How to host the ultimate watch party

Watch parties provide great opportunities to get together with friends and family. Such gatherings can be centered around Hollywood awards shows, sporting events or even the finale of a popular television series. Regardless of what’s being watched, hosts can employ various strategies to make the party as fun and memorable as possible for themselves and their guests.

· Stock up on food and drinks: Even if the festivities won’t include a sitdown dinner, stock up on food and drinks so no one goes hungry or thirsty. If the event you’re watching is slated to begin shortly after dinnertime, consider hosting a potluck preevent dinner. A potluck dinner helps take some of the burden off of hosts and the pre-event meal can be a great time to share thoughts and theories about the event everyone is there to watch. Provide plenty of nonalcoholic beverages like water, soda, tea, and coffee as well. Alcoholic beverages can be served, but hosts should keep everyone’s consumption to a minimum to ensure guests make it home safe.

· Prepare some eventspecific treats: Some event-specific treats like cookies that look like baseballs or desserts designed to mimic the appearance of an awards show statuette can inject a little something extra into the party.

· Send guests home with event-specific party favors: Event-specific party favors also can be a nice touch that guests won’t soon forget. If you’re gathering to watch a big game on the gridiron, pass out foam fingers with league or team logos. If it’s the finale of a beloved television series, hand out show-related mementos that allude to a specific and important episode, character or plot point in the show’s history.

· Make sure everyone has a seat and some space: Before inviting guests, conduct a reasonable assessment of your viewing space and determine how many guests can fit and sit comfortably in the space. Events like games and awards shows tend to last several hours, and guests will want a comfortable seat and a little space to spread out. Tailor the size of your guest list to your available space.

· Upgrade your tech: The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of many watch parties, and in the interim hosts’ tech might have fallen a bit behind the times. Shop around for new items if your television could be a few inches larger or your surround sound system could use an upgrade to make any audiophile proud. Guests will appreciate the high-quality images and sound, and hosts will enjoy the upgrades long after the party has ended.

· Fill the down time: A television show watch party may not have much down time, but games and awards shows will have some breaks in the action. Some fun games like bingo can keep guests engaged even when the action on the screen slows down.

Hosts can up the fun factor of watch parties with a few simple strategies to make the festivities feel unique.