The Right Way to Watch the Oscars

The first thing that I think of when I think of Oscar night on Sunday March 7th is the flowers!  I do this for two reasons:
1.  My friend Tracy Barlow AIFD, has been asked to be the newest member of design team for the Academy Awards.  Way to go friend!
2.  Nothing puts the glam in fabulous like flowers!  When you watch the total coverage of the Awards night from the arrivals to the red carpet to the utterance of "Goodnight everyone" by the relieved host you will notice that there are flower arrangements everywhere.  Try this year to count how many times you see a stunning arrangement in the background, framing the stars. 

Why not host on Oscar Party this year?  Many people gather to watch the Academy Awards together, but instead of just sitting around watching the TV, how about throwing a party in conjunction?  Here's a list of things to do in order to launch a successful Oscar viewing party.

1. Buy a spectacular flower arrangement as a centerpiece. 
2. Buy or rent a red carpet for your guests to walk on as they arrive.  Once inside, you can use the floral spray as a decoration piece for your guests to stand next to while you play Paparazzi.  Take a photo of each guest as they arrive.
3. Ask your guests on the invitation to dress as one of the characters from their favorite movie that is nominated this year for an award.
4. Go to Oscar.com and print a copy of the voting ballot.  Then, have each guest fill out their choices for the winners of each category and give them a prize.  One dozen roses from your local florist would make a great grand prize for the winner.
5. Another variation of the guessing the winner theme would be to set up a pool.  Have each guest randomly pick a square and whoever comes closet to guessing the real winners wins.
6. Print invitations, or send free e-invitations from a site like Socializr.com or Evite.com.
7. Stock up on party favors and snacks.
8. Hand out door prizes through the night.
9. During commercial breaks play games like "name that Academy Award winning tune" or look up trivia on the web or on Trivial Pursuit cards to keep it interesting when the main event isn't on.
10. Provide comfortable seating including floor pillows, bean bag chairs or blankets for your guests.
11. Post famous quotes from previous "Best Movie" winners all over the house.  
12. Make swag bags with goodies or other door prizes to give to your guests as they leave.  

There are lots of fun ways to put on a party, and the Oscars provides a unique opportunity for adding a theme to make your party the most talked about of the year.