Want to host a dive-in movie night for your friends and family? What a lovely idea!
Dive-in movies are super fun and can be the perfect way to ring in any holiday – from New Year’s to your birthday. But, because dive-in movies most often need to be organised at night, it’s important to plan things with care, to make sure you and your attendees have a lovely and safe time.
In this article, we share a few tips that you can follow to host a dive-in movie night, in your brand-new home fibreglass swimming pool. Perhaps, this can be a great pool-warming ceremony (if that’s your type of thing) when you get your new home swimming pool installed soon.
So, let’s get right into it.
1. Find a clear space to set up the movie screen & projector
Unless your pool is an indoor pool and you have a massive 292 inches TV hooked up to the wall, you’re going to need a screen and a projector. You can easily rent these two from any store that specialises in equipment rentals for parties.
You’ll need to find some clear space somewhere around the pool, to ensure that you can set up a screen that is large enough for everyone in and around the pool, to watch a movie on. The projector should be placed in a location where it is not impeded by people moving around or swimming since that can impact the screening of the movie.
In case you’re unable to find a large enough screen or maybe you have the budget to rent out only one piece of equipment, get the projector and find a wall that is broad enough to act as a screen for your movie. If the sides of your house don’t have any windows or doors, you can project the movie on the side of your house itself.
2. Download a bunch of movies on your laptop for the big night
As a best practice, it helps to have more movies than one loaded onto your laptop for quick screening. That way, you can extend the party to the wee hours of the morning or even cater to the special demands of the crowd who may not want to watch some of the movies you have.
Remember, you’ll need your HDMI, VGA or RCA cables to connect your laptop to the projector for the screening.
3. Switch on the underwater LED lights
The underwater LED lights won’t hinder the movie-watching experience. Rather, it will add an element of safety to the experience. Since now things are visible underwater, you can be aware of any safety concerns immediately and act fast. To set the ambience with the lights on, just dim the LED light settings a bit. Before the dive-in movie night, check the batteries for the LED lights and replace the old ones so the lights don’t give out at the last minute.
4. Set up pool floats in different sizes and lounge chairs around the pool
Swimming Pools Melbourne floats are essential when you want to have a dive-in movie party. Make sure you get floats in different sizes and capable of bearing different weights, to offer a comfortable experience for all your guests – adults and children alike. You get floats with drink holders, which are perfect if you have beverages to offer.
For those who don’t wish to enter the pool to watch the movie, you should have lounge chairs or pool chairs available around the pool, where they can sit and enjoy the show. Put out a couple of floor mats or rugs as well, if the floor isn’t wet. That way, some of your guests can sprawl on the floor and enjoy their food and drinks and movie.
5. Keep finger food and drinks handy in portable containers
Speaking of food and drinks, always make sure you stock finger food like chips, popcorn and French fries in small portable containers. You can actually divide them up to give them to groups of people sitting in the pool. If the containers are small and handy, they can place them on their floats and enjoy their movie experience. If you don’t have many small containers, keep a table close to both sides of the pool, so that people can help themselves to what they want.
Plastic or paper cups are great ways to serve drinks. You can also have a floating cooler handy, which you can set loose and let drift so that anyone who wants to top up their drinks can reach out for the cooler and get their beverage.
Always place dustbins at the edges of the pool for easy disposal of cups and plates. That way, your pool won’t be littered after the dive-in movie night.
6. Tie a rope around all sides of the pool to help your viewers stay in place
You need to get about 8-10 pegs and tie ropes all around the pool, to help people stabilise themselves and not float around. If their float starts to drift away, they can just hang onto the rope and pull themselves back into place.
7. Keep life jackets and other safety devices handy
Never assume that nothing can go wrong in a home swimming pool. When you’re having a party or a dive-in movie night, people can be more excitable. Add drinks to the mix and you have a recipe for trouble if you’re not careful.
So always keep lifejackets, arm floaties and other safety equipment in an accessible place at all times. We recommend that you give each person a life jacket before the movie starts, just so they can be safe.
8. Designate someone to watch over the others
It can be a bummer to miss out on the movie and the fun, in favour of being a watch guard for everyone else. But this is a very important job. Either you or someone you handpick should be asked to avoid alcohol and sit outside the pool. That way, they’ll have a vantage point to keep an eye on everyone in the pool and also be responsive enough to act fast if someone needs help.
To Conclude
We can provide more tips to help you organise all types of parties in your home fibreglass swimming pool. Read through our blog to know more. You can also get in touch with our team to discuss the installation of your brand-new home pool.
