Karaoke Party 

Karaoke Party  I had recently moved into a new apartment and wanted to have a housewarming party, but because my guests all drank alcohol, which I wasn't serving, I decided to make the party interactive and have a Karaoke Showdown!!! I figured I had to lure them to my house some kind of way :)   Showdown Rules: There are teams of 2 ( works well with at least 3 teams and at least 5 other guests) who will have to sing 6 songs spread out over 3 rounds. Round One is one song from the 60's and one 70's. Round Two is a song from the 80's and one from the 90'. Round Three is a ballad and a raffle song. After the teams pick their song list, they must pick a slip of paper out of a grab bag which they can not look at. This will be their random song and when it is time to sing the 'Raffle Song' they must decide which team member will sing without knowing what the song will be. I previously chose the most awful and played out songs I could to put in the bag, like 'Your Heart Will Go On','I Will Always Love You', etc.  The guest that don't participate will be the anonymous judges. The runner's up received fake gold medals (found in the party section of Target) and the winners received The Wedding Singer DVD, which has a mini karaoke menu so the guest can enjoy karaoke at home.  Supplies   -karaoke system and decent collection of karaoke cd's. You can find a pretty decent system for about $50-75 and karaoke starter kits on the internet. I bought 2 starter kits that consisted of about a total of 30 cd's of all genres and eras for about $30 including shipping. It also helps if you have a big screen t.v. to connect the system to so that everyone can sing along.  -props like blow up guitar, various wigs (mullet, rainbow afro, Elvis, etc.) and mustaches, and party favor musical instruments. Things that the guest can use to perform with.  -song catalog placed in cheap see through report holders; the kind you used in elementary school to put your book reprt in   Invitations -silver cardboard and empty slim CD cases     I used a compass to make CD-size circles, wrote the party info on the CD and placed them in the case. I made it a point not to tell the guest the specifics about the party. I didn't want people to think that they had to perform in order to come. Once the guests arrived and mingled for a little bit I told them the specifics of the showdown. (On the bottom of the back of the 'CD' I warned the guest that no alcohol would be served. I didn't want them to think I tricked them into coming)  Food Besides regular party food you can also have: -Microphone Cupcakes    place a cupcake on top of a flat-bottomed ice cream cone, line the top of the cone with M&M's, and make a hole in the bottom side of the cone to place a piece of licorice in--VIOLA!! A microphone.  -Musical Note Candy    fill a small piece of plastic wrap with M&M's and make it into a ball. Tape a popsicle stick to the side of the ball and cover the entire stick and ball with black tissue paper. Glue a black rectagular piece of paper to the top of the stick and you have a music note. (you can also use these as party favors by taking an address label with the party title and date written on it and placing it on the rectangular end of the note)   I also had a trivia questions. I placed constructioned paper shoe boxes around the party that had a question on the front, and slips of paper and pens/pencils beside it. The guest can read the question and place their answer in the box. Question like, 'Where and in what decade did 'karaoke' originate?', 'What song's lyrics is most misunderstood?', and 'Where is the world's largest karaoke contest held?' I found the info on the web, and the prizes were travel games, which you can find at Target for about $5 each. I read the answers and list of winners before the karaoke winners were read. this adds a little suspense for the guests to find out who won the showdown and gives everyone a chance to leave with a prize.  In the end, the party was a hit. No one knew they could have so much fun without alcohol and I never knew how much I enjoyed throwing themed parties.