Throw a Holiday Movie Marathon

Photo By: Auntie K

Family, friends, full tummies. Yes, the holiday season is fast upon us. But don’t run and hide from that high caloric intake or those out of state relatives you haven’t seen for a year. No…throw a holiday party! Better yet, throw a holiday movie marathon!

But, before you butter the popcorn and pop in a DVD, you’ll need to answer the following questions:

Who’s coming? Family, friends, family and friends? Will there be kids? How old is everyone? Any smokers? Who you choose to invite to your movie marathon will affect everything from the type of food and drinks you’ll be serving to what movies you’ll be watching. So, choose wisely.

When will it be held? Before the holidays? After? Keep in mind that your potential guests may be traveling around the holidays, so make sure you give them enough time in advance to check their calendars and get back to you.

What food and drinks will you serve? Hors d’oeuvres or a full sit-down meal? Will there be beer, wine, soda? One idea is to offer different finger foods and drinks in between each film. Besides nourishing your guests after some grueling movie watching, this will keep things interesting enough to get them off their rump and moving around.

Will you have party favors? This is a great way to make your movie marathon memorable. One party favor idea: buy each guest an ornament with a creative title for your marathon emblazoned on it (ex. The Nelson’s 2008 Movie Marathon).

Where will you watch the movies? Is there enough space? If you only have a 500 square foot Tampa apartment, you probably won’t want to invite 20 people. Regardless of how many people you invite, do you have enough comfortable seating for everyone? Bean bags score big here. That stiff, antique dining chair? Not so much.

Are all your electronics in working order? Nothing can dampen the spirits of a movie marathon like broken equipment. So test your TV, DVD player, and sound system to make sure they work. Perhaps now is a good time to treat yourself to that 52’ flat screen, Blu-Ray player, and Bose system you’ve been pining for. Consider it a gift to your guests.

What movies will you watch? The critical question for every movie marathoner. Would your guest prefer to watch a film series like Star Wars or an assortment of films from different genres (action, drama, horror, etc)? You also might think of choosing movies based upon a particular theme? Given the season, you might want to go with a holiday theme. Here are 10 classic Christmas movies you could choose from:

1. A Christmas Story
2. A Charlie Brown Christmas
3. Scrooged
4. White Christmas
5. Nightmare Before Christmas
6. Holiday Inn
7. Miracle on 34th Street
8. It’s a Wonderful Life
9. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
10. Elf

Things to Keep in Mind…

The movies you choose need to be interesting enough to keep people engrossed for several hours. Also, considering that the average film is over 90 minutes long, 3 movies are usually enough to keep people engaged and cheerful without over doing it. If you don’t already own the movies you’ll be using for your marathon, make sure you rent them or borrow them from a local library ahead of time.

Once you’ve taken all of the above issues into consideration, you’re ready to send out the invitations for your wonderful holiday movie marathon and start preparing for the big day. Pace yourself!

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