Celebrate: Oscar Night

My two favorite days of the year are both on Sunday - Super Bowl and Oscar night.

Every year since I graduated from college I have hosted viewing parties for these momentous occasions. I don't know what it is, but this year I really stepped up my game (if I do say so myself).

It started with the Golden Globes party, then the Super Bowl party and culminated last night with my Oscar party.

For weeks now I have been prepping and hunting for new decor. That's the thing about always being the hostess, you start to feel like everyone has seen everything!

I woke up at 8:30am on Sunday morning and began prepping. I started at the front of the house and worked my way back.

On the front door I stuck two oversized movie tickets. I found these two years ago at Party City in Brighton and I keep reusing them.

For the Oscar bash I decided to transform my entry way into a concession stand.

I picked out a new table runner at West Elm that had just the right amount of gold.

To display the candy I used my new bowls (also from West Elm).

I had Kit Kats and Reeses peanut butter cups.

And Whoppers and Hershey's chocolate bars.

The living room is always my favorite to decorate. I feel like the purple wall just makes every single occasion feel more festive.

On the coffee table I had another concession stand-like spread.

To add a touch of glamour I placed four mercury glass candle holders that I just got in Savannah down the center of the tray. They came from an amazing store called Kitchens on the Square.

For candy I poured some treats in red bowls, in honor of the red carpet, of course. I had Rolos to match Oscar and Tootsie Rolls just for fun.

I also made a discovery at Trader Joe's. They don't just sell popcorn, they sell a bag called Movie Theater Popcorn. I had to get it.

On the mantel I placed two popcorn buckets. Rather than use real popcorn, I took an idea from Pinterest and stuffed the popcorn boxes with white carnations. If you're interested, I actually have an entire pinboard dedicated just to Oscar party planning.

In the dining room I wanted it to feel regal, like the elegance and prestige of the Academy. I started with a black table cloth and tried to keep the decor to exclusively red and gold items.

At the head of the table I laid out the Oscar ballot. I loved the formatting of the ballot from Entertainment Weekly, so I ripped it right out of the centerfold.

On the right side of the table I had my brand spankin' new gold chargers. I found these at the Dollar Tree!

I accented the plates with red forks. I suppose I lost the regal vibe with plastic cutlery, but what can you do.

On the left side of the table I set up a station for the boozy milkshakes we would enjoy later in the night, starring marshmallow flavored vodka.

I found these adorable red and white striped straws at Sur La Table in the Chestnut Hill Mall. If you have never been there, all I can say is, "Wow."

Down the center of the table I put two floral arrangements flanking my brand new gold candelabra. I scored this beauty at the Boston Center for Adult Education's Local Love Market. It's from my friend's vintage business, Pop & Circumstance.

Now I must confess, I did a very bad thing with these flowers. I was at the grocery store hoping to find a dozen red roses and when I couldn't, I bought enough long stem red roses (individual ones) to fill these vases. Yes, I brought them home and then dwarfed them!

These gold vases are actually candle holders from Target.

There is one final room I made over for the night and that is the bathroom. You may remember me saying in recent posts that my baking, cooking, party planning extraordinaire friend Dustin always refreshes the bathroom when he hosts, so I've taken to doing the same.

His secret move: placing colored stones in the base of the sink!

Immediate spa transformation.

On the counter I added a golden honey hand soap and very luxurious napkins (black with gold lace!).

 I am seriously obsessed with these napkins.

Where I normally keep my coconut scented candle, I put a vases of mini red roses. How cute are these?

Once the whole house was set up, I took a break to do a few hours of work (I know, lame). When the ladies began to arrive at 6:30pm, I swiftly put out the snacks!

To start we had crackers and olive spread:

Green peppers, orange peppers, carrots and hummus:

Seven layer dip with multigrain Tostidos:

Eventually there were hot appetizers (hello, Trader Joe's) but I was so excited to eat them I forgot to take pictures.

Around 9:00pm I decided it was time to share with the girls my master plan for booze spiked milkshakes to cap the night.

I had this frozen confection at Wahlburgers in Hingham, MA and after a few sips, I asked the waitress for the menu so I could take a picture of the ingredients. It's called the s'mores adult frappe.

You start with pint glasses and line them with Hershey's chocolate syrup.

Then you scoop in two generous heaps of chocolate ice cream (I chose Brigham's).

Next you pour one shot of marshmallow flavored vodka over the ice cream and mix with a straw.

Lastly, you top the milkshake with crumbled graham cracker.

Are you drooling? These were so fantastic and totally fit with the over the top theme of the night.

Most of the girls lasted until somewhere around 10:30pm, with one lone wolf hanging in until the very end. Here are my thoughts on the show and my picks for Best Dressed, in case you missed it.

It was so fun spending the day decorating the house for Oscars. Dare I say, even more fun than watching the show. . .

How did you spend Hollywood's biggest night?

 

Molly Galler

Welcome to Pop.Bop.Shop. My name is Molly. I’m a foodie, fashionista, pop culture addict and serious travel junkie. I’m a lifelong Bostonian obsessed with frozen confections, outdoor patios, Mindy Kaling, reality television, awards shows, tropical vacations, snail mail and my birthday.

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