Dearest Friend,

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a person in possession of excellent taste must be in want of a splendid evening of cinema.

You are cordially invited to attend a most delightful watch and paint party to indulge in the romantic world of Jane Austen and the handsome mandatory viewing of Mr. Darcy's hand flex.

Prepare your finest Regency attire or coziest parlor shawl (wear whatever you like!), as we take our turn around the drawing-room (hang out in my living room) for an evening of viewing, spirited conversation, and perhaps a spot of tea (we'll be watching the 2005 P&P and painting mini canvases and perhaps eating snacks).

You are welcome to bring a snack to share, a friend to join, or just yourself.

Ever yours,

Kayley

Like most women, I’m a huge fan of Pride and Prejudice, both the book and the various film versions. I read the book a few times last year, and again this year for a book club, and I’ve been itching to throw a party about it.

Last fall, I hosted a Twilight Paint & Watch Party and it was a huge hit. I ordered the movie on Amazon Prime, spent about $12 on some mini canvas painting kits, and made some on-theme desserts (like Edward’s Sparkly Cupcakes). We watched the movie, ate snacks, painted our favorite scenes, and chatted about the insane concept that is Twilight.

Anyway, it’s about time I threw another party like that. :)

Here’s how I threw a Pride & Prejudice Watch and Paint Party!

Gathering Supplies

Amazon and Amazon Prime were my primary sources for this party. I rented the movie for $4 on prime, and I purchased the mini canvases again for about $19 (they’ve gone up in price, which wasn’t ideal).

In my home, I gathered all the candles and pretty bits & bobs, knicks and knacks I could find and decorated my living room with the stuff. I orientated my furniture toward the TV. I set up TV trays, to make eating and painting easy while watching. And I cleared off one of our display tables in our living room to put all the food, tea, and sparkling cider, so we wouldn’t have to leave the room for snacks.

I also stopped by the dollar store for some pretty white and pink ribbon, some paper doilies, a doily pendant banner to put under my TV, and some battery-operated mini candles. These tiny touches are never necessary, but it always gives me so much joy to decorate on theme for these little get togethers. Plus, my party decor stash has grown so much, soon I’ll be able to put on a year of parties without a trip to the dollar store!!

The Tragedy

Two hours before my party, Amazon sent me an email saying it wouldn’t deliver my paint kits until the following week. It was too late in the day for me to head to the store to recover - so I sent a quick message to my guests, inviting them to bring their own craft or just come to watch the movie together. I was so bummed we didn’t get to paint mini canvases like last time!

But, since I’ve done this before, I figured I’d just walk you through what I did at my last Paint & Watch party. Once I have this kit, I set out all the supplies on a table in my living room. The kits come with 12 of each: mini canvases, mini easels, acrylic paint strips, and brushes. I also set out tea cups or coffee mugs and pitcher of water, plus some extra napkins.

Then guests can grab what they need to paint and take it to their movie watching station, which again, has TV trays set around the room.

I’m truly bummed we couldn’t paint while we watched, but the mini canvas kit showed up today, so I’ll be all set for my next craft party!

I did have some paint sheets that have their own color (just add water) on the sheet, so the toddler girls could still paint!

The Menu (Regency Style)

I consulted Pinterest for a few of these dish names, but generally I was going for tea party (with potatoes - you’ll see why below!).

Refreshments (the drinks)

Georgianna’s Tea - I put out a kettle of hot water, a box of assorted teas, tea cups, and honey.
Lydia’s Spiced Cider - I just grabbed packets of hot spiced apple cider from Walmart. You just dump them in like hot cocoa packets, add hot water, and stir!
Mr. Bingley’s Bubbly (Sparkling Cider) - I left this in the giant bottles and added a fun sign calling them Mr. Bingley’s Bubbly. I put out my cutest wine glasses, too.

Comestibles (the food)

Mr. Collins’ Excellent Boiled Potatoes, An Exemplary Vegetable - Just good ole roasted potatoes, tossed in butter, garlic, and salt.
Pemberley’s Pastries - An assortment of mini pastries I got from Walmart.
Bennet Sister Sandwiches - Simple cucumber, dill, and cream cheese sandwiches, tea party staple.
Wickham’s Donuts - Wickham is such a donut (derogatory) himself, so this seemed fitting. These are apple cider donuts I got from Aldi!

The Vibes

As you read in my initial invite, I told guests to wear whatever they wanted. But I’m a sucker for a theme (in case that wasn’t totally obvious with how the rest of the party was set up). I had thrifted a cotton nightgown, with delicate embroidery on the top and bottom. It’s the most comfortable sleepwear I own these days, but it’s also very Austen-coded.

When I decided to throw this party, I knew the nightgown would be the perfect outfit, but I needed a shawl - you know, for regency propriety standards and also I didn’t want to be cold. I thrifted a beautiful green tablecloth that worked great as a make-shift shawl for the night.

I also decided my two-and-a-half-year-old should just stay up with us that night and have her first exposure to the Bennet Family and Mr. Darcy, so I was so excited when I found an all cotton nightgown at the thriftstore in her size too!

The vibe was all coziness - some dressed regency style and looked divine, most dressed comfy and definitely increased the cozy vibes of the night.

All around, it was a lovely evening. We talked, we laughed, we turned up the volume during the hand flex scene even though there’s no dialogue, and we just enjoyed the excuse to get together for an evening.

Here’s me and my little girl in front of the food, in our “regency” dress! I try to keep her off the internet, so Mr. Darcy (ever the gentleman) is shielding her for me.

Have the Party!

Having craft parties and movie nights can be as complicated as you make it. You can go all out, do the full theme, make the costume, theme the food, decorate the house - and it’s so fun to do all of that, too. But you can also just have the party, invite your friends, and trust that the gathering is the most important part of the whole thing, because it is.

I’ll keep having themed craft nights, because they bring me so much joy. But I’ll also keep having informal hangs, last-minute invites, and easy-going evenings in, because being together is the best part of it all anyway.

Happy stewarding, friends. :)