13 Cool Oscar Party Ideas

On the lookout for unique Oscar party ideas that Hollywood itself would envy? The Academy Awards show is an exciting day for just about everyone, from the film buff to even the casual movie-goer. And considering all the unique movies we enjoyed in 2024, it’s safe to say that 2025’s awards show is going to be huge! All you need are a few Oscar party ideas to make your night just as grand.

So unless you’re going to finagle an invite to Sir Elton John’s annual Oscar viewing party, why not turn the biggest awards show of the year into your own viewing party event? That way, you and your group can celebrate the wins right along with the stars! If you’re not sure where to get started, don’t worry, we have you covered. These Oscar party ideas will have you and your guests feeling as glamorous as the nominees.

Besides exciting Oscar party ideas, Peerspace can also help provide you with sensational Oscar party venues! After all, what better way to feel like you’re a part of the glitz and glam than by dressing up and partying with your favorite people at a pristine and one-of-a-kind event venue location?

To give you an insider’s glimpse, we’ll share information about real Peerspace venues that we think are perfect for your Oscar party. Let’s get started!

1. Take your viewing party to a hot new Peerspace venue 

Yes, we at Peerspace firmly believe in watching your favorite stars from the comfort of a glamorous space of your own! Peerspace has thousands of Oscar-worthy venues available to rent by the hour in cities across North America and beyond.

This Oscar party idea is the easiest way to upgrade an ordinary get-together into an extra special occasion. With Peerspace, you can turn a local art gallery or theater into your viewing party venue. You can rent a swanky mansion, a modern penthouse, or a historic home. Venues of all types are available to rent by the hour.

Here is just a sample of our favorite Oscar viewing party spaces:

• This mansion with a castle look in Saddle River, NJ (pictured above) with a huge kitchen, a ballroom, and an outdoor pool with a waterfall feature.
• This film/photo studio in London, UK that doubles as a private screening room with a kitchen, a projector, a large screen, and surround sound.
• This Hollywood chateau in Los Angeles, CA with Old Hollywood glamour, high ceilings, a stage, and a dining room that opens onto a patio and large backyard.
• This lofted meeting and event space in Chicago, IL with a 60″ plasma TV, modular seating, and optional snack and meal catering,
• This loft retreat in Paris, France with eclectic decor, comfy seating, a kitchen, and a large-screen projector system.
• This Villa Celine in Miami, FL with multiple HD TVs, an indoor and outdoor kitchen, a pool, a hot tub, and a bar.

As you can see, you can rent amazing spaces in cities across the globe. Plus, when you book a Peerspace, you can enjoy the full support of your venue’s local host. They are happy to be as hands-on as you need as you plan your party.

2. Serve star-worthy eats to your A-list guests

Every party needs food. Get fancy with food-centric Oscar party ideas! Serve plenty of appetizers, like gourmet popcorn in cute buckets, bruschetta, smoked salmon, deviled eggs, meatballs, and tiny fruit parfaits.

An Oscar party is the perfect excuse to go all out with a charcuterie board filled with fresh fruits, cured meats, tempting cheeses, and other snackables arranged beautifully. Check out this article on crafting the perfect savory charcuterie board for more inspiration. But if you’re short on time, Trader Joe’s sells a wide variety of party-perfect frozen appetizers that look as good as they taste.

3. Make it extra sweet by creating an Oscar-worthy candy buffet

To create the ultimate movie theater experience at your Oscar party, set up an upscale candy buffet and rent a popcorn machine for extra fun. Use glass jars to display candy-like black Twizzlers, gold and black M&M’s from party stores or the M&M website, gummy bears (you can get exotic flavors from Albanese Candy, like pineapple for a pop of gold), and chocolate gold coins.

You can even get actual gold rock candy from Dylan’s Candy Bar that are (almost) too gorgeous to eat! The signature lollipops from See’s Candies that come wrapped in black and gold would also make a lovely addition to your display. When you set up a table full of aesthetically pleasing, delicious candy, your guests will feel like they’ve stepped into Willy Wonka’s factory. Check out what the world’s best chefs are saying will be the biggest food trends in 2025 for the freshest inspo.

These great movie birthday party ideas can help you plan the next milestone event for all of your movie-buff friends!

4. Decorate with a black and gold color scheme

Keep your venue on theme by decorating with the Oscar colors, black and gold. When you use Peerspace to book exciting venues, you can even find spaces that are already black and gold, like Striking Gold: a modern Highland Park design gem in Los Angeles, CA. Besides its black and gold dining room featured above, it also boasts a stunning ultra-modern black kitchen with gold fixtures.

No matter where you host your Oscars party, you can enhance the space with this Hollywood ballon bouquet from Party City. And be sure to welcome your guests by placing this Hollywood Walk of Fame star poster from Etsy at your venue’s entrance. Stick with the Oscars’ color scheme and use black and gold plates, cups, napkins, and utensils, like this black and gold dinnerware set from Amazon.

5. Give out fun Oscars to your guests

Join in on the fun and give out Academy Awards of your own! Use ballots and envelopes just like the real deal, and make sure everyone gets their nominations in at the beginning of the party. Use categories like Best Music Taste (like the best score award), Most Dramatic, Best Sense of Humor, Best Sense of Style, Best Storyteller, and Best Dancer (you may have to have some guests show off their moves and skills first).

Announce winners during commercial breaks so that you have something to do when the show isn’t on. You can award them with plastic statues from Oriental Trading or chocolate ones from a party store.

6. Dress up like you’re attending the real thing

Who doesn’t love an excuse to dress up? Break out the formal gowns, suits, tuxedos, heels, and dress shoes. Don’t think you own anything glam enough? Repurpose bridesmaid dresses or groomsmen tuxes or take a trip to the thrift shop.

Or, if you’ve got a silly, fun-loving crowd, go for eclectic looks a la the Met Gala for a fun twist. Complete your looks with bold lipstick, jewelry, and elegant hairstyles. Encourage everyone to participate in dressing up by having a competition for the title of “Best Dressed.”

7. Host your own red carpet to greet your guests 

When else are you going to have a chance to strut your stuff on the red carpet? Set up a red carpet (you can make your own out of red fabric or find one at a party store or on Oriental Trading) and a backdrop.

For a cheap, do-it-yourself option, set up some PVC pipes and silver or gold fabric. Grab some gold photo props or typical red carpet accessories like purses and clutches for everyone to hold. Call on your photographer friend (we all have one) to play paparazzi, and have your guests strike a pose.

We love the way this Sara Ellen event venue in York, PA has its red carpet set up outside the venue, ready for you and your guests to strut. The host even offers you a “red carpet experience” for an additional $100, ensuring you and your partygoers get the full red carpet, velvet rope treatment!

8. Hand out ballots to cast votes for your favorite movies

Vote for your favorite winners before the awards show begins. Hand out ballots (which you can find for each year in PDF form online) and have everyone fill in their predictions in each category. Instead of betting on the award winners, give out prizes like movie tickets to the guests with the most correct predictions.

9. Create a film-inspired musical playlist to enhance the mood

Assemble songs from the current score and song nominees, as well as past winners for one killer party playlist. If you aren’t sure what soundtracks to choose, here are some good ideas to start with: La La Land, A Star is Born, Titanic, Purple Rain, and almost any Disney soundtrack (which is a great idea if you have kids at the party!).

Need a sweet space to make it happen? Then why not book this Mediterranean waterfront dream house in Hollywood, FL? It’s a gorgeous home with views, TVs, and speakers for playing your music! This amazing venue also has an outdoor sauna and bath, perfect for kicking back and feeling like a celebrity getting pampered before a big night on the town.

10. Mix some drinks with movie magic

Create some cocktails themed after the nominated movies or past winners. Or, go for a more generic approach with these Hollywood-inspired cocktails. (If you have kids at the party, classic virgin drinks like Roy Rogers and Shirley Temples are perfect!) If you aren’t up to mixing drinks, champagne is a must. You can even give everyone their own mini bottles for the party.

To make it even better, why not book a stylish Peerspace venue that has everything you need and more? For instance, you can book this Minneapolis event space and enjoy its speakeasy bar, screening room theater, lounge, and game room. It’s the type of Oscar party ideas venue that will delight everyone on your guest list!

11. Test your knowledge and play movie trivia

Choose a few popular nominees and come up with some trivia questions about each one. If you’re not sure where to start, then check out this resource by Triviawell to curate the trivia and answers that you think pertain best to your party.

You can also incorporate questions about past winners as well, to be fair to those who haven’t seen all of the recent films. Offer prizes to the winners, such as movie tickets, movie memorabilia, gourmet candy, or DVDs/Blu-rays.

For extra fun and built-in ambiance, why not book this Hollywood Heaven – escape to cinematic bliss themed home in Los Angeles for your trivia-packed Oscar party? It boasts a swimming pool, a game room, a private movie theater room, and several movie-themed bedrooms to delight your guests.

Pepper in some of our chic Hollywood theme party ideas, and your Oscars gathering just got a whole lot more glamorous!

12. Pre-game with past Oscar winners!

Make your Oscar party a multi-night affair by inviting your guests over for an Oscar movie binge before the big night.

This serves many purposes:

• To set up a context for the current Oscar noms
• To watch movies with your favorite people
• And to party!

Not sure where to start? Then check out this ranked list by Vulture that includes every Oscar best-picture winner ever. It may sound like quite an undertaking, but just choose a couple of movies and host the binge on a night that works for all your guests, like the weekend leading up to Oscar night.

Is your home or apartment not exactly party-worthy? Then check out Peerspace for party venues, especially homes with private screening rooms. Just don’t forget the popcorn. This is possibly one of the best Oscar party ideas for true movie buffs!

13. Set up a Hollywood-worthy backdrop for Oscar selfies

An Oscars party is the perfect excuse to dress up and act like an A-lister for the night. So why not make like the paparazzi and take advantage of your and your friends’ fancy outfits and celebrity mindsets to take stunning selfies? You’d probably do this anyway, but what we think you need to create SM gold is a setting that shows off your Hollywood taste. Peerspace has plenty of professionally-styled photo studio rentals to serve as your setting.

For example, you can book this glamorous vintage and pink Hollywood production studio in Miami, FL that provides you with a multi-angle set for an immersive vintage Hollywood look. Browse the photos to see all of the fashion and celebrity campaigns that have taken place here, and then book it for yourself and your party to join their ranks!

Oscar party ideas come to life with Peerspace

Whether you are into the music, the acting, or the cinematography of films, everyone can enjoy the Academy Awards show. Come together with friends this awards season to celebrate the magic of Hollywood with these fun Oscar party ideas.

And when you host your event in a sophisticated event venue courtesy of Peerspace, you’ll elevate the experience to the next level. Since you only rent a space by the hour, you only pay for the time you’re actually using the venue, unlike on other platforms.

And as we mentioned, a gorgeous venue is only the start. Talk to your venue’s help host to see if they can help arrange catering, A/V equipment, bar staff, and anything else to make your party incredible.

Hosting your friends and family at a private, upscale venue helps ensure you get into the Hollywood mindset. And who knows, maybe you’ll all enjoy it so much, that it will become a new annual tradition!

Find unique Oscar party venues on Peerspace