Lindsey Litton and Karina Gafford, Co-Founders of MilHousing Network, are bringing joy and excitement to the milspo masses through their quarterly movie night.
At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, we were all in need of a break. With everyone stuck inside, Lindsey and Karina had the idea to get socially distanced together. It was in the early stages of 2020’s mayhem that the MHN movie night was born.
It all began with an invitation to disconnect from the frustrations of virtual work, unending stress, and “have-to” home schooling. The hope was, in disconnecting from all the rest, military families could reconnect with each other.
The first MHN movie night called for rainbow hair, a few fun costumes, and tons of catchy tunes. Trolls World Tour was streaming across our TV screens while our family was nestled in for the night in a living room tent with popcorn. It was the first time, in a long time, where we weren’t thinking about the possibility of getting sick or the tiresome nature of class in a Zoom room. We were just having fun. Hundreds of families joined in the joy fest – sharing pictures from their favorite “troll” selfies, make-shift sheet tents, and smiling faces stuffed with snacks.
Our new favorite reoccurring event busted on the scene again in 2021. Last month, over a thousand military community members joined the MHN Movie Night Facebook group for sweet treats, cool drinks, and tasty tutorials.
The quarterly movie night in January featured Disney’s live action Aladdin- a favorite recent block buster. In the group, over 900 people set up an “Arabian Night” in their living rooms, swapped photos, and won over $1,000 worth of give-away prizes.
Lindsey created a tutorial on how to create a “Magic Carpet” Charcuterie board. Crafts that matched the movies were dreamed up and made with care. Even a “grown-up” drink recipe was shared so that movies and cocktails could be enjoyed together.
Aligned Mortgage sponsored snack boxes, jam-packed with popcorn and pixie sticks, for the event.
Here is the exciting news!
MHN Movie Night is back in April!
- When? April 23rd
- Where? The comfort of your couch.
- What? Here’s a clue: Let it go. Sandwiches. Warm hugs.
Another exciting development is the way spouses are engaging with each other through local MHN Movie Nights. Spouses are buying snack bags and treats for their neighbors, sharing on their spouse’s page, and the fun is spreading like wildfire.
Because of so much interest, MilHousing Network’s Movie Nights is starting to recruit local movie ambassadors. These ambassadors spread the fun by sharing the news of the movie nights locally, creating exciting games and crafts around movie night themes, and connecting with possible sponsors to share the love.
To find out more about becoming a movie night ambassador, email [email protected].
