The Best Gilmore Girls Anniversary Watch Party Ideas

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I simply cannot believe it’s here. This year is the 25 YEAR ANNIVERSARY of Gilmore Girls! It’s insane to think that this show has been around for a quarter of a century and has created such a culture and fanbase surrounding it. Most Gilmore Girls fans, myself included, don’t just identify as a fan. We embody the show as a sort of lifestyle. We wear graphic t-shirts and have bags and drink way too much coffee. Most of us watch the show every year and still get a kick out of the same scenes. I still bawl and blubber when Rory graduates from Chilton and during her party scene in the series finale, Bon Voyage. There is something so special about this show.

Last year, I hosted my first annual Gilmore Girls party and it was a blast! We had games and I decorated, and there was of course lots of Gilmore Girls inspired food. This year will be even more special because we are celebrating 25 years of Gilmore Girls! I’m so excited to bring you some inspiration as you consider hosting your own Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party. If you love Gilmore Girls as much as I do, join me in the fun as we look at lots of great ideas to get you started.

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Theme Ideas

Gilmore Girls itself is a theme and doesn’t need much added to it. Wear some cozy sweaters, eat fall food, and watch the pilot episode and that’s more than enough. However, you can be a little more creative if you like and pick a fun, niche theme that would make Lorelai and Rory proud. Below are some unique themes you can use to enhance your Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party.

Drop It Like It’s 2000

This is a nod back to Lucy’s 21^st birthday, where Rory’s feet were so much comfier in 2002 in her Uggs. If you want to switch things up from the usual fall-themed Gilmore Girls shindig, consider throwing a 2000s version of the party. Gather fashion inspiration from Pinterest, consider playing Bop-It or having 2000s trivia, and of course, make sure you eat lots of disgusting foods like purple ketchup and Ring Pops.

Fancy Tea

Make Emily Gilmore proud and have each guest come dressed in a fancy outfit and bring a tea cup. Serve tea (and probably also coffee) along with little finger sandwiches. And don’t forget the salmon puffs!

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee

The opposite of a tea party theme is a coffee theme, and it’s very fitting if you are having a Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party. One fun idea is to do a mug swap, where you have each guest bring a mug and the guests each get to take a mug home. Make coffee inspired treats like coffee cake or mocha crunch cupcakes. The highlight should be a coffee bar. Provide guests with different creamers, syrups, and toppings to choose from.

Rory’s Birthday Parties

Lorelai was known to plan some epic birthday parties for Rory, including one where the police are called. For this theme, make sure guests get feather boas and birthday hats. Serve birthday cake and ice cream. Then, incorporate some of Lorelai’s fun birthday activities like Twister, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, or a scavenger hunt.

You’re Lorelai Gilmore? No, I’m Lorelai Gilmore!

This theme is all about Rory and Lorelai, and it works really well for a Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party. Have each guest come as a different Lorelai or Rory. Then, serve crazy amounts of junk food, including pizza or Chinese takeout. If you are going to skip the pilot episode, choose a Lorelai-worth movie like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory to show.

Stars Hollow Cast of Characters

One of my favorite things about the show is the unique set of characters that is featured. For this theme, have your guests come as a different Stars Hollow character and bring a treat that is reminiscent of that character. For Sookie, it could be the magic risotto, Jackson would involve something with fruit, Miss Patty gets something indulgent like chocolate, and Kirk would have something fun and quirky. For entertainment, you could play Guess Who.

Mystery in the Hollow (Live version of Clue)

A final theme idea for your Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party is to have a mystery of some sort. Have your guests dress as a different character and have them work together to solve a mystery in Stars Hollow! Sorry, I couldn’t find any actual Gilmore Girls themed mystery games, so maybe I’ll just have to create one myself!

Set the Stage

One of the most important parts of your Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party is to set the stage and plan ahead well. We will be going over ideas for invitations, entertainment, and food among other things.

Invitations

Invitations don’t have to be complicated. With Etsy, there are so many different options you can choose from. I actually made a Gilmore Girls party invitation template that you can purchase. Most templates are very simple, where you download the invitation and then edit it in Canva before sharing or printing. If you are feeling a little more on the creative side, you can design your own in Canva. However, if you don’t want to take the time to create your own, purchasing a digital template from an online retailer is a great option.

Atmosphere

A proper Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party needs the right atmosphere. While it doesn’t have to be something straight out of the show, it should have an atmosphere that’s fun, funky, and a little unique. When planning your own party, you’ll want to think about how to impart bits of the show. Maybe you have everyone where whacky outfits or display a thrifted monkey lamp. You could put up fun decorations or go seriously all out and make your house look like one of the character’s houses. Whatever you do, it should reflect your and your guests’ personalities as well. At the core, that’s what it’s about – celebrating unique people with different experiences and backgrounds.

Music

For your Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party, having a great playlist is a must! There are so many ways you can go about this. You can find many of the songs in the show here and create your own, or you can use one that’s already been created. I carefully tailored a playlist for my own party in 2024. Warner Bros. even has its own playlist. You can totally go off the cuff and add whatever music fits the mood. It’s entirely up to you.

Entertainment

The great thing about entertainment during your Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party is that it can be interwoven throughout the entire event. Obviously, you are probably gathering together to watch at least one episode of the show, so that’s one form of entertainment. Other ideas include Bingo, trivia quizzes, scavenger hunts, or making dessert sushi. Below are a few of my printables you can use for your own party.

Gilmore Girls Trivia Game Set

Gilmore Girls Bingo – Coffee Theme

Gilmore Girls Bingo – Winter Theme

Decorating Ideas

Decorating is one of my favorite elements of party planning. Since you’re planning a Gilmore Girls party, take it up a notch and decorate different areas of your house to reflect different locations from the show. Here are some ideas you can use to add some fun to your house.

Rory and Lorelai’s house

Lorelai and Rory’s house is a mix of New England charm and Gilmore quirkiness. Inside, you’ll find a lot of wood and neutral tones, but with plenty of colorful and vibrant items mixed in. For your party, consider having colorful throws or pillows that don’t match, fun lamp shades, and brightly colored flowers in vases. The key is to be quirky. As Lorelai would say, if you can find it in a gas station, even better!

Kim’s Antiques

For your Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party, incorporating Kim’s Antiques is a really fun thing to do. Not only that, it’s rather easy. Kim’s Antiques store is a hodge podge of mismatched antique furniture that was strewn about with little organization. While you may not want your house to look that messy, you can still give a nod to Mrs. Kim. If you have antique or vintage items, display them prominently. The same goes with furniture. Have your great-grandmother’s rocking chair? Use it during the fun.

The Dragonfly

The Dragonfly is one of my favorite locations in Gilmore Girls. It feels so cozy and charming. This is exactly the vibe I love to give off in my own home. One idea I used during my party last year, was I set up a desk to look like a check-in desk with a sign that said Dragonfly Inn. I also had a guestbook and put out a tea set. You can make this your check-in spot and line up favors for guests or have them actually sign a fun, customized guestbook for memories.

Luke’s Diner

Luke’s Diner may be one of the easiest areas to set up, because you can do it right in your kitchen. I posted the famous No Cell Phones sign, but didn’t go too crazy with trying to make it look like Luke’s For your Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party, you can add diner-esque elements like yellow and red ketchup and mustard bottles, glass sugar dispensers, thrifted coffee mugs, bar stools, and other eclectic items.

The Yale Daily News

For my party last year, this was possibly my favorite area. I created a Yale Daily News sign with quotes from some of the student journalists. Then, I displayed my antique typewriter and laid out the trivia quizzes I created. Another fun idea is providing newspaper so guests can make hats. Have them vote on which hat is the best and give the winner a Yale Daily News themed prize.

Black, White, & Read Bookstore

Since you will probably be showing an episode or Gilmore Girls or two at your party, having the Black, White, & Read Bookstore as an element is fitting. I created a small poster to display that showed we were watching the pilot episode. Some other ideas to consider are displaying movie posters, having popcorn and candy as a snack, having guests sit on a red couch (you can use a couch cover) or mismatched chairs, and showing old movie trailers as guests mingle.

Rory’s Room

For my party, Rory’s room was the easiest area to decorate. I have bookshelves filled with books, and a good amount of them are featured in Rory’s book list. I displayed the books, created a Yale banner (because I was not about to pay for one), and hung posters of a few authors. You can also hang posters of bands, create a reading nook, add some writing materials like notebooks and pens, and display college paraphernalia.

Food

Food is one of the most important elements of your Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party. I like to have a mix of savory and sweet and also a good mix of drinks. There are so many different food ideas you can go with, which makes it so much more fun. Below are some ideas inspired by food in the show.

Savory

Sweet

Drinks

Party Planning Tips

As with any party, planning takes time, resources, and work. Here are some tips to help you plan the best Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party.

Plan backwards to help create a timeline.

By planning backwards, this will better help you determine the timing of events leading up to the party. When I plan backwards, I begin with the event itself. From there, I determine what tasks needs to be accomplished and when they need started. I then decide on specific days and times when these tasks will get done. For example, I make homemade Pop Tarts for the party. I work backwards to figure out when to make them, store them, and unthaw them before the party.

Create checklists to keep you organized.

When planning your Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party, create checklists for everything. They are such a great way to stay organized. I create checklists for food items, serving items, decorations, and tasks. It’s so nice to get prepared ahead of time and just check things off as you go.

Begin planning earlier than later.

As task that you think will take you 20 minutes may actually take you 40 minutes or more, depending on what it is. It’s a good idea to start planning sooner than you think you should. Food can almost always be frozen ahead of time and decorations can stay up an extra day. I begin decorating the week of, usually three days ahead of time. That way, on the day prior and of, all I have to think about is getting the food ready.

Get invitations out in a timely manner.

A good rule of thumb is to send out invitations about four to six weeks prior to the event. This gives guests enough time to set the date ahead in their calendars or to figure out if they have plans. While you can send out physical invitations, sending a digital invite takes much less time and works just as well.

Don’t be afraid to purchase food instead of making it.

More than anything, this is advice to myself! I LOVE to have homemade food prepared for a party, but wow, does it take a lot of time. Last year, not only did I provide all the food, but pretty much all of it was homemade. This year, I brought home apple cider donuts and pumpkin whoopie pies from my favorite bakery back in Pennsylvania. I’ll freeze them until a few days before. If you can, have friends bring items or consider buying a few instead of making it all yourself.

Plan in extra time for setting up.

This goes back to my planning tip. I do not recommend waiting until the day of the party to set up all of your decorations. If you are able to, start setting up at least a few days prior, especially if you are hanging things on walls. Wall decorations can stay up undisturbed for quite a while. Use your checklists you’ve created to determine what can be set up early and what needs to wait. The day of the party, plan to give yourself some extra time to finish decorating and putting things out.

Ask others to help and contribute.

As someone who loves to host, I have a hard time asking guests to help or bring things. I love to provide, but it can become overwhelming if I’m not careful. One way to avoid this is to have guests bring a food item or drink. Even just one thing is something to take off your plate. This year, I’m doing a soup bar. While I am providing a few food items, I’m also asking guests to bring a soup, side, or topping to lighten my load just a little.

Prep whatever food you can ahead of time and freeze it.

I’ll reiterate: Almost any food can be frozen, especially desserts. If you are making the bulk of the party food yourself, pick items that can easily be prepped and stored ahead of time. Other items that are easily frozen include meats, bread, and soups, among many others.

Have fun!

Lastly, have fun. Planning a party can be overwhelming, but once your guests arrive, make sure you partake in the fun. You decided to host a Gilmore Girls anniversary watch party because you love the show. You took the time to put everything together, so it’s really important that you enjoy yourself and relax. Your guests will absolutely want you to.