We've got the popcorn machine, popcorn, bags, etc. already, (and the license [img]smile.gif[/img] ) That's a good idea on the tickets... I was sort of thinking of pre-selling family packs of food tickets to alleviate some of the line at the event. It would also give us some sort of idea what to plan for.
Keep the ideas coming!
Brandon

Estimating food is the hardest thing...it's just almost impossible to predict how many will come. You could require people to get tickets and set a limit, if you're worried about overcrowding. If you do require tickets and they're free, some people will get them and then won't come (feel no obligation since tickets were free) so I found that about 20% will be no-shows.

We had our first movie night last year and I didn't require a reservation and I WAAAAY overbought soft drinks, candy and popcorn. Perhaps you can return the popcorn if you don't use it. Our PTO owns a popcorn machine, which is handy.

Hope I'm not rambling...good luck!
SHC

ps... and don't forget to get your movie license!

We rented a popcorn machine. The rental place sells pre-packaged kernals and oil ( 1/2 on one side, 1/2 on the other, and you cut across the top with scissors and dump the whole thing into the machine). The nice thing about this is that they will take back any unopened packages of popcorn, and bill us only for what we use..

If you go that route, start making that popcorn at least an hour befoire arrival time, because it's hard to keep up during that initial arrival time. Another thing, is ask to see what the 4 or 6 or 8 ounce bags look like.. Popcorn volume is deceiving- if you get bags that are too big, you also can't keep up with the demand- you can also keep the cost down by having smaller portioned bags..

People LOVE the popcorn smell when they come in.. it's movie atmosphere!


As far as drinks, we always serve powdered lemonade and iced tea and serve it in cups.. that way we make it as needed, and there's no waste.. and any leftover drink mix can be saved for the next event.

We have our first ever Family Movie Night scheduled for next month and the food coordinator is not sure about how much food to purchase. We are a school of 900+ students. Since this is our first venture into this type of thing, I too am not sure.
Is there a rule of thumb for this sort of thing? Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,
Brandon
Cottonwood PTC President