Set the mood. Choose one of these awards-themed invitations to create and send your invitation.
Plates, napkins and candles in shimmering metallics add an easy elegance and Tinseltown flair. Choose silver, gold or copper, or create a tasteful mix of party accents in all three colors.
Roll out a red carpet inside your front door so guests strut their way into your party. Arrange feather boas, oversize sunglasses and tiaras on a table so your guests can really get their diva on. Get your camera ready!
Visit the Evite Party Store to get more ideas and buy supplies!Before the party, print out your own bingo cards so everybody can play along during the show. Mark each card with boxes (5 across and 5 down), and write in common awards show happenings. Here are some to get you started: big, big hair; winner forgets to thank spouse; presenter mangles a nominee's name; a host's joke falls flat; "I'd like to thank my fellow nominees"; big chest, small dress; fake smile from a non-winning nominee.
During the show, everybody marks their cards when an action occurs. Once someone has a row across the board (vertically, horizontally or diagonally), they call out "Bingo!" to win. DVDs of nominated movies and TV shows make great prizes.
Note: You'll need to create several different bingo boards (just move some of the items around and replace a few others) so not everybody gets bingo at the same time.
An awards pool keeps everyone invested in even the smallest, least-flashy awards. A week before your party, send your guests a ballot with the nominees and ask them to pick the winners and send it back to you before the party so there's no cheating.
For scoring, you can either award one point for each correct answer or rank the categories by what's important to you and your guests. For example, if you're movie people, assign more points to getting those right than the TV awards.
To prevent multiple winners, add a few tie-breaker questions at the end. The questions can either be trivia questions related to the nominees or fill-in-the-blank questions about the broadcast itself, such as predicting which winner will cry or who will give the funniest speech or wear the scariest outfit.
Choose foods you can make ahead and serve at room temperature so you don't miss a minute of the show. To keep everybody happily snacking throughout the broadcast, put out bowls of salty and sweet snacks.
This is the one major awards show where stars are shown sitting at tables and sometimes actually (gasp!) eating, so you'll want to make sure your own menu is as decadent as what you're watching. Prosciutto-wrapped figs, asparagus or melon makes a decadent appetizer, and savory tarts are make-ahead dishes that taste just as good at room temp as hot out of the oven.
For dessert, keep the decadence coming. This is the time to bust out the garnishes to top your cakes and cupcakes or to go from the usual cookies to sandwich cookies with a decadent filling.
Featured Recipes from Epicurious.com
Party like the stars — they'll be drinking wine and champagne at their tables, so follow their example and keep it flowing.
Choose easy-drinking wines like pinot noirs and sauvignon blancs, which pair well with many foods and please lots of palates. For your sparklers, if money is an issue, you may find better deals on proseccos and American sparkling wines than you will on traditional French champagne. Of course, if you really want to splurge, Cristal is hard to beat.
Keep the sparkling theme going with your non-alcoholic beverages. Sparkling cider, sparkling water and assorted sodas served in champagne glasses are just as festive as the real thing.
| 1. | Californication / Red Hot Chili Peppers
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| 2. | Across the Universe / The Beatles |
| 3. | Big, Blonde and Beautiful / Queen Latifah (Hairspray) |
| 4. | La Vie en Rose / Edith Piaf
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| 5. | Big Love / Fleetwood Mac |
| 6. | Pushing Up Daisies / Garth Brooks
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| 7. | Brothers and Sisters / Coldplay
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| 8. | Goodbye Earl / Dixie Chicks
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| 9. | The Sopranos Theme: Woke Up This Morning / Vinnie Pauleone & the Ba Da Bing Orchestra
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| 10. | Saving Grace / Tom Petty
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