Costume lit party

November 13, 7:41 PMAtlanta Literacy ExaminerStephane Paul

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Halloween may be gone but the season for costume parties doesn’t have to be over. Traditionally, many people have held masquerade balls for New Years Eve, or at Carnival time but what about creating interesting literature-themed costume parties all year round.  During the year we host and attend a number of “get-togethers”, cocktail parties, dinners, brunches and sleep-over’s. Put a twist into your next gathering by having guests dress up in the time period or as a character of your favorite book. 

 

Imagine a Great Gatsby cocktail party; fill your evening with the excess and decadence that is synonymous with the roaring twenties. Step into the Jazz age with fun loving flappers, art deco touches, zoot suits, cigars, lots of Champagne. Or have a drink with Mario Puzzo’s Godfather and bring your guest into “the family”. Recreate New York in the 40’s and 50’s with men in two tone shoes, trilby hats, pin stripe suits and ladies in curve flattering Katherine Hepburn glamour. If “cool cats” are who you desire at your next cocktail party then A Rage in Harlem is the perfect setting. Jive talking cats in cool suits and ladies in 1950’s glam will surely get your guest talking above the music of Nat King Cole, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and others.

 

If you are looking for a more exotic gathering, Memoirs of a Geisha provides a touch of the orient. The story is set during the thirties and continues through the Second World War. Imagine gentlemen in uniforms, ladies in beautiful kimonos, powdered faces and painted pouty lips. An invitation filled with the promise of strikingly colorful costumes and Asian inspired cuisine will make this evening a hit. Memoirs of Hadrian is also another great dinner theme with a little more luxury.  Invite roman court members to lounge on pillows and discuss philosophy, poetry and music. Prepare a lavish feast featuring wild boar, rabbit, duck with lots of hummus, wine and cheese. As Georgians, let’s not overlook what a wonderful dinner guest Miss Scarlet or her debonair beau Rhett would make at a dinner party.

 Book clubs, brunches and lunches can come alive with an Alice in Wonderland theme. Don extravagant hats and use impeccable manner as you nibble on scones, bite-sized desserts and tea sandwiches. Don’t forget the all important invitation from the mad hatter himself. Another great luncheon or tea party idea can be based on the mid-eighteenth century Madam Bovary. Guest can gossip about Madame Bovary’s scandalous escapades as they pretentiously parade in expensive baubles and frocks. 

A few more ideas include: The Three Musketeers transporting guest back to the opulence of the sixteen hundreds complete with dashing young men, beautiful courtesans and bejeweled monarchs. Although not a novel, Shakespeare’s play a Midsummer’s Night Dream provides a surreal setting for mythological characters and creatures. The Thousand and One Nights offers a wealth of fun and excitement as Scheherazade presents an abundance of stories to stimulate the imagination of guests. Envision Aladdin, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves or Sinbad the Sailor inspiring a magical and fanciful evening.

 If you enjoy reading, or would like to help foster the love of reading, start planning a costume party. Many of the books I have described above have been converted into movies and so a screening during the party can be a great deal of fun. This idea is also great to get everyone to interact and reduces the wallflower effect since everyone who attends the party has a beautiful work of literature in common. Let the reading begin and the creativity flow.