Election Day viewing party ideas!

CHICOPEE, Mass. (Mass Appeal) - It's Election Day, the biggest competition of the year. What better excuse to get all your rowdy friends together for some good natured political fun!

Tanya Costigan, Owner of Bowties and Butterflies Event Planning , showed us how to throw a rockin' election night party!

Decorations:

• White linen table cloth draped with strands of foil stars for tables
• Small flags in Presidential looking gold stands for centerpieces or along buffet/dessert table
• Red balloon bouquets for Republican theme or
• Blue balloon bouquets for Democrat theme or
• Keep it neutral with red, white and blue balloon bouquets tied to star shaped balloon weights. Balloons are tied to red and white striped cloth string

Food & Beverage:

• Set out blue and red buckets and fill with ice. Fill those ice buckets with color themed beverages. The coloring can come from the color of the drink itself, or from the container it comes in. Place out some clear tumblers so when they guests pour the beverages, they will see the color of the beverage coming through. Add some flag themed drink umbrellas for a finishing touch.
   
• “Red, White and Blueberry” – you can buy some red wine, white wine and blueberry wine from the local liquor store. Create a fun little sign to set out at the bar to add that patriotic detail to your party.
   
• Election themed cupcakes – I showed this as the party favor for guests, but you can choose to present these as you wish. I purchased cupcake boxes and decorated them to look like ballot boxes. I lined the inside of the cupcake box with red and white striped tissue paper. Insert cupcake, tie it up with red and white string, attach the lock shaped tag..and voila!
   
• Make the food themed from the state each candidate comes from.
  • For Obama, Illinois/Chicago based food:
    • Chicago style, thin crust or deep dish pizza
      Steamed hot dogs
      Ribs
      Pecan Pie
  • For Romney, Boston/Massachusetts based food:
    • Seafood
      Grinders
      Baked Beans
      Burgers
      Boston Crème Pie
      etc…

Guest Entertainment:

The purpose of the event is to watch the election footage, so be sure to have enough t. v. ’s on and that your guests can hear what’s going on. But please do add the fun elements:

• Election hats (straw hat with red/white/blue ribbon, or vintage skipper hats)
   
• Blank maps of U.S. with red and blue markers, as the night moves on, guests may want to keep track of the election by coloring each state as it is decided.
   
• Presidential trivia, at each table, place out cards with presidential facts, either current or historical. It will be a great ice breaker for your guests.
   
• “Photo Op” – Purchase life size cut outs of each candidate or just one. Set out some photo props and create an awesome photo booth for guests.