Ideas for a funtastic Sci-Fi convention themed party

September 16, 2009 8:07 AM

I need ideas for a Sci-Fi convention themed book club party I am hosting this weekend.

My book club is reading Ted Chiang’s Stories of Your Life and Others and I am hosting the meeting/party this Sunday. We generally have theme parties related to the book and since the book we chose was a book of Sci-fi short stories I decided to make it a Sci-Fi convention themed party. I am baking Battlestar Galactica , Star Trek and Doctor Who cupcakes. I am dressing up my toddler as Yoda for the day. The husband and I will probably wear one of the many geeky sci-fi related shirts we own. I’m thinking of printing generic labels to put on soda and beer a la Repo Man. Any other relatively easy and inexpensive food or decoration ideas to make my party a smashing success?

posted by Lapin to Grab Bag (12 answers total)

Best answer: discreetly post blue sun corporation logos on a lot of your belongings . . . then hope your book club doesn't get canceled by fox before you have a chance to explain what the hell they are for.
posted by Think_Long at 8:22 AM on September 16, 2009

Put some Blue Sun labe---- DAMMIT.

You might also provide some blue flavor of Kool Aid as "Romulan Ale".
posted by Fleebnork at 8:29 AM on September 16, 2009

Best answer: You could have a placard with a bunch of jokey fake panels listed on it...

Oh, and you'll want the Spaced Out collection of songs by Shatner and Nimoy.
posted by Artw at 8:31 AM on September 16, 2009

Best answer: NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day site has lots of gorgeous space shots in the archive, in high resolution. Pick one that you like, and photoshop on some text ("YourCon '09"), and print out badges. Use laminating sheets (and maybe some thin cardboard) to laminate them.
posted by fings at 8:51 AM on September 16, 2009

Best answer: Ted Chiang is pretty far from pop-culture notions of sci-fi. Less Lucas and Roddenberry, more Borges and Ballard. You may want to ease up on the Trek/Wars/Who motif.

• Have a psychedelic mandala pattern on the wall or on a T-shirt (like from Chiang novella "Understand").
• Handmade dried clay figurines (from the story "Seventy-Two Letters").
• A print of a benevolent Renaissance angel in a gilded frame ("Hell is the Absence of God").
• If you feel like you have to have rockets and lasers, make some spaceship-looking warning panels/signs and post them on things around the apartment. "Danger: Cryogenics In Use" on the fridge, "Warning: Risk of Explosive Decompression" signs next to the bathroom doorknob, things like that.

posted by infinitewindow at 9:47 AM on September 16, 2009

Response by poster: Yeah, I realize that Ted Chiang is not your average sci-fi fare but we decided to expand the theme since it is the first vaguely science fictionish book we have read so far in the club.

More options = more fun!

I wanted to include it in the question though in case anyone had any book specific suggestions - so thanks!
posted by Lapin at 10:15 AM on September 16, 2009

Serve Dippin Dots - ice cream of the future!
posted by radioamy at 10:33 AM on September 16, 2009

Just wanted to say that my sci fi book club has been meeting for 6 or 7 years and that's still probably the best book we've read. Great choice.

Yeah, get some Shatner and Nimoy for background music. A little dry ice in a bowl of green or blue punch would be perfect.
posted by purenitrous at 1:49 PM on September 16, 2009

Make up con badges with the name of the club and membership numbers?
posted by legotech at 7:36 PM on September 16, 2009

Response by poster: Thank you for the creative ideas! I plan to put many of them into action this weekend. My husband is particularly excited that he gets to use his stash of NASA photo's.
posted by Lapin at 9:19 PM on September 16, 2009

Response by poster: or photos even
posted by Lapin at 9:25 PM on September 16, 2009

So how did it turn out? What worked, what didn't?
posted by fings at 1:55 PM on September 30, 2009