Inside the Cave: Last year I wrote about what I did years ago for a very special “Academy Award Night” at our house for Brenda. It was so much fun that over the years, it’s expanded in size by adding some friends and all sharing an added dimension of very humorous craziness to the night! The fun starts with the invitations, which have progressed into a virtual “Press Release” tying in a few key details for the night, as well as a few “Inside Edition” jokes that have gotten VERY silly throughout the years.
To set the tone for OUR evening, each guest is encouraged to come prepared with a gourmet dish, dressed for the red carpet…and prepped for very strict security detail to whisk them to the green room! Creating a press-release in the past was a blast, but simplifying to an easy-to-send invite was the way to go this year! Check out the “Club Meehan” Exclusive invite that you too can send to your prized guest list via email! We keep ours simple, as our guests are long-time friends who know their way to our “Club”. Simply click HERE to download the image, right click to save, then insert it into your email browser and add the “top secret details” for YOUR Oscar bash into the body of your email!
If you’re looking to keep it even simpler, take a peek at these easily printable invites! Quickly print (they’re two to a page), cut along the margins, and fill out to personalize for your people! Download HERE!
Now…onto the The ON-SITE fun…which totally begins on arrival – I put a red carpet leading up to our door. I have show-lights (courtesy of past events) that we put out front too so when the guests arrive, they’re on the carpet and in the spotlights! Everyone is dressed up in their own fun rendition of Hollywood fashion! Sometimes…being silly even as adults really works! They receive their special event credentials as they enter the house. We’re waiting with faux microphones in hand, to really give that paparazzi feel! (It’s sounds a bit much, but we all really get into the spirit of this special event night, and really yuck it up.)
Everyone brings a really nice entrée dish or high end appetizer; plus we all splurge on some champagne upon arrival and then followed by some very tasty red wines from Bordeaux and Napa Valley. We create a “Judge’s Table” in front of our large screen TV using our best linens, china and crystal. (Of course, the color theme is black, white and red.)
We set up our GRAZING TABLE near the Judge’s table with the first course of food, and then start to enjoy the “Red Carpet Arrivals” of all the stars! We all get a bit “in character” and have to comment on how some of them are dressed for the event, (vs. us…) and as each guest speaks, the mic is passed! All of us are also official “Judges” for this special night, so I always print out an Academy Awards Voting Ballot for each of us, and when the actual awards start, the competition is on!
Brenda and I actually helped produce a large part of the 1996 Miss Universe Pageant here in Las Vegas, and have one of the take-home statues each of the girls received. We’ve renamed the statue (too crazy to attempt to explain here), and the Judge that makes the most correct picks for the night, keeps the trophy for a year!
A special evening with good friends, a lot of fun and craziness and it all starts with our “special invitation” to kick off this award winning night! Print or email yours today!
