Troop Beverly Hills Outdoor Movie Party

In the wilderness of life, you can never be too prepared!  A skill I pride myself in is the ability to put a celebration together in a moment’s notice, what I like to call “a party in a pinch”.  Summer is almost over here in Seattle, and I’m doing what everyone else in the area is doing, trying to cram as much outdoor activity in as possible before the weather changes!

With the current “It’s Cookie Time” theme at Jenny Cookies Bake Shop, a Troop Beverly Hills movie night needed to happen before summer was over. So with a quick skim through my party closet, a few Amazon orders and a trip to Target, I had everything I needed for the ultimate wilderness girls outdoor movie party.

Here are a few of my best tips, ideas and tricks for creating your own Troop Beverly Hills movie party:

Decor: Luckily since the party was outdoors, I didn’t have to do much decorating besides adding a few throw pillows to my outdoor furniture and some tropical plants to my deck.  I found inexpensive green & white striped and banana leaf pillow covers on Amazon, and used my current pillows as the inserts.  Target had the cutest velvet pillows in the perfect shade of pink, to set the Beverly Hills Hotel vibe.

My pets were even party ready! 

 

Plants & florals: Always bring in an element of “life” if you can.  I picked up some tropical plants at my local Trader Joes to place around the deck to give a Beverly Hills Hotel feel.  In addition, I created a few floral arrangements from flowers from my local flower farm to place around the party for color and texture.  

 

Drinks:  Choose one or two drinks to offer vs offering every soda, wine and cocktail flavor available.  This time I offered champagne, Evian, and my go-to signature cocktail: the greyhound.  Try to offer a non-alcoholic option in the same family flavor as whatever cocktail you are serving for underage or dry guests.  I was able to make the most delicious version with Evian’s new sparkling water and fresh grapefruit juice!

Food:  Keep it simple.  In my experience of hosting parties for the last 10+ years, girls don’t eat a lot at parties, they get busy chatting and enjoying each other, so focus on small bites and easy-to-eat-while-visiting foods.  I made personal-size charcuterie boxes for each guest filled with meats, cheeses, fruit, crackers and nuts.

Since it was a movie watch party, popcorn was essential.  I’m certain with more time to prep, I could have created a fancy homemade popcorn recipe, but I went simple and microwaved buttery popcorn, drizzled chocolate over the top, and sprinkled in fun toppings like cut up twix bars, tiny pb cups, mini chocolate chip cookies and chocolate covered pretzels.  The striped pink popcorn boxes held just the right amount of popcorn for guests! 

 

Dessert: Obviously including our Troop Beverly Hills cookies from Jenny Cookies Bake Shop was a must.  In addition, I thought a s’mores fondue would be a fun nod to the camping scene from the movie when she slips in the mud but saves the fondue.  I hadn’t made fondue before, but it was super easy, and this fondue pot worked really well!  I layered cake plates and compotes with delicious bite size treats to dip like cut up crispy cubes, brownies, pretzels, fresh fruit, cake and more.

 

Take Home Favor: I love a party favor, even if it’s for a last minute get together.  I found these pink blankets that matched perfectly and doubled as decor! 

Activity: The movie!  To set the scene, I used a white photography backdrop as our “screen”, purchased Troop Beverly Hills on Prime Video, and played it through our projector.  

 

It’s Party time!  Now, go enjoy your guests!  Put your phone away, catch up with friends or meet someone new, and make a summer memory!  

 

 

 

I’m so glad I was able to pull this together, not only because it was so much fun, but now I’m ready to host another movie night!  What movie should we watch next?

 

Now, does this mean I’ve earned my movie night patch?! 

To see additional details, I shared more on Seattle’s New Day Northwest HERE. 

To get an It’s Cookie Time shipment box delivered to your door, head HERE!