20 Award Winning Oscar Party Ideas
Lauren Miolene
Editor
Roll out the red carpet, pop the bubbly, and get ready to celebrate the biggest night in Hollywood—the Oscars! Whether you're a film buff or just in it for the glitz, glam, and gossip, there’s no better way to enjoy the Academy Awards than with friends, food, and a little friendly competition at an Oscars party.
Take inspiration from this year’s blockbuster films and cinematic masterpieces to incorporate into your Oscar party ideas. If you’re tuning in live on March 2nd for the 2025 Academy Awards or throwing a chic Oscar themed party for a birthday or anniversary, you’ll want to use these Oscar party ideas for the celebration of a lifetime.
1. Photo Booth
Travel back in time to the glamorous days of Old Hollywood with a vintage photo booth for a fun Oscar party idea. Browse photo booth vendors so you can customize your photographs with your event's name, date, and theme. If chic and modern is more your style, you can hire a 360 booth or a touch-screen booth for more interactive fun.
2. Red Carpet Entrance
Create a VIP experience from the moment your guests arrive to the second they enter the building with a red carpet. Enjoy the glitz and glam of your Oscar themed party with a rich, red carpet display that makes the perfect backdrop for photo ops. Don’t forget velvet ropes and plenty of spotlights to provide a movie star experience.
3. Classic Cocktails
From James Bond inspired Martinis, to classy Old Fashioneds, you’ll want to serve a variety of classic cocktails during your Oscars themed party. Consider booking a bartender or mobile bar service to mix up fancy drinks and beverages all night long.
4. Gourmet Popcorn
Movies and popcorn are the ultimate combination, so obviously you’ll want to incorporate this into your Oscars party ideas. Serve classy and gourmet flavors like truffle parmesan, caramel sea salt, or honey butter. You could even pop plenty of plain popcorn and have guests jazz it up with their own mix-ins and flavors.
Save the hassle in the kitchen and consider booking a popcorn food cart for your Oscars themed party.
5. Comedian
An award show is nothing without a little bit of comedy. To ensure everyone laughs and smiles all night long, why not spoil them with a talented comedian to break the ice or perform during the commercial breaks? Browse The Bash to find clean comedians, comedy magicians, comedic jugglers, and many more.
6. Celebrity Dress Code
For an Oscar awards themed party, you’ll obviously need to dress to the nines, just like your favorite stars, directors, and producers. Plus, who doesn’t love an excuse to put on a suit or ball gown? Dressing in dramatic outfits for your Oscar themed party is a fun way to create the star-studded aesthetic.
The Oscars are on a Sunday night, so if you’re not feeling up for Hollywood glam, you can never go wrong with a watch party in your PJs.
7. DIY Walk of Fame
As guests make their way to the party space, greet them with a DIY walk of fame. Place star decals with guests’ names on the floor as the perfect transition from your Oscar themed party entrance to the main celebration area.
8. Champagne Tower
Pop the champagne to get your Oscar award party started! With your choice of bubbly, like champagne, Prosecco, or sparkling cider, stack plastic champagne glasses into a tower, pour at the top, and watch the stream of bubbles fill each cup. Not only is a champagne tower a fun way to serve drinks, but it’s also the perfect shot for fun photos.
If this is an Oscar awards themed party like a birthday or anniversary, why not book a professional photographer to capture it all?
9. Mini Lobster Rolls
If you’re thinking of Oscar awards party ideas and menu inspiration, keep the offerings classy. Prepare handheld lobster rolls with melted butter for a gourmet Oscar party food. This is a Hollywood affair, so you need a little decadence!
If lobster doesn’t fit your ideas for an Oscar party, you can never go wrong with burger sliders, mini grilled cheeses, or other small sandwiches for easy grazing. If you have a larger crowd for a big event, consider booking a caterer for a flawless Oscar award theme party.
10. Celebrity Impersonator
The Oscars is a night for the stars, so why not bring it to life? For unique Oscar awards party ideas, book a celebrity impersonator to wow guests, mingle, and take photos with everyone. Browse The Bash to find impersonators and impressionists like Marilyn Monroe, Cher, Johnny Depp, Joan Rivers, and more.
11. Black and Gold Decor
Keep the Academy Awards party decorations chic and elegant. Use a black and gold color scheme, fringe curtains, classic movie posters, and of course, accents of twinkle lights for ambient lighting. You can also incorporate candles, floral arrangements, and clapperboards to help channel the Hollywood feel.
12. Wine Tasting
If you've watched the Oscars before, you'll know that the Academy Awards always serves wine from renowned brands and sponsors, like Domaine Clarence Dillon. Take inspiration and get creative with your Oscar awards party ideas by hosting an elegant wine tasting.
Pro tip: to level up this Oscar party activity, you could hire a sommelier to lead the wine tasting.
13. Grazing Boards
When planning your Oscar party food ideas, you can never go wrong with a grazing board. Different from charcuterie, grazing boards have all kinds of offerings like meat, cheese, fruit, veggies, dips, and other snack options. Grazing boards are an ideal Oscar party food idea because there is something for everyone to pick on throughout the evening.
14. Oscars Bingo
Create custom bingo cards to add to your Oscar award party ideas if you’ll be watching it live. Include fun and specific scenarios and events like if the winner thanks their parents, a car commercial airs, or if you’ve seen the film. Oscar party games are a sure way to make sure everyone is having a fun time. And obviously, the first one to get Bingo wins.
15. Caricaturist
You can’t host an event without some sort of party favor or gift for your guests. Offer creative Oscar awards party ideas, like a caricaturist, for a unique activity and piece of art that guests can bring home. A caricature artist can create custom drawings of each guest in their glamorous outfits for a special keepsake from your Oscar themed party.
16. Oscars Viewing Area
Whether this is a formal Oscar awards themed party or a casual Sunday night viewing, you’ll want to make sure you have a comfortable seating area with a big screen. Set up couches and chairs in front of your TV, but if you want to make it larger than life, you could rent a movie screen for an elevated experience.
17. Movie Candy Bar
You’ll need a few sweet treats to add to your Oscar party food ideas. Set up a buffet filled with movie candy like gummy bears, M&Ms, chocolate covered raisins, and all of the other classic sweets you enjoy at the theater. Guests can build their own candy bag to snack on throughout the Oscars themed party and take home afterwards.
18. Oscars Place Cards
If this is a formal event with a set table, get creative with place cards by using miniature trophies with your guests’ names. Of course, people can sit wherever they want, but this small detail will be a fun way to carry out the Oscars party theme and double as a party favor.
19. Charades
When planning Oscar party games, you’ll obviously need to play charades! While you may not be a movie buff, your guests may certainly be. Charades can be a great way to test your friends’ film themed knowledge and have a few laughs in the process. Add Oscar nominees, classics, and your other favorite movies into a hat and watch everyone act them out.
20. Balloon Decorator
For a grand Oscar award theme party, like celebrating a milestone birthday or anniversary, incorporate Academy Awards party decorations and balloons. Browse local balloon artists that can create balloon arches, garland, and other pieces of art to complete your star-studded event.
Find more event ideas here on The Bash.
