Tips for Making your drive-in date a success. To find your local drive-in, use google or this website for a drive-in near you

 1. Arrive Early

This is going to be an all evening experience. Most drive-ins show double features, so this date is going to last at least three hours. You’ll want to arrive early so you can park in a location with the best view. This is also great opportunity for a picnic. Many people will bring lawn chairs or eat dinner sitting on their tailgate.

2. Prep the car

• Pillows
• Blanket’s if it’s going to be cold
• Air mattress if you have a truck or SUV and your drive allows parking backwards.
• Jumper Cables (you probably won’t need these, but you should have a set in your car no matter what)
• Lawn chairs if you want outside of the car
• Clean the window – it’s no fun to watch a movie though a lot of smeared bugs
• Check to be certain your windshield wipers aren’t streaking—if you have summer thunderstorms you may need these
• Bug spray if you’re opening the tailgate or in the back of a pickup

3. Don’t kill the car battery

Some drive-ins have  speakers that you hang on your window shield, but most broadcast the movie on a FM station, which means you have to leave your car in accessory mode. If your battery and alternator are healthy, this shouldn’t be an issue for you.  That being said, follow these steps to avoid an embarrassing situation on your date.

• Don’t run anything besides the radio—turning the AC on is a bad idea
• Turn your car on during the intermission between features, this will allow the alternator to recharge the battery
• If you’ve had to jump start your car more than once, it may be time for a new battery—they never fully recover from dying.
• If you do need to jump start your car—whip out your jumper cables and keep your cool. This a great opportunity to show off your manly car skills. If you don’t know how to jump start a car, head over to our friends at The Art of Manliness to learn how.

4. Buy concessions

Movie theater tickets feel expensive, I totally understand that. On the flipside drive-ins are a rare gem now and supporting such an institution is important. Fortunately, drive-in tickets tend to be cheaper than regular movie theater tickets. You can really support your local drive-in by buying concessions. Besides if you’re getting a double feature and making a night of it, why not splurge a little. On my most recent date to the drive-in, we spent around twenty five dollars for a double feature and enough candy, popcorn and drinks to make us both sick. At the local theater I would have paid just that to get in for a single feature.

+1up Bring a small child (sibling, niece/nephew) if you’re watching a family friendly film. You and your sweetheart can sit in the back and cuddle. You can show off how awesome you are with kids and have a good excuse for watching that Pixar film you really want to see.