How to Host a Viewing Party of the Popular Television Series Lost

I was ironing when my husband turned on the television and was horrified to see that a plane just crashed. It was the very beginning of the series, LOST, and I was disgusted by it. This was the last thing I wanted to see considering we were leaving for British Virgin Islands in three weeks. I was already uncomfortable about going on the trip for some reason so I didn't need to see this. Eventually I got sucked into the series, though, and now I watch it religiously with my husband. I am really looking forward to the first show of the season on January 31, 2008.

Here are few party planning ideas if you are going to host a viewing party for the season premiere or anytime during the season. Getting together with friends is
always more fun, plus they may pick up on a clue that you missed.

Invitations:
Start out by sending out invitations that look like plane tickets. Put the original location as Australia and the destination as the location of the party with the hosts' name, address, phone number, and email address. Consider asking guests to dress as their favorite character just to spice things up a bit.

Decorations:
Now that you have your guests in the works, starting planning the decorations. Since the show is based on a deserted island, this is going to be easy! You can spread a little bit of sand on the floor, purchase paper palm trees from the party store, and if you are a camping fan (I am not!), pull out a few small tents and put them around the living room or family room for some of your guests to cozy up in while they watch the show.

The meal:
Start with food you've seen on the show. You can fry up some bacon or make pork. Fortunately, you won't have acquire it the way that characters on the show do - no shooting involved, just go to the grocery store! Same thing with the preparations. Keep it nice and clean and toss it in the crock pot and let it become so tender that it falls apart. Shred it with a fork and either add sauerkraut or BBQ sauce to make sandwiches. Fish is another good option, but I'd recommend it only if you have a small crowd since fish can be a little pricey. You can also add other dishes that a little more what we perceive to be island food, like pineapple, coconut, fresh fruit, and Pina Coladas served in coconut halves. Just be creative!

Pre-party fun:
Ya know, the fun doesn't have to start the very minute the show begins. In fact, I'd recommend that you ask your guests to come considerably earlier than show time. This way, if you are the host/hostess, you don't have to answer the doorbell at the most inappropriate time and miss part of the show. Plus, asking guests to come early lends itself to pre-party fun. You can purchase earlier LOST seasons online or from your local Best Buy and have fun reminiscing before the new episode or watch the new "Missing Pieces" section on the LOST website. There are 13 two-to-three minutes videos of brand new, never before seen footage, that reveals answers about characters on the show. These are not deleted scenes.

During the show:
Ok, obviously during the show you are going to want to watch it, analyze it together and ask questions, "Why did that just happen?" "What was that?!" But during the commercials or even after the show if you'd like, you can play a game for prizes. The host/hostess can make up a LOST Trivial Pursuit game, create a worksheet with the questions, and have guests film them out. You can draw on things that have happened in previous seasons that we pretty much know the answers to already. Questions like:

How did John end up in a wheel chair?
What was Jack's profession? (ok, that's an easy one, but you get the point.)
What are the symbolic numbers referred to throughout the series?
What did Hurley win prior getting stuck on the island?
What's Hurley's first name?

The person that gets the most answers right can win a prize. You can give away show-related items like a magazine subscription to the new LOST magazine, a copy of the soundtrack, or the book The LOST Chronicles. Of course, if you are up to eyeballs with the theme "Lost" then you can always give other prizes like a bottle of wine, gift cards to the movies or homemade treats.

Enjoy the show!