NYE Party: Dress as a Famous Movie Character

December 31st was a relaxing day with Erin and Jay. The kids did lots of playing, including sledding down the hills just across the street. (Our daughters got new sleds for Christmas, but those are sitting out on green grass back in Dickinson. The girls had to come to the Red River Valley to find snow and winter weather conditions in order to get in some sledding in December. Sheesh.) Susan and I helped Jay and Erin get ready for the night's festivities: another theme party on a grand scale, as they are wont to throw! In the evening, I brought the girls over to Jesse and Nicole's (one block over), where all the game-night-couples-with-kids' kids ate supper, played under the watchful eye of the babysitter, and spent the night.

Meanwhile back at Jay and Erin's, the guests started to show up around 8:00 P.M. for the New Year's Eve party--a costume party to which invitees were instructed to come dressed as a famous movie character. There was a ton of food, a full bar, plenty of champagne for midnight (which we celebrated at 12:00 Central time, and again an hour later at 12:00 Mountain time, and then again at 12:00 Pacific time--but the killjoys wouldn't join me for midnight Alaska time), and lots of decorations and party favors to suit the theme: inflatable faux Oscar awards, miniature gold plastic awards to hand out, gold stars hanging from the ceiling, a red carpet leading into the house from the front door, even marble-looking stars affixed to the floor to look like the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Jay and Erin go all out! (Compare last year's festivities.)

We were up 'til the wee hours of the morning having fun and being entirely ridiculous, joking and visiting, playing charades, and playing with one another's costumes. Speaking of, here are photographic highlights (and, by the by, MANY THANKS to Jay, Erin, and everyone for a fantastic time!):

Me as Obi-Wan Kevmobi. Susan bought a blanket from the thrift store and a bathrobe pattern from Wal-Mart, went home, set up her mom's sewing machine, and taught herself to sew so that she could make me this Jedi robe for my costume. She also made herself an apron for her own costume (below).

Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars

Susan as Cinderella (pre-ball)

Disney's Cinderella

Jay and Erin as Elwood and Jake Blues

Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi as Elwood and Jake in The Blues Brothers

Jesse and Nicole as Spider-Man and Mary Jane Watson. The white stuff on Nicole's jacket is faux spider web. Yes, Spidey webbed all over her before they came to the party.

Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane in Spider-Man

Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man. Jesse (above) is a dead ringer, wouldn't you say? (Come on, Jess! Where are the tights and codpiece?!)

Rob and Laurie as Dr. Emmett Brown and Marty McFly

Michael J. Fox as Marty in Back to the Future

Christopher Lloyd as Emmett

Missy as Mary Katherine Gallagher and Joey as Ron Burgundy

Molly Shannon as Mary Katherine in Superstar, based on the same character from Saturday Night Live

Will Ferrell as Ron in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Tammy as Jennifer Aniston (um, "famous movie character"?!) and Mike as Napoleon Dynamite

Jennifer Aniston (she's still not a movie "character," though)

Jon Heder as Napoleon in Napoleon Dynamite

Chen and Ye as pirates (um, yeah)

Keira Knightly, Orlando Bloom, Johnny Depp, and Geoffrey Rush in Pirates of the Caribbean

Ken and Traie as . . . themselves. (Tammy, in regular street clothes, trumps these two for at least pretending to be a movie star, if not a movie character.)

We got some mileage out of Joey's collection of sticky-backed mustaches. Rob is stylin' in a monobrow.

Mike's Napoleon wig also made the rounds. My favorite of all the models, though, is Jesse. This could be next year's Christmas card photo, Jess! (And, again, Spider-Man? Does NOT wear a 3-dimensional Halloween decoration wrapped around a red button-up shirt with blue jeans! Rent the DVDs!)

Before the crowd dispersed, some photog snapped a series of pics featuring the "movie buff" statuettes. Love Laurie's facial expression here!

Can you spot the statuette? Come on, ladies, focus!