From the comfort of your own home, you and your friends can have a great Oscar party, and you don't even have to change out of your sweats!
So today, I'm going to share some tips, recipes and decor ideas to make your Oscar party a whole lot of fun!
The Oscars are all about style and glamour, so why not ask your guests to dress up to the nines! Entice them with awards for Best Dressed, Best Up-do, Best Tie, etc. If your guests happen to come dressed in their civvies, then maybe have a box with some fun props that they can use while watching the show.
Now, this idea is optional, of course, but it might be a fun excuse to dress up, especially if there aren't many occasions where you get the chance to do so.
Once your party is all set to go, why not kick off the night by impressing your guests and setting the mood with a red carpet. Either set it up outside your door, or inside your entry way. It doesn't matter if it is a real carpet, plastic or paper; it is all for effect! You can easily find some options at party supply stores, and at different price points.
Your guests have now made their entrance, so why not greet them with a cocktail. Champagne is the preferred drink of choice for the Oscars, so have a bottle or two (depending on how many guests you have), at the ready. Prosecco is an affordable option as well. Maybe think about having some champagne add ins, such as sugar cubes, orange liqueur, pomegranate or cranberry juice, and sorbet on hand to amp up your champagne.
If champagne is not your thing, sangria is always a crowd pleaser and so easy to make (also a favourite of mine)! Here is a simple recipe:
WHITE WINE SANGRIA
1 bottle of white wine (750 ml)
2/3 cup white sugar
3 oranges, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
1 lime, sliced
2 ounces of brandy (optional)
1/2 litre ginger ale or club soda
* add all ingredients except ginger ale/soda, and stir to combine. Chill overnight or for several hours.
* add soda just before serving.
Drinks are being served and everyone is having a great time; it's time to get a little something to eat. Hors d'oeuvres or appetizers are easy to serve and to make, and as you may already know, I LOVE appetizers! Also, think about the fact that your guests are going to be on your sofa eating and drinking, so, if possible, you want the meal to be bite sized, easy to hold and easily accessible.
One other idea to save you some stress is to maybe do a pot luck party instead. Not all the work falls on you and your guests will be more than willing to help out. You could also give out awards to the person with the Best Side Dish or the Best Dessert!
Whether you are supplying all the food or asking your friends to pitch in, how about getting creative and having some fun with naming your menu items. CHICAGO style pizza, THE LORD OF THE onion RINGS, THE BIG SHORT ribs, are just a few examples.
Here are some ideas of what you can serve bite sized:
- pizzas or flatbread pizzas
- mac and cheese in ramekins or small cups
- hamburger sliders
- pigs in a blanket or mini corn dogs
- bruschetta/crostini
- empanadas or mini meat pies
- fries or onion rings
- pretzels with dipping sauces such as mustard and cheese sauce
** there is a great beer cheese sauce recipe on www.rudisbakery.com
Some easy bite sized dessert ideas are:
- brownie bites
- mini doughnuts
- cheesecake squares
- mini cupcakes
- cake pops
- mini pudding cups
All these recipes can be either homemade or store-bought. Cutting corners is fine and saves time, not to mention, saves you the stress.
Have some snacks set up on side tables and coffee tables too. Nuts and popcorn are great snacks to munch on during TV time. The savoury popcorn recipe I'm sharing below, is easy to prepare and tastes really great! I hope you give it a try :)
ROSEMARY PARMESAN POPCORN
16 cups plain popped popcorn
1 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon garlic powder/salt
* add the butter, olive oil and rosemary in a small bowl and melt in the microwave for 20 seconds
* pour mixture over the popcorn and toss; sprinkle parmesan and garlic salt over the popcorn and toss again.
Now that you have the menu under control, it's time to think about the decor. Black, gold and silver are classic, stylish colours to use as backdrops or decor items. Think of maybe placing gold or silver stars around the room, on tables and on walls. Balloons in these colours grouped together looks festive, as does streamers and film reels draped on your food table or hanging from windows. I found these cute paper cut outs {below pic} at a party supply store, and what's great is that I can use them over and over again.
An easy DIY that can be done in seconds is to find some images on the internet or in magazines of past Oscar winners, and print or cut them out. Cut them to the desired size you want and put them in black, gold or silver photo frames. Then you can place them all around the room as decorations!
How about some box-office blooms to create a more stylish Oscar party feel? Find some plastic popcorn containers, add a small vase or glass filled with water, and add some brightly coloured flowers of your choice. Red is always good, as it mimics the red carpet and silk flowers would work in a pinch too. Easy and cute!
Setting up some Oscar games will make the commercial breaks (or those long winded speeches), seem to go faster. You could play Oscar Bingo or Oscar Movie Trivia. You can easily find trivia questions and bingo printables on line. I suggest no more than 10 questions for the trivia game. The guest with the most correct wins a prize!
You can find plastic trophies at party supply stores or dollar stores, add a fun pair of glasses, like the ones below, and you have a fun prize to award your trivia winner!
Of course you will want to keep track of all the winners of the night. Print out a ballot with all the nominations and have your guests predict the winners or their favourites ahead of time, maybe during the red carpet events or as soon as the nominations are announced on screen. The person who has the most correct takes home the "OSCAR".
To end the night of festivities, send your guests home with a few treats to enjoy on the ride home. These paper popcorn boxes make an easy to hold container. Fill them with some movie theatre candy and a chalkboard tag. Easy, affordable and yummy!
I hope some of these tips help inspire you to host your own Oscar party with some close friends! Until next time, Happy Oscars!!
~A
PRODUCT INFO:
- chalkboard tags, plastic popcorn boxes (with flowers), gold star glasses, candy from Dollar Tree
- paper popcorn boxes, plastic trophy, from Dollarama
- paper movie cut outs (stars, clapboard and projector), and invitations from Party Supply Depot
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