How to Host a LOTR Weekend

12 hours of movies, 8 meals, 5 friends, and 1 long anticipated party

Nov 20, 2025

The Fellowship of the Films

At a friend’s wedding in October, another friend said, on his way out the door, “leave November 15th open.” I don’t make plans that far in advance, so I knew that wouldn’t be a problem. A couple of weeks later, a third friend told me what the plans for November 15th actually were: a Lord of the Rings-themed weekend!

So four friends and I planned to watch all three LOTR films (extended editions, of course) (excluding The Hobbit trilogy, of course) and enjoy hobbit meals throughout the day.

The Two Days

The original plan was to fit all of this into one long Saturday, but we ended up doing a sleepover across Saturday afternoon and into Sunday. For the uninitiated, each extended edition film is around 4 hours long, so don’t go into this sort of event without a schedule.

Our Plan

Each meal had a set time and owner. I’m pasting exactly what was in our Google Doc, so you can see the level of madness we’re working with. I recommend not getting too fixated on the timings, otherwise you’ll forget to have fun! We ended up switching to the next meal whenever we started to get hungry or antsy. Slow cookers were a key part of this menu, so we could make plenty of stuff ahead of time and have it ready whenever we wanted it.

Saturday

2:00 PM: Luncheon (Sebastien) - mini roasted potatoes, red cabbage and apples, bone in chicken thighs roasted and pan seared for a crispy skin served with a cranberry reduction sauce
4:00 PM: Afternoon Tea (Swinks) - Tea/Lembas Bread (lavender shortbread)
6:30 PM: Dinner (Bucky and Mallika) - Beef Bourguignon + homemade bread
8:30 PM: Dessert (Swinks) - Mordor lava cake
9 PM or whenever the scene comes in (Sebastien): Feast of Gondor - brats in beer and roasted tomatoes….all the tomatoes

Sunday

9 AM: COFFEEEEE. Breakfast (Karin) - Chia seed pudding? Fruit + tea/coffee - variety of wild berries, Greek yogurt, honey, nuts. Create your own hearty Greek yogurt berry nut bowl
10:30 AM: Second Breakfast (Bucky and Mallika) - Scones and tea and apple slices (bc it’s what Aragorn throws to Pippin when he asks about second breakfast)
11:45 AM: Elevensies (Bucky and Mallika) - All the charcuterie - cheese, pepperoni and meats, root vegetables, pickles

The Outcome

Luncheon - chicken thighs with red cabbage and roasted potatoes

Afternoon Tea - shortbread with Victoria Grey and rose teas

Dinner - beef bourguignon with rustic breads and New Zealand pinot noir

Dessert - chocolate lava cakes with raspberry drizzle

Supper - brats in beer with onions and roasted tomatoes

First Breakfast - Greek yoghurt with berries, chia seeds, and coffee

Second Breakfast - blueberry scones with tea

The Return of the Plans

Before the weekend was over, our group had already agreed to make this an annual occurrence, and maybe add in other series weekends in the future (Harry Potter, anyone?). If this idea appeals to you, I strongly recommend setting it up with your friends! It’s a great way to blend spending time together, watching great films, and eating great food. And you will hear no judgment from me if you decide to cater or order-in instead—you may have noticed, I signed up to bring yoghurt and berries!

Next year, I also want to help everyone dress up, at least with Ranger cloaks, if not full costumes. There are so many opportunities for people to be creative with a weekend like this.

Would you want to have a LOTR weekend with your cohort? I recommend having a solid plan, but otherwise be totally creative and work with your group’s strengths. If you host one, I hope you’ll let me know how it goes!

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