Welcome to Party Central: A College Girl’s Guide to Hosting Themed Parties! This week we’re tackling the 94th Annual Academy Awards, also known as The Oscars. This isn’t really the event to be throwing a large festivity, but I’ll still be giving you all the info to host a night celebrating films and friends.
Our party won’t be quite like the one taking place on Sunday, March 27th at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, but it will have all the glamour and awards of the real thing, hopefully with less drama.
Theme
Let’s talk theming. Obviously, the theme is The Oscars, but what else? Choosing the right theme for your event is so important, because it informs attire, food, drinks, activities, and overall vibe. There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to parties, so really think about what you want, what you have time for, and what your guests can handle when it comes to picking a theme. Luckily, I’ve got a few options for you.
Old Hollywood – If you’re looking to host a fancy dinner party with all the glitz and glam of the Roaring Twenties in Hollywood, this is the theme for you. Pearls, champagne, and a night with friends will help you celebrate the notorious awards show. Encourage your guests to dress in theme and keep big band jazz playing all night.
Golden Getup – If your group is into themes but doesn’t have the time to pull off an Old Hollywood night, opt for a nod to the prize of the night, the golden trophy. Gold clothes, gold food, gold drinks, and golden friendship. Color based themes let your guests commit as much or as little as they want, and the result is still creative and fun.
Oscars – Are your friends known for their humor and wit? Try the theme being, literally, Oscars. Have each of your guests arrive as a different famous Oscar (the Grouch, Wilde, de la Renta, etc.) You can have each guest make a nametag for themselves or allow others to guess which Oscar they are portraying. You could even consider turning this into a game with prizes for whoever has the best Oscar portrayal. This theme would be perfect for the working host, as it allows for keeping things easy and lowkey.
ROOMMATE BONUS! Don’t want to have people over but still want to do something fun? Celebrate The Oscars with your roommates by sipping wine dressed up as Trophy Wives. Put on your favorite Lulus and spend the night with a face mask on, candles lit, and pining over the top hotties of Hollywood.
Food
What to eat? Depending on your party, food could be the center of the event or a secondary thought. For example, if your goal is to host a dinner party that happens to take place the night of The Oscars, you’re obviously going to care more about the meal than someone who just wants to gather with friends, where a few snacks would be totally acceptable. Either way, choosing the menu for your party is like choosing your theme, it can be as detailed or simple as you want.
Each of our party themes comes with something of an obvious food choice, but feel free to mix and match to best suit your event and guests’ needs.
Our Old Hollywood Party would do well with a seated, plated dinner. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but who doesn’t love a little elegance? Look for foods that are easy to make in bulk and serve individually, giving your guests the feel of glamour without wreaking havoc in your kitchen.
A Golden Party lends itself perfectly to a potluck. Have each guest show up with a golden food item and voila! No one goes hungry and the theme is fulfilled. If you’re concerned about everyone showing up with the same food or type of food, you can assign each attendee a course, that way you don’t end up with 12 batches of Yukon-Gold potatoes. For your own contribution, make a large batch of popcorn and set up a topping station where guests can add their own combination of seasonings and extras.
If you’ve chosen to try out an Oscar Party, don’t worry so much about having themed food. This type of event lends itself perfectly to classic snack foods you can purchase at the grocery store. Chips, dips, veggies, and other crudité are perfectly acceptable and help to maintain the relaxed vibe of your evening.
Spending the night with your roommates doesn’t mean you can’t participate in a fun menu, in fact, quite the opposite! Consider ordering takeout, maybe even from somewhere you’ve never tried before. As you’re enjoying food you didn’t have to make, you can dream and imagine your meal was cooked specially for you by a private chef, just like the celebs you’re watching on TV.
Drinks
As with the meal, drinks can be as on theme or generic as you want. In fact, my drink suggestions to you are pretty broad.
If you’re going for fancy, pop open the bubbles and clink flutes all night. If you’re staying in with your roommates, wine is perfect. Anything in between and your best bet is cans: beer, seltzer, soda, etc. You don’t hear me say thins often, but don’t sweat the small stuff with this one.
Activities
I suggest the same activities no matter what kind of party you throw. They’re classic, fun, and low energy, making them perfect for all groups.
The first is, obviously, to watch The Oscars.
The second is to print and have your guests fill out prediction sheets for each award category. You can turn this into a drinking game by making the losers take a sip of their drink for each category missed and/or give out a prize to the person who predicted the most winners at the end of the night.
The third activity is one of my favorites and ensures lasting memories for all. Bust out your Instax camera that’s been sitting on your shelf since 2014 and have your guests bring theirs as well. Throughout the night, each person has to take at least one picture of the event, and at the end, everyone will vote on Best Picture. The winner can get bragging rights, the photo, or any other award you can think of. Turn this into even more of a game by allowing guests to attempt sabotage each other’s photos. This can also be done on cell phone cameras if you somehow managed to escape the polaroid craze of the 2010s, but having to wait until your photo develops to see if you caught the Best Picture adds to the fun.
The Party
So we’ve reached the big day! Set up for your event can be simple or complex depending on what kind of party you’ve decided to throw, but no matter what you should set up plenty of seating around your TV. Most of the night will be spent in front of the screen, so you’ll want to make sure your guests can watch comfortably.
No matter what you decide to do, remember that any gathering is, at its core, a celebration, and you should only be hosting events that bring you joy. Stay safe, have fun, and party like it’s 1922!