Planning the Perfect Oscars Viewing Party
Hollywood’s biggest night of the year, the Academy Awards, airs this Sunday, February 9th at 8 pm ET on ABC. This year is certain to be a night to remember with the Academy choosing yet again to do the award show without a host for the second year in a row. While the Hollywood stars gather in the Dolby Theater, take this opportunity to create a glamorous night of your own. Here are a few of our tips on how to plan the perfect Oscars viewing party.
First and foremost, you must set the scene with the official color of the Oscars: gold. Even a small touch such as gilded champagne flutes can elevate the event. Meanwhile, red and black add drama as the perfect accent colors.
Don’t be afraid to go all out with the gold, there is no such thing as too much when it comes to the Oscars. Be sure to balance out all the glitz with some fresh flowers, preferably red roses, to give a hint of Old Hollywood glamour.
On average, the run time of the Academy Awards is three hours and fifteen minutes, and that's not even including the red carpet pre-show. This is a long night, a marathon, not a sprint, and the food should reflect that. Instead of one plated meal, serve your guests a variety of small bites over the course of the evening.
While charcuterie boards are an obvious choice, and rightly so, they pair superbly with bubbly, take this opportunity to instead try out the newest grazing board trend, a french fry board. Serve all shapes of fries, curly, shoestring, waffle with a variety of dipping sauces, classics such as ketchup and barbecue sauce, and also creative options like avocado ranch and sriracha aioli.
Of course, we cannot forget the classic movie-going snack: popcorn. If you are going with a more retro theme, serve popcorn from a popcorn machine with mini popcorn boxes. For a more interactive experience, set up a popcorn bar, where guests can customize their popcorn with unique seasonings like truffle salt or simply select classic movie style butter.
No Oscars night is complete without a well-stocked bar!
Champagne is a must. Be sure to have some on hand to toast the winners. If you want to sip the same bubbly as the stars, Piper-Heidsieck is the official champagne of the Academy Awards. For those who choose to avoid effervescent drinks, nothing says Old Hollywood glamour like creative cocktails.
If you need inspiration for the perfect drink for your event, check out our ongoing series with Cocktail Curations.
While the awards themselves are exciting, there are quite a few commercials, and so be sure to build some activities into the evening to keep your guests entertained during the breaks. Set up a social media station complete with your event’s hashtag and an Oscars inspired photo backdrop.
Last but not least, print out some ballots for your guests, and provide pens, we suggest gold to stay on theme. See who can best predict the night’s winners and offer a prize for the person who guesses the most categories correctly!
Speaking of Oscar picks, be sure to stay tuned this week on our Instagram as we at RJ Whyte HQ let you know our predictions for this year’s Academy Awards!