You may have heard Gilmore Girls fans across the globe collectively freaking out over the revival event coming to Netflix Thanksgiving weekend — Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. We will, of course, be watching while Rory continues to figure out her life and career, Lorelai struggles to understand her relationship with Luke, and both of them eat way more junk food than anyone ever should.
Of course, these four episodes will be so much better if you watch with friends, so we’ve collected some fun and easy ideas to help you throw an epic Gilmore Girls watch party. These are low on the DIY component, because it’s not really Lorelai and Rory’s style. But they’re fun, yummy, and totally do-able.
So grab some Kleenex, wear your yoga pants, and eat some junk food while you watch. We’ll be there too.
Related: 8 shows to binge watch when the kids are asleep
Get comfy
Lorelai and Rory have a great fashion sense, but what we really love about them is their chats on the couch in their PJs with Chinese food or popcorn. Tell your friends to wear their yoga pants or pajamas too, so you can binge watch in comfort. You do have four 90-minute episodes to get through, after all.
Salted Nutella Latte | The Faux Martha
Serve coffee, of course
These girls are known for their love for — maybe, obsession with — coffee. And if you’re going start watching at midnight, right when the episodes release, you’ll need it. Take a look at some of our favorite fall coffee recipes to serve up something a little, ahem, fancier than Luke would serve. Or, just top it with whipped cream and sprinkles, like Lorelai would. We think a couple of these fun Luke’s Diner spoons from Bon Vivant Design House to stir your cream are the perfect extra touch.
Turn off your phones (sort of)
Luke has a strict no cell phone policy at his diner, and this free printable No Cell Phones sign from his cafe would be fun to display at your party. Of course, we fully expect fans to be Tweeting and Instagraming their watch parties, so this sign is really just for fun.
Sport some tattoos
I’ve recently become obsessed Love & Lion’s witty temporary tattoos, so when they released their Gilmore Girls tattoos this week I geeked out a little. The pack comes with some of our favorite GG quotes and sentiments, which you can keep looking back at fondly after the party is over and you’re watching the shows for the third time. Because, we know you will.
Play bingo
We found so many fun ideas for watch parties at Jane, but I particularly love this Gilmore Girls Bingo card. You could play for prizes — see the enamel pins at the end — or just for fun. With squares for things like Kirk has a new job, Mrs. Kim disapproves, and Emily is passive-aggressive, it shouldn’t be too hard to hit bingo pretty quickly. You can find all the downloads in this post at the very, very end (under the ad); look close, it can be easy to miss. But these games and printables will make your party feel extra special.
Related: 11 family-friendly television shows that everyone can agree on. Seriously.
Sweet & Spicy Pork Stir Fry | Running to the Kitchen
Garlic Mushroom pizza | Life is But a Dish
Berry Pop Tarts | Bake Eat Repeat
Yukon Fries | Umami Girl
Serve junk food, and lots of it
So, we all know Lorelai and Rory love their junk food. From the Chinese takeout at Al’s Pancake World to the Pop-Tarts with their newspaper in the morning, pizza delivery all the time, or the fries Mrs. Kim calls “the devil’s starchy fingers,” these girls like to eat. A lot. If they were hosting this party, you know they’d be ordering in. But we did find some yummy recipes for all their favorites too. So if you’re more of a Sookie than a Lorelai, whip up these treats before your friends come over, and then sit down and snack all night long.
Color while you watch
We’re all caught up in the adult coloring book craze, and this Gilmore Girls Coloring Book at The Card Architect is perfect to sit and doodle in while you watch. There are pages with favorite quotes from the show — like, I love you a thousand yellow daisies, aww — as well as a Stars Hollow cityscape (er, townscape?) and Rory’s love interests. A little something for everyone.
Have party favors
Everyone loves to debate who’s better for Rory — Logan, Dean, or Jess. (Clearly, it’s Jess.) So let your guests choose a side with these pins from Greenwich Letterpress.
Or if they’d rather pay it neutral, they can just pay homage to their favorite Gilmore Girl quotes with some of the fun enamel pins we found at Etsy. The Jess Mariano heart pin (adorable) and the In Omnia Paratus secret society motto pin are both from Heartificial. The Lorelai and Rory spirit animal pins are both from Sweet and Lovely. And we couldn’t resist the Oy with the Poodles Already pin we found at Gritty Kitty Committee.
All of these would be awesome party favors for your friends, if you’re willing to part with them.
You can watch the four new 90-minute Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life episodes — Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall — starting at 12:01 am on November 25th on Netflix.
