This post is sponsored by The Bentonville Film Festival; while the views expressed here were genuinely mine, consideration was paid to me to produce this post.
Growing up, I was obsessed with award shows. I would stand in the family kitchen, back against the side of the refrigerator, watching them on a 9″ television. I didn’t have a television in my room and my parents weren’t into those types of shows, so for hours I would stand there and take in all the glam, the skits and learn about new movies that maybe someday I would be able to see.
Fast forward several years (hey, stop trying to figure out the years) and I’m no longer a prisoner in the kitchen. Not only can I watch an awards show whenever I want to, I can also turn it into a social event. For me, having an awards show viewing party is about having fun, in a low-key environment. My friends and I aren’t “fancy” as my 6 year old would say. We want to relax, have fun and not avoid the stress that can come with some social events.
The first thing I do when throwing a party is figure out what type of food I’m going to serve. Because the awards shows I like to watch center around movies, I thought it would be fun to serve the type of foods you usually get at a movie theater, foods like popcorn, nachos, hot dogs and of course, candy! The great thing about this menu is it’s easy, it’s inexpensive and they are foods that most everyone likes. My daughter felt we “needed” cupcakes so those went on the menu as well. Instead of having a signature drink, I opted for some bottled adult beverages and some of the old standbys: water, tea and pop.
Now I bought a big bag of popcorn and some frozen mini “fancy” pigs in a blanket. You could definitely make your own but I wanted to save time. I’m also a fan of serving finger foods (the kind that don’t require silverware) so instead of traditional nachos, that can be kind of messy, I bought a bag of tortilla chips shaped like little cups and added taco meat, shredded cheese and jalapenos. The great thing about these cups is you can customize to whatever your guests like (sour cream, black olives, etc.) AND if you run out, you can easily make more up. Just have your taco meat and toppings ready to go.
After the food was figured out, it was time for me to figure out how I was going to serve it. I’ve always been a fan of white platters so I have several of them. I also threw in a couple of wooden pieces I have to mix things up a bit. After rearranging the serving pieces on the table a few times, I finally settled on which food was going where and used sticky notes to remind myself where everything went.
Finally, once the food and platting was figured out, I started to think about decorations. Again, I want simple and inexpensive. At first I was going to make a tassel garland but realized, even though it was cheap, it was going to take more time than I had. So after settling on my red, black and gold color scheme, I opted to go simple with a black tablecloth, some mylar balloons and a few foil star cutouts to sprinkle all over the table.
I really want to make my own Bingo cards (thanks Emily for the idea) but ran out of time so I did quick web search and found these cute Bingo cards! I suggest printing them on cardstock so they are a bit more sturdy (and will withstand greasy finger prints from the finger food you are serving). For some inexpensive gifts for the winners, hit up the movie section of your local big box store. Most stores have a bin of movies that cost $5 or less.
My super easy award show viewing party took me less than an hour to set up, and that includes making the taco cups! Trust me, this is the perfect way to throw a low-key party that gets everyone excited about getting together and cheering on their favorite movie and actors, without all the stress that can come with planning a party.
About Bentonville Film Festival (BFF): Founded by Academy Award Winner® Geena Davis and festival co-founder Trevor Drinkwater in 2015, BFF’s mission is to encourage content creation in film and other forms of media that reflects the diverse — and half female — world we live in. BFF proactively supports content creation by minorities and women with a platform to showcase their work and, with the help of our partners, is the only film competition in the world to guarantee theatrical, television, digital and retail home entertainment distribution for its winners. The Festival takes place in early May in Bentonville, Arkansas and is research based and commercially driven.
The second annual Bentonville Film Festival will be held May 3-8, 2016 in partnership with founding Sponsor Walmart, presenting Sponsor Coca-Cola and distribution partners AMC Theatres and Lifetime.
About Sarah
Sarah is a healthcare administrator, mother of one spunky 6-year old daughter and a travel blogger living in Wichita, Kansas. Join her as she tackles life in the midwest one to-do list at a time.
That sounds like a fun party! I would to go to an awards viewing party
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I too love the idea of an awards show viewing party. Staying in with friends is much more my speed now than joining them in a bar like the before-kiddo days. Love your food ideas. They look fun and simple enough to throw together!
What a fun way to get together with friends and watch an awards show. I love your bingo cards.
Cute table decor! I love the Bingo card design. I can’t believe those mini pigs in a blanket are frozen, they look delicious!
I love watching award shows, mainly for the fashion and the heartfelt speeches. A viewing party sounds fun and a fantastic food spread is always a must!
How fun! We’ll definitely be watching the Academy Awards this year. I’d love to make it into a viewing party. I love the Bingo cards!
That looks like a fun party! I love the idea of award show bingo. I’m going to have to play that this year!
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I love hosting but hate the prep. You really put together an easy but great party spread!
I love award shows also. My husband will watch most of them with me, but with all these yummy snacks it’ll be a family affair.
Now this is my kind of party! What a great idea to throw an awards show viewing party.
I love the idea of awards show bingo while you’re watching! Perfect with some wine and good friends, fun party
Yes, I’m all about and easy party. This is right up my alley. I’ll get to work on it now.