WONDERful Ideas for a “Wonder” Family Movie Night
Based on a New York Times bestseller, “Wonder” is the inspiring story of Auggie Pullman – a fifth-grade boy with facial differences who attends mainstream school for the first time in his life. With many schools reading the book in class, and with a feel-good and wholesome message, this movie is the perfect film to screen at your next family movie night. Enhance the event using our programming ideas for decorations, activities and more found below.
To Give
To help spread kindness beyond your school community, consider making the cost of entry to your event either a monetary donation or a food or clothing drive that you can then give to a local charity organization.
To Decorate
From Auggie’s love of “Star Wars” to the many universe motifs throughout the story to his infamous astronaut helmet, space makes a lot of appearances within “Wonder.” Make Auggie proud at your event by centering the decorations around the great galaxy.
Start off by hanging stars and planets to the ceiling. Add glitter lights for even more charm. Then, create an outer space backdrop, complete with astronaut helmets and shooting star props, to help attendees remember this event forever.
To Eat
You can either keep the space theme going with rocket kabobs, galaxy Jell-O and freeze-dried snacks, or choose to feature some of the foods that appear in “Wonder.” Ideas include mac and cheese (what Summer was eating during her and Auggie’s first lunch together), juice (Auggie’s go-to), and ice cream (something all kids love no matter their differences). Or, make cupcakes with eyes decorated on the top like the book’s cover or mimic the shade of blue used on the book and movie poster, complete with some blue lemonade.
To Do
“I wish every day could be Halloween. We could all wear masks all the time. Then we could walk around and get to know each other before we got to see what we looked like under the masks.”Try this out for size at your event by first having participants DIY a mask of their choosing. Simply provide arts and craft supplies, like string, construction paper, glue, scissors and decorative items like stickers, then give them time to work their magic. Afterward, carry out an all-ages icebreaker so both the kids and parents can better get to know one another without appearance as a distraction.
Or, challenge families to take part in a Random Acts of Kindness day over the weekend. Just make sure to designate a hashtag to the challenge and then create a slideshow of posts and photos of families’ kindness to play before the movie as people stroll into the event.
Download All Things "Wonder"
Promotional Materials: These materials help make promoting your movie event a breeze. Download the mailer or newsletter image, our customizable flyer or your own customizable tickets now!
Discussion Guide: Use this guide to spark a discussion at your family movie night. You can also print out some copies to share with parents, so they can continue the conversation at home.
