I love a good awards show, but let’s be honest: it’s really all about the red carpet, amiright? This year I’m getting a few girls together for the ultimate Sunday Funday with fun cocktails, easy make-your-own flatbreads, and a few rounds of “Red Carpet Bingo” to spark some friendly competition.
For this party, we teamed up with Absolut to toast to their new refreshing vodka, Absolut Lime. As a huge fan of anything lime (we are in Austin, after all!) I love its aroma – that full-bodied citrus flavor with a refreshingly light finish instantly makes any cocktail feel more special. Keep reading for all the details on the cocktails we mixed up, and since all the awards shows are right around the corner, take home some tips on throwing your own easy breezy bash.
*photos by kate zimmerman
In the last couple of years, I’ve finally embraced the fact that I’m a total homebody. For me, an unforgettable night with friends involves staying in, making a yummy dinner and mixing up some fun cocktails. For this party, I served the Absolut Limelight, which happens to be the signature Grammy Week cocktail.
This cocktail is a refreshing mix of soda, ginger ale, and Absolut Lime. It’s a simple mix of ingredients that comes together for a smooth, light flavor that any guest is guaranteed to love.
Absolut Limelight
- 2 parts Absolut Lime
- 2 parts soda
- 2 parts ginger ale
- 1/2 part fresh lime
Build in a highball over ice, Garnish with lime and cucumber ribbons. We added mint to ours!
The girls and I kicked off the night on my back porch with our cocktails in hand — and placed a few bets on who would win in our favorite categories.
We set out a casual dinner of build-your-own flatbreads: rounds of dough that I baked until golden brown, topped with zucchini ribbons, cherry tomatoes, creamy goat cheese, avocado, chili flakes, plus a squeeze of fresh lime and drizzle of olive oil.
The beauty of this type of dinner is that all your guests can choose their favorite ingredients and customize the flatbreads to their own tastes. Plus, since everyone is building their own, I get to kick back and enjoy the party right along with my friends — everything can be totally prepped before anyone arrives.
Aren’t they gorgeous? Feel free to adapt the ingredients to what’s in season and what you happen to have on hand. I’d love to try a version with figs, prosciutto and ricotta. Olive tapenade or pesto would be delicious, too.
At the Grammys on February 12th, Absolut will also be refreshing music’s biggest night by putting a twist on the red carpet conversation with their #RefreshTheTalk campaign, encouraging fans across the country and award show-goers to rethink the red carpet conversation, turning questions from “who are you wearing” to “what causes do you care about?”
The idea is to encourage people to go beyond talking about the dress to turn the focus on social causes, and especially considering everything happening in the country right now, it’s an idea I can totally get behind. Such a cool opportunity for all of us to use our individual platforms to speak out on the causes that we care about.
And now for a little Red Carpet Bingo! I’m not usually into super theme-y parties, so this is a chic way to infuse just a little bit of the awards show vibe into the night. If you’re hosting just a few guests, you can handwrite these — or for a larger party, there are some cute versions online that you can download and print. This is the perfect time to get creative with the categories — my favorites on our card were “obvious spray tan,” “celeb taking selfie,” and “man bun.” Give everyone a sheet of metallic stickers to keep score.
Do you guys get friends together to watch the awards shows together? I’d love to hear in the comments about any tips, tricks, games, or cocktails you’ll be mixing up!
This post was in partnership with Absolut. Enjoy responsibly.
