Everything You Need to Host an Oscar Watch Party

The 96th Academy Awards “The Oscars” will air on Sunday, March 10, 2024, LIVE from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. It is a 3-hour event that is relatively low-key, except for last year when Will Smith and Chris Rock had a kerfuffle on stage. The best way to add some excitement to the award show is by inviting friends/family over to watch it with you. Duh! I’ve got everything you need to host an Oscar Watch party.

Back story…The Academy Award (Oscar) is the main national film award in the USA. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization composed of over 6,000 motion picture craftsmen and women as of 1999.

When planning think about décor + games + food, and theme. Tip: Go for an award or movie theme based on the nominations. i.e: Barbie

I want you to walk into the space and immediately peep the details. This VIP Party sign is a great way to do that. I created the graphic in Canva, printed it out, and popped it into this gold frame from Dollar Tree. Tip: You can buy the details to bring the theme to life if you don’t want to go the full DIY route.

Make your place settings a part of the decor. I went for the typical award colors of black + white + gold + red. These are my actual formal dining dishes sitting inside of a gold charger. They are all from Wal-Mart. I added a gold bow tie to the napkin to tie in the theme. The gold plasticware is plastic. Tip: Save money by grabbing these items from the Dollar Tree and or using plastic vs. glass.

Every good party also includes cocktails, if you aren’t a drinker make it a mocktail. Give your guest options. This cute tuxedo situation on the wine bottle is from Amazon. I love the bow tie theme so I tied it into the wine glasses. If, you don’t have enough wine glasses grab the plastic version from Dollar Tree. I used card stock to make the bows but you can also use stickers but they won’t give you that 3D feeling. I used a black Sharpie to make the button. Easy and easy!

The icing on the cake is the champagne jello shots with edible gold sugar on the top. I mean, it’s the details for me.

You can use clear serving/display containers, that allows you to include your food into your decor. Adding this simple bow tie elevated the look. Tip: You can buy popcorn from your local AMC theater for about $20 and they give you a bottle of butter to go with it.

The faux Oscars are a fun detail to bring the theme together. Have your guests make speeches, and have fun categories like “The Fashionably Late Person”, “The Best Shoe Award”, “The Most Dramatic Guest”, and things like that.

I like a candy bar situation, but you can do heavy refreshments or a full-on dinner. You can cook it yourself or cater. Don’t feel obligated to do all the heavy lifting.

If we are talking about everything you need to host an Oscar watch party then we must talk about attire. Sure your guest could show up as is, but the real fun is a theme. You should have seen that one coming. We went for a Black theme.

Mi: Black blazer, sequin crop sweatshirt, tuxedo pants, and silver-toe Nike Jordan 1 sneakers.

T: Sequin two-piece with black and white Nike Panda dunks.

You can do ball gowns and sneakers, an all-black-everything, sequin, and you guessed it. You can have them dress based on a movie nomination. The Color Purple is an easy one, you can make folks come dressed up in purple. Barbie is a fun one, your guests can dress like Barbie & Ken. Either way, don’t be afraid to go all out.

“A party ain’t a party ’til it’s ran all through” I couldn’t resist. A party ain’t a party without games so here are two for you and your guest. The Oscars Ballot, give one to each guest when they arrive and see which guest has the most wins. You can go another further and give them a prize and or have them make a speech.

An old-fashioned game of BINGO is perfect for a watch party. This one is all about the fashion. The first person to complete a row wins. You can use these or create your own.

This one is about behaviors, you can be as serious or unserious about these. Remember you will need several formats so everyone doesn’t get BINGO at once.

Most importantly enjoy your company and have a good time. Chat with me in the comments below or FB, IG, and Twitter.