This time of year feels like Christmas has come early in the Hamilton household. Except for Santa is wearing a custom Armani suit and Mrs. Claus is wearing a couture gown, as they walk arm in arm down the red carpet….
It is indeed the weekend of the Academy Awards!! The hubs and I take 2 very different approaches to the Oscars. Whereas Craig is all consumed with dissecting the films, keeping up with all the precursor awards and perfecting his prediction method, I am just really excited about planning a party for friends and watching all of the gorgeous stars walk the red carpet on Sunday night.
I’m excited to share our 2012 Oscar party at a later date, but for now I’d like to take a look back at last year’s event and give some tips on how to help your own soiree be award-worthy as well!
1. Think Glitz and Glamor. This is the Academy Awards, people. This is one occasion where you really can’t have too much gold and glitter. No matter what your color palette, make sure to add a lot of gold and glimmer with ribbon, specialty paper, glitter, fabric, etc…. There are so many ways to do this, just visit your local craft store and see what you can find!
2. Focus on the Films. This is, after all, what the Oscars are all about. There are lots of ways to add in little details that pay homage to the films: frame quotes from your favorite movies of the year, cook up foods that represent each Best Picture nominee, have the guests compete in movie trivia, you get the point. Just get creative!!
3. Get your guests involved. Find little ways to help your guests get into an award show state of mind. Make them feel like celebrities by rolling out the red carpet and having someone take pictures as the “paparazzi” while shouting “who are you wearing”??!! It’s also a good idea to create ways to keep your guests involved in the show. Watching the Oscars is no laughing matter at our house so to keep everyone glued to the TV, we like to have guests fill out ballots and guess the winners before the show starts. We’ve also done “Oscar Bingo” and to play, you have to be watching the show pretty intently to catch certain things on your card. Oscars.org has great bingo sheets and ballot cards that are ready for you to print out! Easy, peasy!
4. Provide theater worthy snacks. Let’s face it friends, the Academy Awards show lasts forever. So, it’s good to have “snacky” foods for your guests to munch on as the Oscars hit a lull and someone has gone 10 minutes over on their Life Achievement speech. What better snack than popcorn?? The good thing about popcorn is that it can be prepared a million different ways depending on what you mix with it or season it with.
To see the full post on last year’s Oscar party go here.
Hope everyone has a wonderful Oscar weekend no matter what your plans are. I, personally, cannot wait to see Billy Crystal’s opening act…what are you anticipating most??
Lovely photos by Jen and Chris Creed Photographers
Cupcakes by Jo’s Custom Cakes and Catering
