5 Ideas for an Oscar Party on a Recession Budget

This week, Hollywood throws a party for itself and it allows you to do the same thing. "Hollywood" loves to be honored and so will you, if you follow some of these tips to make the night fun and modern.

1. Every Oscar party needs a "Red Carpet". Event rental companies have them in abundance and you might be able to buy a used one for pennies on the dollar. Or you can use some creativity and make your own arrival strip. Party stores sell a red paper/plastic runner that they use as a knockoff red carpet, they look terrible. However they make a great base for a creative and fun solution. In the same party store, buy several red, feather boas to attach, via hot glue or staples, to the sides of that runner. Then use your office shredder to shred pieces of red Mylar or even red paper to cover the entire runner with a fun and "fluffy" look. The boas keep the small particles from getting everywhere as people walk on them. Don't have a shredder? Buy red Mylar, Rain Curtain and cut them to pieces to cover the runner.
Added effect could be made by having your own "Step and Repeat" to have photos taken in front of.

2. Make a Punch. Nothing ruins an Oscar Party for a host like having to jump up and down and miss all the good awards(more on this later), because you guests need drinks. There is a wonderful(and fast) punch that people love that I use in the summer, but feel free to use it here.

Pour ingredients directly into punchbowl:

1 Bottle of INEXPENSIVE champagne
1 litre of club soda
1/2 gallon of strawberry sherbet
1 package of FROZEN strawberries
VODKA(amount depends upon how drunk you want guests to be, use sparingly)

Leave this on the buffet table and you needn't miss Halle cry or a crazy Italian guy jump over the seats(but, more on this later).

3. Have an "Oscar Trivia" game. Use your creativity and knowledge of your guests, to create a movie trivia challenge that can fill any holes in your evening. It is a great way for guests to mingle and show off what they know. Use this as an ice breaker or as a bridge between the exciting parts.

4. Face Book your party. Share the fun with the world or at least your world of friends that couldn't make it. If nothing else it gives you the opportunity to promote next year's party. It also gives your attendees a chance to tell you how great a host you were.

5. Watch the broadcast on Tivo: Use technology to your benefit, miss a great speech, REWIND! A wardrobe malfunction on the red carpet? FREEZE FRAME! This way you get to watch the best stuff over and over and fast forward over the majority of the night. Where was this technology when Letterman hosted???

So I hope these little tips lead to a great Oscar Night Party and you and your friends have a night to remember. But I am sure if you follow this advice, they'll all be thanking you, and the Academy, at night's end.