Winter means long nights, frosty grass and wanting to stay indoors from 3pm. The season lasts three months so you might as well make the most of it: perhaps with a wintry movie night.
When you are not out playing in the snow or skidding on the ice at the bus stop, you can cosy up at home with a dozen blankets.
We all know how to make a good movie night: blankets, a good film, and dim lighting all create a warm cosy vibe, but you can take it up a level.
In this column of Cosy Corner, read about how to make an ordinary movie night seasonal.
You don’t have to watch a Christmas movie
The Polar Express, Home Alone and Klaus are excellent choices, but there are other wintry films like Frozen, the Bridget Jones series, Little Women, Cool Runnings, and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. They all have wintry or cosy themes to get into.
And to avoid the 45 minutes of back and forth to decide a film, draw a movie from a hat or a random name wheel.
Different movie themes can also open your night (or day, but with the sun setting at 3pm, who cares?) to themed snacks, decor and vibes.
Make your home cinema a feast for the senses
Sure movie nights are mostly spent watching the screen with the occasional comment or joke, but you can do up the room and go the extra mile.
Fairy lights or lightbulbs with gentler light and scented candles turn your room into a winter nook.
Depending on the theme of the film you can change the lighting or scents if you can. For Christmas movies peppermint smells and colourful lighting match well. For a non-Christmas seasonal film, twinkling fairy lights and a vanilla or pine scented candle can set the mood before you press play.
Fluffy blankets, pillows and cushions are a great addition too, but do not go out of your way to buy extra things. Use what you have, ask your friends to bring their throws or soft furnishings or buy from charity shops. As long as it is multi-purpose and you plan to use it again, go for it.
Lastly, ask people to bring pajamas or fluffy jumpers. It will be like having a sleepover at school again!
Go beyond the popcorn
I love popcorn, especially during a movie but why not add a little pizzazz?
If you are all gathered round to watch a Christmas film, make some strawberry Santas or classic gingerbread cookies. For strawberry Santas, cut the strawberry in half, sandwich the halves together with whipped cream, add mini chocolate chips for eyes and add whipped cream on the tip of the hat. They are tasty, cute and easy to make.
For the post-Yuletide film nights, try your hand at chai spiced rice pudding or s’mores. Without setting your living room on fire, you can make s’mores in the air fryer or microwave.
Hot chocolate, mulled wine and apple cinnamon tea are delicious as well as seasonal.
You can also make cinnamon sugar to sprinkle on your popcorn, or make caramel popcorn. And who doesn’t like brownies?
Make it more than a movie night
Of course, the night does not need to end once the movie is over. You can start a board game night, video game tournament, put on a themed playlist, (which you can make together for extra personality), or have a long chat over tea.
Featured image credit: Pexels
Third year journalism student. 2025/2026 Lifestyle and Comment Editor at Brig. Published in The Yucatán Times, Mi Campeche and The Mourning Paper. Host of From the 40s with Air3Radio.
