Popcorn Machine Rental Guide for Movie Nights and Parties

A movie night is so much more memorable when you can have a fresh bag of popcorn whilst you're watching the film. Whether it's a backyard movie night, a birthday party, a family get together, a graduation or just a normal evening out with friends, a popcorn machine rental can turn the snack into part of the entertainment. With a bit of planning you can have a very convenient concession point to go with your Movie Screens Rentals, your Projector rental, your seating and everything else you have for your outdoor movie.

The secret to a good popcorn station is preparation. You need to think about where the machine is going to go, how the guests are going to get to it, what you're going to need to run it and how it's going to fit in with the rest of your event. Working with a rental company like Plan-it Rentals will allow you to plan your equipment around the scale and nature of your event rather than just plonk a popcorn machine in at the last minute.

Why rent a popcorn machine for your event?

Fresh popcorn is a great way to add a fun, interactive element to pretty much any get together. Rather than just having a packet of snacks sitting on the table, the popcorn machine can be a feature in itself and instantly give the guests the feel of being at a cinema, a fair or some other kind of event. A popcorn machine rental is ideal for outdoor film nights as popcorn is such a natural accompaniment to the movie experience. It's also very useful for children's parties, school events, family get togethers, corporate events, sports viewing parties and community events.

You can also make sense of renting if you only need the equipment for one event. Rather than buy the machine, store it and maintain it all year round you can simply pick the equipment you need for the one event and return it afterwards.

Choose the Right Location for Your Popcorn Machine

Where you position the popcorn machine can have a huge effect on the flow of your event. It needs to be easily accessible to guests but shouldn't be in the way of seating, movie viewing or the main walkways. For an outdoor movie night you could have the popcorn station positioned at the back or the side of the area. People can just go and get their snacks without having to keep walking straight in front of the screen. Choose a stable surface and allow plenty of space around the machine for both guests and the operator. Keep the area tidy so that serving supplies are easily accessible without creating a mess. Before the event go through the layout as a guest would and make sure you can get to the popcorn station without having to cross over any of the electrical cabling, squeeze between the chairs or in any way interfere with the other activities.

Pair the Popcorn Machine With a Projector and Screen

A popcorn machine is even more effective when it's part of a full outdoor theatre. If you're also renting out movie screens and a projector then you'll want to plan the whole thing as a package. Start with the screen location and then work out the rest of the seating around the viewing area. Get the projector positioned so it has a clear run to the screen. Once that's done, position the popcorn station either along the side or the back of the audience area.

This provides a natural guest experience in that the guests arrive, grab their snacks, find their seats and just watch the film with no need to be moving around the viewing area at all.

Make the Popcorn Station Part of the Theme

Your popcorn machine doesn't have to be purely functional. You could incorporate it into the visual design of the event. For a proper old school movie night you'd have a theatre style setup with snack containers all neatly organised and comfortable seating. For a child's birthday you'd obviously tailor the station to the theme of the party. For a family get together you'd keep it simple and relaxed. The aim is to make the popcorn station feel like it's part of the event rather than some piece of kit that's just there.

Work With Plan-it Rentals

The right rental partner can make planning your movie night a lot easier. When you're speaking to Plan-it Rentals about your requirements, just let them know your event date, how many guests you're expecting, where you're going to be and what you're planning to do.

Find out about the popcorn machine's setup requirements, operating instructions, power requirements, cleaning involved and any transport or delivery arrangements. If you're also booking the Movie Screen Rentals or any other event equipment then talk about how all of that will fit together. A full equipment plan is in fact more useful than just booking the individual pieces of equipment without any regard to the overall event layout.