutter to say, our patience levels were low.

And did I mention that the yard guy came and starting cutting our grass, spraying tiny blades over our screen???

Still, we were adamant that this movie screen was going to be built.  It had to be.  Luckily, for us DIYers, we had some scrap wood on hand to get started.  And honestly, these movie screens are an easy build, with a HUGE payback!!!

We decided on how big our movie screen was going to be, and Sean started to cut and build the frame.  8 feet by 8 feet seemed to fit the bill.  The screen itself, would consist of leftover roofing tar paper (black garden weed block fabric can be used as well), and then covered by a couple of on hand white table cloths that I stapled to the frame.

With the frame and screen built, we need to cut and attach some legs.  But, as these legs were “being attached,” the Little Miss and I were holding on to the screen for dear life.  We were trying to keep it level so the screen could be attached to its legs.  But try as we might, our hair was blowing like Beyonce’s, all while Sean was bogarting a moment to take a photo of his work.

I was thinking some unpleasant words, and the Little Miss did utter a couple words that she absolutely learned on the bus..

To borrow a phrase from my mama, we were having a monkey and a parrot time.  You’ve had a time or two like this, I am sure, and we were in the thick of it here.  Not a doubt in my mind that if the neighbors were looking out their window at us, they were laughing.

Sturdy breezes and steady rain aside, we completed our movie screen, and carried it into place.  We anchored the legs with heavy rocks, and we were in business.

It was showtime.

A dear friend loaned us a projector, and we were on our way to Hollywood in Dutchess county.

Without a drop of rain, nor a single breeze, we hosted our first backyard movie night.  We called it the Todd Hill Drive-in.

With a little borrowed sound from the Broadway department, camp chairs lined up stadium-seating style, and some blankets to keep cozy, the movie started to play.  The smell and the crunching sound of freshly popped popcorn was like a favorite dessert following a delicious meal.  Our first backyard movie night was epic!!

Although we had all of the materials on hand, I shopped around and did the math, and a movie screen like ours can be built for less than $20!  It’s the projector that can be a little costly, but if  taken care of, you’ll have it forever and it will provide you with hours and hours of enjoyment.  I recommend this one.

Having a movie screen set up in your backyard is the perfect family fun night.  And too, the fact that it’s so simple and inexpensive to build makes it even better.  Build one of these and you too will have the most popular yard on the block!