Driveway movie text with projector and screen and popcorn

Driveway Movie

Since movies are a very popular thing to do for a date, I’m sure you’ve noticed that there are a lot of dates that involve them. This idea is another creative movie date. The driveway movie is a fun inexpensive date idea that is something out of the ordinary.

Instead of going to a drive-in to watch a movie, which is also really fun, if you can find one these days (they seem to be going extinct), get an extension cord and run it out to your car. Set up a TV and DVD/Blu-Ray player, and watch the movie in your driveway inside your car. Set out blankets and pillows to make it more comfortable.

If you have a really small car then maybe you can set up the TV on a table in front of your car or on the hood, and have external speakers set up inside the car and then sit in your front seats and watch.

black and white suv

So many possibilities!

A cool idea would be to drive to a seaside cliff, or up a mountain, and enjoy the fresh air and spectacular scenery. Or you could set out a big tarp on the driveway and just set up chairs and blankets and bean bags on that and use the garage door as the screen or tack up a white sheet on the garage door to be the screen. Maybe you want to make it a homemade drive-in movie. After setting up the projector and screen on the garage door, you can run speakers into the car and watch the movie sitting in the car.

There are so many different variations that you can do with this creative driveway movie date idea. Do you want it to be more romantic? Have it be just the two of you. Or maybe you want this to be a fun group date idea. It is totally up to you!

What you need for this driveway movie date idea:

You will need a TV that will go either inside your vehicle or outside. You will need an extension cord, DVD/Blu-Ray player, and table if the setup is outside. Some cars nowadays come with a DVD player in them and a small screen to view movies on while in the car. If you have one of those then you are set, unless you want a bigger screen.

You also can have any snacks and comfort items that you want. Would you like some homemade snacks and dessert ideas? Check out my food blog, In the Kitchen with Matt. Make it funny by rolling out a red carpet that leads to the entrance of the car. This would be better if you had a big cargo van or something like that to watch the movie in.  

digital projector used for the driveway movie

If you go the projector route borrow or buy a projector. They have come way down in price and are pretty reasonable now. If you do these kinds of movie dates often, it is probably worth it to invest in one. You can also set it up for gamedays, family events, etc.

My commentary on this creative date idea:

A long time ago my older brother took the TV and put it in our 1974 Volkswagen Bus. He ran an extension cord from the house out to the van and also brought out a VCR. He took the middle seat out to make it roomier. Then he and his date watched a movie inside. Being the youngster that I was at the time, I just thought he was silly—I mean, there was a perfectly good TV in the family room that wasn’t being used. But since I had a habit of pestering him and his dates when they were in the house, it was probably a good idea they were outside in the bus.

More recently a group of friends and I got together and projected a movie onto the garage door of my friend’s house. We had a tarp down and blankets and bean bags and camping chairs. Popcorn and other movie snacks were plentiful as we sat and watched the movie. Good times!

Do you have experience with this creative date idea? Let me know in the comments how it went and if your date, spouse, significant other liked it. You can buy a copy of the book 101 Creative Dates: ideas, tips, and personal experiences from the life of a hopeless romantic here or visit the shop.

Here are other creative date ideas you might like:

Go to a Festival or Convention

Dinner in a Gazebo

Three-Legged Ultimate Frisbee

Laptop Movie in the Park