Throw Down: Love Actually Movie Night

Love Actually is just about my favorite all-time Christmas movie. It's a British rom com with an ensemble cast of people who ordinarily would not be caught dead in a romantic comedy. The acting is superb and the story will melt your cold, cold heart, as eight different couples live out eight incredibly different love stories.

If you're looking to lure people over to hang out by the light of your Christmas tree, why you don't you throw a Love Actually movie night? Planning a movie night can be as simple as renting the movie and popping some popcorn. But if you'd like to make it extra special, consider serving food as it appears in the movie - I'll break it down for you below.

Click here for a playlist of background music for your guests to mingle to. And click here for a last-minute holiday gift-giving guide!

Take care of all your food prep and plating before the party, so all you'll have to do is bring out a tray when the appropriate moment comes. Simple food items you can choose include green grapes; mini-sandwiches; mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto; chocolate biscuits and regular biscuits (available where British cookies are sold, in most major supermarkets); bowls of cereal; crescent rolls (Pillsbury rolls in a tube work fine and can be put on a tray and popped in the oven); and popcorn. If you're really inspired, you can make your own banoffee pie.



1:22: It's Budweiser time!

 As people arrive, take their drink orders and serve them. Tell them they can have one or more of the following: coffee or tea, orange juice, fruit smoothies, white wine, champagne, Heineken, Budweier, scotch on the rocks, bloody marys, a shot of liqueur, or good old-fashioned water. Just before you hit play, set out a bowl of green grapes, and preheat your oven if you're making crescent rolls.

Minute 3: Bring out tea sandwiches.

Minute 10: Bring out some prosciutto-wrapped mozzarella.

Minute 12: Serve the chocky bikkies.

Minute 25: Serve breakfast cereal - have a tray all set out with bowls, spoons, cereal box and milk and let people pour their own.

Minute 32: Pop the crescent rolls in the oven.

Minute 44: Serve crescent rolls.

Minute 49: Serve the banoffee pie! Start heating more water for tea.


Minute 57: Bring out a big bowl of popcorn.



Tea and bikkies at minute 58

 Minute 58: Offer a tea refill for anyone who wants one and serve it with biscuits.

Minute 59: If anyone is interested in a coffee refill, start brewing a pot now.

1:14: Serve the coffee.

After the movie is over, encourage your guests to stay and mingle. Pour some more drinks and get cozy. Or if you'd like to extend the holiday theme, consider having a Yankee Swap; have each guest bring a wrapped gift, and then draw a number. The first person unwraps a gift of their choice. The second person unwraps a gift, then has the choice of keeping it or swapping it with the gift that's already been unwrapped. The unwrapping and gift-stealing continues until everyone has had a chance, and then person #1 gets the final chance to swap. Things may get a little rowdy, but it's all in good fun.