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Ladies and Gents, this is the moment you’ve waited for. If you aren’t picturing a man in a red coat putting on a top hat right now, have we got a treat for you. Jacob and I watched The Greatest Showman for the first time on our anniversary last year, and it quickly became a family favorite. By the next week, Bug and I had each seen it three times. We play the soundtrack all of the time. We just love everything about it. And since the only thing we love more than movies around here is movie nights, we had to have a The Greatest Showman movie night. It’s so easy to create your own magical Greatest Showman experience at home. We can show you how.
Decorations
I needed to make our living room into a circus tent, and I knew I wanted something from the trapeze scene during Rewrite the Stars. We also had to recreate the Wishing Machine from the movie, so of course, I tasked Jacob with making it happen. I can’t do everything around here, after all. Now the circus tent doesn’t have to be anything major to be magical. We bought some red and white streamers, and hung them, side by side, at all different angles from our ceiling fan. This made it look like the triangles in the top of a circus tent. The stars were nothing more than yellow construction paper cut into star shapes. I glued these to some twine I had laying around, and hung them from the fan, as well. Finally, we hung the Wishing Machine. But that needs its own section. So,
The Wishing Machine
So no matter what crazy idea I come up with, Jacob finds a way to make it a reality. Sometimes I come up with stuff just to see if he can do it. (Don’t tell him.) I needed a Wishing Machine, but it had to be cheap and easy, since you can’t make everyday magic by spending $50+ on Etsy. I’ve seen some beautiful ones there, but we are all about simple and inexpensive. I’m going to let him explain how to do the rest:
Okay, so I got an old coffee can; these are ideal. It’s the size you want, and the plastic lid came in really handy. I got my drill, and you want to use around a 1/8 inch bit. I just drilled a lot of holes in at random instead of trying to follow a pattern, because it’s not easy if it isn’t, well, easy. When you drill, you want to apply just enough pressure to drill through, but don’t push with the drill, or you could dent the can. Once you have a bunch (seriously, so many holes,) you need to poke a hole in the center of the plastic lid. I then unhooked the last section of the bead chain for our fan/light, and laced it through the bottom of the lid, then reconnected it. This holds the can in place in the center of the room. Finally, you need a light. We tried several options, none of which were bright enough. What we settled on was something you almost definitely have laying around. I turned on the flashlights on Beth’s and my smartphones, and dropped them in the can. Then turn off the lights, give it a spin, and instant magic.
Food
Of course we have to have food, what are you, a crazy person? I wanted a lot of foods that you associate with the circus. So peanuts, popcorn, corndogs, and animal crackers were all on the menu. Of course, being southerners, we opted for boiled peanuts, but peanuts are peanuts, right? As long as they’re boiled. We bought these caddies at Dollar Tree which were perfect for making a little snack tray for the kids.
Now sit back, relax, and enjoy the show
That’s really all you need for a magical Greatest Showman movie night. If you’ve already seen the Greatest Showman, this can add a whole new level to the experience. And if this is your first time watching, well, what can I say, except, you’re welcome.
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