Transform your home into a cinema for the evening, with you as the usher! Make sure you have plenty of comfortable seats in your living room (arranging them in rows might be taking it a bit far), and ensure that your TV and DVD player are in good working order. If you don’t have enough sofa space, ask guests to bring large cushions or beanbags with them so everyone can lounge comfortably in front of the telly.

Decorate your walls with posters advertising the film(s) you are planning to watch. Draw curtains, pull blinds, close shutters, and dim the lights to create that special cinema atmosphere.

There’s certainly no shortage of choice. A Star Trek night would be heaven for a group of trekkies and hell for absolutely anyone else; watching Titanic over several bottles of white wine and a tub of chocolate ice cream would satisfy the romantics; the Blair Witch films for those who like to be scared out of their skins; and Gone with the Wind or Casablanca for those who enjoy the Hollywood greats.

If you’re up for a viewing marathon, watch a series of Extras, Lost or Heroes back to back. You could try a whole season of 24, but you’d probably need to do some serious endurance training first.

There’s nothing quite like a Star Wars marathon for a bit of nostalgia, but if all six films are too much for one sitting, ditch the three rubbish recent ones and go for the timeless classic trilogy instead.

You are bound to want a break between episodes or films, so plan a trivia quiz around your chosen viewing material. Hand round a sheet of questions after each film or show, making sure the questions aren’t too easy. Give prizes after each round, and crown the overall winner on points as World Expert On… at the end of the evening. Then there are the film-based drinking games — although never under any circumstances attempt the legendary Withnail and I game (in which you match the main characters drink for drink) unless your want to end your night with a trip to the hospital.

Stick to traditional cinema fare, serving hotdogs, nachos with cheese, a choice of sweet and salty popcorn served in colourful cardboard tubs, and bags of sweets, preferably with crinkly wrappers that can be rustled really annoyingly throughout the viewing. To add a real touch of old-style cinema authenticity, bring out choc ices on a tray during the break.

Offer fizzy pop with crushed ice and curly straws, and give prizes for the best slurping. Alternatively, create cocktails to go with the theme of your party — something dark and menacing for horror films, frothy and sweet for romantic comedy, and fizzy and daring for action-adventures.

1.	Thriller / Michael Jackson
2.	A Hard Day’s Night / The Beatles
3.	Grace Kelly / Mika
4.	Lose Yourself / Eminem
5.	The End / The Doors
6.	Girls on Film / Duran Duran
7.	Video Killed the Radio Star / The Buggles
8.	Motion Picture Soundtrack / Radiohead
9.	I’ll Be There for You / The Rembrandts
10.	Goldfinger / Shirley Bassey

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