We don’t ever need a reason to throw a party at home, but it’s always fun to have a theme. With this Sunday’s 93rd Annual Academy Awards ceremony coming up, we’ve got you covered! The Oscars is the epitome of awards ceremonies, and it presents the grand dame of party opportunities. Whether you want to go all out or keep it simple, here are some ideas that will have your friends and family clamoring to be on next year’s invite list.
Bring Your Movie Love
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has revealed the tagline for the 93rd Oscars. “Bring Your Movie Love,” celebrates our global appreciation for the power of film to foster connection, to educate, and to inspire us to tell our own stories. My story is one that involves my grandparents owning a movie theater in Iowa. It also celebrates my work with the American Society of Interior Designers and the Sacramento AIDS Foundation years ago to put on a large annual Academy Awards fundraising party each year while I worked for Ralph Lauren.
Act One, Scene One
When it comes to inviting guests to the big event, pick one or two theme colors and display them everywhere, from invitations to fresh flowers. We channeled a bit of old Hollywood glamour and selected white, gold, and black for this year’s scheme. Think a film style invitation, mirrored chargers, matte gold silverware, black and white china and plenty of champagne. Keep the viewing room properly lit—the light from your viewing perch and flickering votive candles is all you need.
Hit the Red Carpet
You don’t have to go black-tie formal in order to host a smashing Oscar night soirée, but it could be a good opportunity to dust off that lonely dress in your closet. Plus, dressing up makes for fun conversation and elevates the excitement of the evening! Go one step further and get a blow out or up-do that channels your favorite Best Actress nominee of years past.
Pass the Popcorn
Sure, you can fire up the air popper—the night is all about going to the movies, after all. But why not kick things up a notch? If you don’t want to miss a minute of the acceptance speeches, throw some surf and turf on the grill with some vegetables. Otherwise, take a cue from Wolfgang Puck and his Governors Ball menus and serve fancy finger foods like bacon wrapped dates or Mediterranean skewers. Make dessert elegant and easy with ice cream and fresh strawberries.
And the Oscar Goes to…
If your party is a small affair, make the evening interactive and print off ballots for guests to pick the winners in the top five or six categories. Tuck the ballots inside formal, gold-lined envelopes and remind everyone that their ballots must be marked before the curtain goes up. For the winners, have inexpensive gifts wrapped in your theme colors.
That’s a Wrap!
An Oscar party is a great opportunity to dust off the formal wear, dish on the hits and misses on the red carpet, and play along with your own ballots. A party befitting Oscar takes a little planning and some creativity, but it’s a lot of fun—and when the rave reviews start coming in, you’ll want to be hosting this event year after year.
