At-Home Summer Date Nights

Last summer I was majorly pregnant, anxiously awaiting the arrival of our Charlie girl. In an effort to save money and be more mindful of being close to home, David and I decided to do a weekly summer movie date night at home - but with a little bit of added fun to it!

I documented it on TikTok, but I thought it’d be fun to share the idea here (+ some extra ideas we might do this summer). The idea is that we each picked 4 movies that felt like ‘summer’ to us.

My choices were: Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again, The Parent Trap, Now & Then, and Dirty Dancing.
David picked: The Sandlot, The Goonies, Jaws, and Overboard.

For each movie, we came up with a themed snack and/or drink. Truthfully, we usually just stuck to the snack and ditched any drink ideas. Some of these were a super simple and straight forward reference from the movie, and others were more hands-on and creative. I created print outs of each movie + snack and then sealed them in envelopes. Each week, we’d pick an envelope and open it up to see what our date night would be.

It was a lot of fun for both of us, and I’m looking forward to recreating it this year because - ha, I’m pregnant again!

Below is a list of the movies + snacks we did last summer, followed by some new movie night ideas for this year!

---

The Sandlot
Snack: Smores, of course! (and or you can try some sort of smores themed dessert! I’m eyeing up Smores Rice Krispies for a summer recipe to try this year!)

Now & Then
Snack: Now & Then is a movie centered around nostalgia and to me, there is one snack that always makes me feel like a kid again…Home-made Pizza Bagel Bites - I used this recipe for a ‘healthier’ variation!

The Parent Trap
Snack: Peanut Butter + Oreos - the odd snack combination the twins first bond over! Easy & delicious.

Jaws
Snack: Shark-Bite Snack Mix (Mix of: Popcorn, Blue & Red M&Ms, Goldfish Pretzels/Crackers, Shark Gummies) You can find Shark Gummies at Target!

Dirty Dancing
Snack: Watermelon or something watermelon-flavored, like watermelon sorbet or watermelon lemonade!

Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again
Snack: Greek Mezze Platter to indulge in the beautiful Greece scenery of the movie - hummus, pita, tzatziki, cucumber, tomatoes, olives, the works!

Overboard
Snack: Crab Dip & Sea Salt Popcorn

My friend Meg made the best crab dip in college ( from her mom’s recipe), and she gave me this link last year as a recipe that was similar!

The Goonies
Snack: Pirates Booty & Baby Ruth Candy Bars - obviously!

—

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Snack: Traveling Pants Mix & Match Snack Bar: M&Ms, Popcorn, & Potato Chips

I adored reading these books as a middle-schooler, so this movie always has a soft spot for me! When the girls kick off their ‘pants ritual’, they have all these classic snacks.

Aquamarine
Snack: Your favorite Ben & Jerry’s ice cream!

Summer Catch
Snack: A movie about baseball…gotta have Hot Dogs with all the fixings!

Grown Ups
Snack: This movie gives big Dad-energy and has plenty of BBQ scenes…so it’s perfect for some BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders

I Know What You Did Last Summer
Snack: Red Velvet Cupcakes…a nod to the campy-horror film, while also adding some sweetness to it.

Thelma & Louise
Snack: Southwestern Nachos - cheese, back beans, diced tomatoes, and jalapenos!

Nachos go perfectly with their Southwestern road trip!

E.T.
Snack: Reese’s Pieces Cookies (to incorporate E.T’s favorite candy…he has good taste!)

Girls Trip
Snack: The ladies are headng to New Orleans, so bring on the Beignets!

---

Comment your favorite summer movie if I missed it in my list above! :) I’m excited to continue incorporating this as easy quality time at home not only as a date night, but as a family as the girls get older! Imagine a Halloween of Christmas edition? So stinking cute.

Thanks for reading, friends!