The American Theater

Going to the movies to see the newest film has been an American pastime for around a century. For the most part, the film industry hasn’t had reason to worry about that pastime dying off anytime soon.

And while the advent of streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu probably have put a dent in the market, especially because having something on demand is a huge convenience, things still happen to hit theaters before they make their way to streaming platforms.

I remember going to the theater often when I was growing up. For whatever reason, it was something that happened at least every two months. Now, though, I can’t tell you the last movie I saw in theaters, nor how long ago it was. It’s been over two years, I can almost confidently say. Things have just changed and my time has been allocated elsewhere as I’ve entered adulthood.

Anyway, one of the best parts of going to the movies was eating the different candies and popcorn during the movie. Being able to get lots of butter and different flavored salts on my popcorn was the absolute best. And the candy they had there? I’d never seen it anywhere else.

Well, it’s funny how my perspective changed as I aged. When I was no longer a kid and I began paying my own way into films, I realized how expensive everything from a drink to popcorn to candy really was. No wonder my parents would only let us pick one candy to share. The candy boxes in theaters were sometimes 8 bucks a box!

To combat this expensive problem, though, we got smart. We began getting candy boxes of our own from grocery stores to take in. And while there was no “security” that checked what was on you when you entered, we’d always have someone’s girlfriend or mom hide the candy boxes in their purses in order to sneak it in. And once you were in your seat and in the dark? Well, it didn’t matter what candy you were eating then. Everyone had candy and no one would know the difference.

Part of me wonders if I don’t go to the movies anymore because I’ve “outgrown” that stage of me. Another part wonders if it’s because I can watch all kinds of mostly new movies on Netflix from home for pretty much free. And another part is that I just don’t have the energy and dedication to make it to the theater on a weeknight because I’m too worn out from the day, and my weekends are spent relaxing or hanging out with friends instead.

Hosting a Spring Get Together

With spring on its way, people start to come out of their shells (i.e., homes) and hang out more often with those they enjoy being around. Heck, I know that the few days we’ve had better weather here I’ve wanted to go out with friends more often (and even travel to their houses because ice and snow had gone away for a brief time).

So, maybe you should think about hosting a small get together for all those friends or family members who you haven’t seen since the holidays. I mean, it’s been almost three months since the major winter holidays that we all celebrate, and three months can seem like a long time since you last saw those people.

So break out the nicer place mats and have your buddies over. Whether you do something like celebrate Opening Day for baseball or play some video games that you all used to gather around and play in college, it’s always fun when someone decides to host an event just for the heck of it.

I know that my friend group always enjoys when I have people over for a themed event. For example, we had people over for a Mario Party release and it was a great excuse to kick back, have drinks, and play video games into the night. Some people stayed overnight and others left before bed, but it was honestly just fun to mingle and chat and catch up. Some of my friends even got to meet others they hadn’t known before, too.

If you’re struggling for ideas or things to do to make it fun, try hosting a dinner and putting candy boxes at everyone’s seat beforehand as a placeholder for those people to sit at that seat. Obviously, you’ll want to find out your friends’ favorite candies before getting specific candy boxes, but it’s a fun way to say “This is Jim’s seat” without actually putting his name down at the table. From there, dinner is up to you and you can have people bring their own drinks.

Whether you go out after dinner or decide to stay in and play cards, board games, video games, or watch something on television, your friends will appreciate that someone bit the bullet and decided to do what it takes to host an event. Not everyone enjoys setting these things up, but once it’s done, everyone always ends up agreeing that it was a much needed thing to stay close and catch up.