5 Steps to Make Your Next Themed Viewing Party A Blockbuster

by Gwendolyn Y. McNutt, CSEP
 
Do you love television, movies and awards shows like I do? And do you also love fun, food and entertaining? A well themed viewing party is the perfect way to marry the two and elevate your entertainment experience in the process. It provides a great way for you to spend quality time with friends and family; and show off your creativity at the same time. I get so excited at the thought of coming up with new and creative ideas to interact with my friends and experience my favorite shows in a new way. Add in a glue gun and some glitter, and I’m whistling Dixie. When you embrace a theme for your party, you can let your inspiration come from anywhere – a favorite show, character, movie or genre – and there are no limits to what you can do.
 
For this first post, I thought I would share with you five easy steps to make your next viewing party a night to remember. I’ll take you through some steps to put you on the road to event success.
 

Step 1: Decide on a Theme and Invite Your Guests

Once you’ve decided what you’ll be watching at your viewing party and put together your guest list, use some of the key ideas from the show to further develop your event theme. You can then get started by making a creative paper of electronic invitation to send to your guests. After you’ve sent out your invitations, it’s time start planning the details; and move on to step two.
 

Step 2: Dress the Part

When you invite your guests, ask them to embrace the theme by dressing the part. Your guests will be excited to create a little cosplay mashup right there in your living room. But for those who aren’t too crafty or don’t have the time to make a costume, have some extra items on hand like masks and capes so that they can still join in the fun. Now that your costumes are set, it’s time to move on to step three.
 

Step 3: Deck the Halls

Don’t forget the decorations! Any good theme party has to have decorations, but there is no need to go overboard. Sometimes a little subtlety in your event design goes a long way. Adding in some simple and budget friendly décor for your party, can easily transform your space; and quickly transport your guests to another time and place. Your decorations are up and now you need to plan some additional activities.
 

Step 4: Get Crafty

Yes, the main event is the viewing but to get your group geared up, it’s great to have other activities before the show starts. You can play games and chat with your friends, but I suggest that you get crafty. This is one of my favorite steps in the process, because, as I mentioned earlier, I love a good glue gun. Guests have a good time when they are interacting and invested in the event’s success. I love to invite my friends to participate in a hand-on activity like making hats, masks and taking photos.
 
Setting up a photo booth for guests to enjoy is a great way to get keep your guests engaged. In a later post, I’ll give you all the steps you need to create your own budget friendly superhero (or any other themed) photo booth. What’s great about this idea, is that you don’t have to be a professional; you just have to have fun. Once you’ve decided on your additional activities, you’ve arrived at your final step. What in the world will you feed your guests?
 

Step 5: Eat, Drink and be Merry

When it comes to food, I love to make it miniature. Small portions allow your guests to sample a little bit of everything without feeling guilty or wasting food. Another great option for food is a “build your own” bar. Food bars or food stations make great dinner and dessert options, they are fun to create, easy to manage and provide an interactive experience for your guests. With a food bar, you can set-up ahead of time, easily keep it stocked and guests can serve themselves. There are infinite menu selections to keep your guests happy and you can create catchy names for them that continue to carry out your party’s theme.
 
These steps will help you get started planning your next viewing party. Remember, to use your imagination and creativity – nothing is off limits.

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via The Nerd Machine

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