Tired of just seeing Hollywood on the silver screen or on your television set? Why not bring Hollywood to you by throwing a fabulous Hollywood theme party right at home? Read on for tips for making your very own home a place for the stars.

Glamorous Invitations

There are many ways to design your invitation creatively to speak clearly for your theme. One idea is to design them to look like movie tickets, with a free pass to your party or after-party. You can also make your invitations look like movie clappers, those black and whote boards directors use to indicate when the cameras are rolling.

Another idea is to hand out invitations that look like fliers for a very special screening of Hollywood movies at your home. For simpler invitations, you can use the Oscar statuette or the Hollywood hills with its famous Hollywood sign as a cover picture for the invitation.

Remind your friends to dress as their favorite Hollywood actor or actress. They can also come as any character from Hollywood movies.

Decorating for a Star-Studded Event

To make your guests feel like bona fide Hollywood stars, you’ve got to make your party space feel like an extravagant Hollywood gathering. Your decorations and even your theme can be narrowed into more specific categories. It can be a particular era in Hollywood, like the era of the silver screen, or Hollywood movie genres, like horror and romance. It’s all up to you, but don’t forget to tell your guests!

Spread out a red carpet leading to your entrance. You can rent one from a party supplies store, or just buy a long strip of red felt paper that can double up as carpet. You can also rent velvet ropes to cordon off cardboard cutouts of life-sized paparazzi waiting for your famous guests to arrive.

Make your space look elegant by hanging a chandelier in the middle of the room. Make sure you temporarily replace your harsh white lights with softer yellow lights that flatter skin tones. For your tables, you can make it simple and reminiscent of classy restaurants by using simple white tablecloths with a red runner on top. Centerpieces can be tea candles floating in clear, shallow bowls or roses in crystal vases.

Balloons, streamers and banners can be in black, white and silver colors, recalling the glorious silver screen days of Hollywood. Put up movie posters on your walls. String up yellow Christmas lights for a starry feel. If you have an LCD projector, play old Hollywood movies on a screen without any sound. For music, you can play popular Hollywood soundtracks and theme songs. You can also use the LCD projector if your guests will be watching an award ceremony on the night of your party.

Put up a platform and a podium for the awards that you’ll be handing out later at the party. Also, don’t forget to remind your guests to come in their swankiest gowns and tuxes—dress code should be very strict.

Glitz and Games: Hollywood Party Activities

It’s best to hold your Hollywood party on the same night as a major awards show that’s taking place in Hollywood, like the Oscars, the Golden Globes or the Screen Actors Guild awards. You can play a lot of fun games and take bets while watching these shows with your friends. Here are some suggestions for you.

Worst dress


• Hollywood Trivia - Before the party starts, make ballots for zany categories like “Worst Dress,” “Most Awkward Couple,” “Most Smug Nominee”. Hand them out during dinner so that guests can write down their votes. Tally the votes and announce the winners. Those who voted the winners can be given a prize.
• Betting Pools - Bet on who will win awards. Have your guests list their choices for every category, and then keep track of the winners all night. The person who guesses the most winners correctly wins a prize.
• Pin the Accessories - Put up a poster of a glamorous Hollywood actress and have some ready-to-stick paper cutouts of jewelry and other accessories. You can even throw the Oscar award in. Have your guests go at it blindfolded and see what the results are.
• Diva of the Night - Have your guests vote for the Diva of the Night (usually the best-dressed female) among the other guests. The person who gets the most votes is declared the winner.
• Name Dropping - Have a board with pictures of Hollywood stars and number them. When your guests arrive, hand them a piece of paper with numbers listed. Ask them to identify as many of the Hollywood stars as they can. The one who guesses the most correctly, wins.

Famous scene


• Hollywood Charades - Have your guests act out Hollywood films and celebrities using body motions and arm movements. (see how to play charades)
• Re-enact Famous Scenes - Group people into four or five groups. They will then randomly pick out famous scenes from a movie from slips in a box. Scenes from “A Streetcar Named Desire,” “The Godfather,” or even contemporary movies like “The Matrix” will have to be re-enacted in front of everyone. Everyone else, in turn, will have to guess which movie the scene came from. If you want, you can even announce “Best Actor,” “Best Actress” and “Best Script” among everyone to motivate them to do their best.
• Be The Paparazzi - Take lots of souvenir photos of your guests and their flashy costumes.
• Watch the Awards Show - Sometimes, kicking back and watching the televised awards show is best. You don’t have to worry about being criticized for your bad fashion choices the next day. Kick off your shoes and relax while you and your friends enjoy the show.

To make the prizes more special, find plastic Oscar statues that your guests can take home after they win.

Wanna see hollywood party! Check out this video.

First-Rate Hollywood Food

Since a Hollywood party is all glitz and glamor, you should seriously consider hiring a caterer and a bartender to help you out on this aspect. It’s also fine if you decide otherwise, but remember you’ll be running around in all your finery. Here are some things you can include in your menu.

• Finger Food - Guests will always be flitting from table to table like the social butterflies they are, so you should have food that’s flexible, like mini star-shaped sandwiches, biscuits with pate, and stuffed olives.
• Pizza and Pasta Platter - You can have prepared platters for your guests, with a little salad on the side. (Learn how to make finger pizzas)
• Cold Cuts Tray - Have an assortment of cold cuts ready for consumption by cutting them in little squares with toothpicks for easy pickup.




Pizza and Pasta

Grape juice

Popcorn for food

• Fruit and Cheese Tray - Same concept as the cold cuts tray, only here you can have fruit like pineapple, apples and pears paired with cheeses.
• Theater Food - Shed your formal settings and set up a mock concession where you can find your favorite theater food like popcorn, hotdogs, tacos, corn dogs and ice cream.
• Star Cakes - Prepare star-shaped cakes with yellow frosting, or smaller cupcakes for your guests’ sweet teeth.
• Beverages - You can serve sparkling grape juice, ginger ale, cream soda, sparkling apple cider or just good old-fashioned soda in champagne flute glasses.

Hollywood Grab Bags

Hollywood parties usually have goody bags for the stars to take home afterwards. Yours don’t have to be fancy or expensive; they can be full of little things like makeup, a CD of favorite movie music, rhinestone jewelry and movie posters.

Feel like a bona fide star for a night by enjoying this Hollywood party with your friends. This is one occasion where formal can be definitely fun. Enjoy!