Easy Entertaining: Oscar Party

  

       In case you live under a rock and hadn't realized, this Sunday (2/27) is the Oscars. You know that 3 plus hour award show thing where people get these little gold statues and thank the academy and maybe their husband, if they remember. Some people look really good in long beautiful dresses; some just wear swans around their necks. Anyways, the point is, the Oscars are a great opportunity to have some friends over for a nice get together. The best part is party centers around watching the TV, so you don't even have to worry too much about keeping your friends entertained. Here are some easy tips for hosting your Oscar party this weekend:


Party Ideas:  

You want to make sure you have plenty of room for guests to sit and watch the show comfortably, this is not the time to abide by the "only have enough chairs for half the guests" rule. Bring in pillows and blankets to make sure everyone will be comfortable watching the TV.

That being said, it can get a bit boring during the long show, so you could print out these bingo cards for guests to play and have these score cards so guests can bet on the winners (just make sure you have a prize!).

Another great idea is to fill a top hat or basket with movie trivia questions to ask during commercial breaks.

Or simply write stars names on paper and stick them to guest's foreheads (or backs) and have them play 20 questions by asking only yes and no questions to guess who they are.
 

Décor:

Sprinkle silver, gold or black stars everywhere! Tape them to the wall, hang them from the ceiling.

Take movie posters and tape them to the walls (if you don't have any, a print shop should be able to print you a bunch for relatively cheap. Or just go to Wal-Mart).

Roll out a red carpet (or a vinyl one) to welcome guests.



Food:

Since this show lasts so long, it's best to just have a bunch of easy things to nibble on during the 3 plus hours. So think crudités and or chocolate dipped pretzels, maybe even brie bites?

Make popcorn and have available other movie theater snacks, like junior mints or snow caps.

Shrimp cocktails are a great idea as well; you could simply take some glasses and make each individual guest their own.

Drinks:

Think sparkling wines (Champagne) or even sparkling apple cider (sometimes, I prefer it!)

Or make drinks that have movie inspiration like a Casablanca or a godfather.

Make Oscar punch.

Some 2011 nominated films inspired drinks.


Do you have any great Oscar party ideas?

Easy Entertaining: Apple Dips

      During my crafternoon party, I had seen in the September issue of Living magazine these beautiful apple dips. They didn't look too hard to recreate and seemed like the perfect addition to my red and pink themed afternoon. I choose peanut butter, caramel, and my special fruit dip to place in my three apples.

Apple Dips

  Materials:

Large Apples

Melon baller (Make sure it's a sturdy one, I broke my dollar store one)

Lemon Juice

                 Pastry Brush

Directions-

1. Slice the top off the apples. Then to level the bottom, cut off the bottom part to make it level.
   
2. Use the melon baller to scoop out the inside; don't worry if it's not perfectly smooth since it will be hidden by the dip.
   
3. Take the pastry brush and dip it in lemon juice then coat the inside of the apple to prevent it from browning.

 And the recipe to my special fruit dip:

Fabulous Fruit Dip

1 part Marshmallow Fluff

1 part Cream Cheese

Simply mix together in a bowl and try not to lick the leftovers. Perfect for apples, grapes, bananas, strawberries, etc.

Martha Stewart Sundays: Valentine’s Crafternoon

      Every Sunday, I shall attempt to do something like Martha does, from baking to cleaning to (God help me) glittering pictures of your dog.

       For my first installment of Martha Stewart Sunday, I took her idea in the February 2011 Living magazine of a Valentine's Crafternoon. I invited a few girlfriends over for snacks and crafts. It was a blast, we sat around for a few hours in the afternoon happily cutting and glittering to our hearts' content. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon away from all the super bowl fanfare and instead create cards for our loved ones. Later this week, I will be breaking down everything I did for the party as far as food but here is a quick overview of the Crafternoon.

      I bought stickers, cardstock, tissue paper, scissors, glitter and glue plus more. I also asked the girls to bring over some crafting things; if they had anything to contribute (glitter hearts are not cheap). For food, I had the pie, candies, apple dips, brie bites and raspberry ginger ale with frozen cranberries.
Here's what the work table looked like: