How to Host an Emmy Party
If you enjoy hosting parties in your home, consider hosting an Emmy party. If you’re a television fan, you know that recent critical acclaim for cable television programming like “Mad Men,” “Boardwalk Empire,” and “Breaking Bad” has been rivaling critical praise for big screen entertainment. In addition to these tips, consider adapting Oscar party hosting advice for your Emmy party, since there are some event similarities.
Emmy Party Essentials
Most important and obvious, since this is a television event, make sure that your television works and that there’s enough comfortable seating in your viewing space. If your TV is too small for the number of guests that you’re inviting, consider renting a larger television.
Evaluate your guest list. What percentage of your guests will be serious showbiz buffs, and who will be coming to your party primarily to socialize? If a large group of guests will be there to socialize, consider splitting the party into two activity areas. The viewing area around the television will be for the fans. Create a separate food and beverage area, possibly the kitchen, as the focal gathering place for the social group.
Emmy Party Food
Will you want your Emmy party to project an aura of sophistication and elegance like a celebrity Oscar party? If so, consider having your party food catered. If you prefer a more casual neighborhood party, have fun with a menu of your own creation. Make food and beverages with a tongue-in-cheek Emmy theme such as "Homer Simpson Big Fat Sandwiches," or "Don Draper’s Mad Man Manhattan." Use your imagination.
Emmy Party Decorations
For Hollywood themed decorations, find a large party supply house, such as The Hollywood MegaStore. On their website, they sell life-sized standup cut-outs of celebrities. They also sell Hollywood-themed paper plates, cups, napkins, and tablecloths. For some, this type of décor may be cheesy, but if your guests aren’t too self-conscious, they’ll probably get into the fun spirit of the decorations. You can also recommend that guests decorate themselves by dressing as their favorite series character.
Emmy Party Activities
Each year Emmy Awards are handed out in August. Nominees are typically announced in July. Visit the Emmys website to get the full list. Prepare a vote ballot in a program like Microsoft Word. The ballot will include all nominees in the categories that your party guests will be most interested in, such as Outstanding Leading Actor in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Leading Actress in a Drama Series, Outstanding Reality-Competition Program, or Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
Send the ballot as an email attachment to your guests before the party. Ask them to print out their ballot and vote for one winner in each category, and have them bring their ballots to the party. Make sure that you have pens, markers, or extra ballot printouts for guests who forget their ballots. This scorekeeping activity can be fun, argumentative, and boisterous. Consider giving an award to the person with the most category winners correctly guessed. Prizes can be kitschy like a plastic award statuette, or serious like a Netflix gift card.
