Growing up, my family would watch the Oscars every year. My parents had their friends over, usually just 1 couple and my grandparents. It was the only time we were allowed to have a “TV dinner”. They would print out ballots and we would take guesses on who would win each category with a money buy in. Winners would get the money pot. I totally cheated, they knew and let me. But the cheating days are long over!
As an adult, my husband and I ran with this idea and made it our own. Every year we have anywhere between 8-12 people over to watch the Oscars. Yes, you have to get creative about seating but we managed it in our 1 bedroom apartment in Los Angeles! Once the ballot is released we send that to everyone with instructions: Watch as many as you can and don’t look up predictions of winners. At the party we will hand out ballots or people can come with theirs pre-filled with their Oscar predictions then we swap to keep track of who guessed right on each category. Everyone contributes a $5-$10 buy-in to the pot and winner takes all! We advise people to come in their “Red Carpet Best” and do a prize for best dressed, ballot winner (no googling predicted winners), and Oscar bingo.
As mentioned, we also play Oscar Bingo pretty much every year! I prep this in the weeks coming up to the party. With Oscar Bingo, be warned. There is an option to take a shot and to try a dab of the Hot One’s killer hot sauce, Da Bomb hot sauce. If you have nondrinkers then come up with an alternative (shot of apple cider vinegar or a shot of available hot sauce). If you don’t want to buy Da Bomb sauce, use one you have or come up with an alternative. Full directions are on the Oscar Bingo PDF which I’ve decided to sell for $3 just venmo me with your email and I will send them to you. Vemo is @gfandglorious
We have people come 45 minutes to 1 hour before the show starts. This allows time to fill out ballots, take pictures, catch up with each other and get some drinks. Any kill time is spent watching the red carpet interviews and working on Oscar Bingo.
Decorations: You can do none or some. Because it’s a yearly event we tend to save some decorations over the years. I like to get Metallic Tinsel Foil Fringe Curtains for a background to take pictures. I usually bust out my polaroid camera for photos people can keep. I’ll add a list of supplies to my my ‘Party Supplies’ Amazon shop but you can also check out Party City and the Dollar Tree. Below is a picture of one of the first Oscar Parties we hosted in our little apartment in Los Angeles.
Prizes: I include prices for best dressed, most movies watched and bingo. You can have tie breaker Oscar Trivia Questions ready or have people play “Rock, Paper, Scissors” as needed. I usually grab some Starbucks gift cards. This year I’m gifting a game as the bingo prize. You can also gift mini or regular sized wine bottles.
The Menu:
You can easily get prepared items at Costco or Other grocery stores which will cut on time. It helps to prep anything you can the day before. If you are making deviled eggs, hard boil them the day before. However, this menu is crockpot heavy. I like using crockpots because nothing gets cold. In the past I’ve done sliders and other foods that need more attention during the party. I prefer something that I don’t need to mess with once the party starts, that way I can join, have fun and make sure my guests are having fun too!
- Charcuterie board: I fill her up with cheese, meats, fruits, nuts, vegetables and dips like hummus. You can add olives, baby pickles, honey and jam.
- Vegetarian Queso: This is a crockpot recipe so all you need to do is dump everything in the crockpot a few hours before people come over. Time it out so it’s ready by the time people start to arrive. The best crockpots to use are ones that have a keep warm setting, that way it won’t continue to cook. But if you don’t have one, you can switch off for a bit then on to low, keep an eye out so it doesn’t burn. Catch the recipe video here.
- Pineapple Kielbasa: I asked my husband if he wanted this or Lit’l smokies and he chose this! It’s tasty and easy to put together in a crockpot.
- Shrimp Cocktail: You can easily buy frozen cooked shrimp that you can defrost earlier in the day then keep in the fridge until you are ready to serve. This can be cheaper. You can also make your own cocktail sauce easily the day before and defrost some frozen cooked shrimp. Or, they have some prepared trays that are ready to go!
- Jalapeño Poppers: These can definitely be prepped the day before and stored in the fridge until you are ready to bake!
Other easy menu options: You can never go wrong with a deviled egg, baked brie, endive bites, or crab dip. You could even prep some wings and then keep them in the crockpot on the keep warm setting. Costco has some frozen ones you can bake in bulk.
I always drop a bit of money on Oscar night. It helps to buy some things in the months before, like shelf stable items you may need or even frozen items. Also, make use of what you have. I tend to have olives or baby pickles in my fridge and crackers in my pantry, which I use for cheese boards. To save money you can make it a potluck or cut out prizes.
Here is the 2023 Oscar Ballot.
