Entertaining

Awards Night Popcorn Bar

Do you get as excited as I do about watching the Hollywood awards shows? It’s like Super Bowl for women, and the real highlight of the night is the red carpet of course – oh yeah, and you get to see who wins best picture, actor, and actress, etc. I’ve always thought it would be fun to host a ladies night or small gathering to share the experience, toast each other with champagne, and play our own little version of Fashion Police. And if I ever do end up hosting such an evening you can bet I’ll be setting up a popcorn bar similar to this!

Awards night popcorn bar

Nothing goes together quite like movies and popcorn so this is the perfect snack bar to set up for the evening. The idea is to dress it up for the occasion, by adding black, white, gold, a little glitter, and some stars. Popcorn is also a good idea because it comes in both savory and sweet flavors. This popcorn bar is all about trying a variety and making your own flavor combinations with the popcorn itself, and some add-ins.
popcorn bar

popcorn bar

Typically, when we eat popcorn at home for a snack, we add some nuts to the bowl for a little protein boost. With that in mind I included some flavored peanuts, almonds, and m&m’s for add ins. Here’s the entire bar setup step-by-step.
popcorn bar

Decor:

  • Hang a glittery banner above the popcorn bar, that spells out “treats.” These letters were found at the craft store for $2 each, and I strung them with bakers twine.
  • Snack boxes are available for guests to fill and carry. These have stars on the side so they were perfect with the theme.
  • Fill large vases or apothecary jars with different flavors of popcorn and provide scoops from the party store.
  • A roll of gold glitter tape is used to add sparkle. I used it to dress up the handles of the scoops, and as a decorative way to attach labels.
  • Star shaped card stock is used to label each popcorn flavor. To dress them up I added glitter to the edge and wrote in gold metallic marker.

popcorn bar

Popcorn Flavors:

  • Cheddar Cheese
  • Classic Butter
  • Kettle Corn
  • Chocolate Chunk mix with pretzels & potato chips
  • Butter Toffee

popcorn bar

popcorn bar

Add-Ins:

  • Honey Roasted Peanuts
  • Hot Spicy Peanuts
  • Almonds
  • Black & White M&M’s {from the party store}

Some of my favorite flavor combinations were: cheddar + butter toffee, chocolate chunk + spicy peanuts, kettle corn + honey roasted peanuts. The kids of course, loved the m&m’s mixed into everything!

Finishing touches:

  • Serve this with champagne and/or sparkling grape juice {for the kids}.
  • Decorate with some movie party props like film, clapboards, and director’s megaphone.
  • Use a red table runner to mimic the red carpet if you like.
  • Frame black & white photos of old Hollywood stars & starlets.

Other fun occasion to set up a popcorn bar are birthdays, sports parties, and carnival or circus parties. Cheers!

See more posts by this author