It's almost Academy Awards time ... get ready for your viewing party with my free printable 2017 Oscar Ballot and easy presentation tips!
Looking for this year’s ballot? Find the 2024 Oscar Ballot here.
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The Academy Awards are almost here! Have you watched all the nominated movies yet?
I think that just might be impossible, unless you live at the movie theater. I actually thought I'd seen quite a few until I started working on this free printable 2017 Oscar Ballot. Personally, I need to kick my movie-watching into high gear if I'm going to get caught up!
My husband and I watch a ton of movies ... it's one of our favorite ways to spend a lazy weekend together. He's a former actor and works in the industry, so he know what's coming out soon and what we should watch next.
We actually went to one of those Best Picture Movie Marathons at a theater one year ... have you ever done that? It was really fun, but it took a while for my butt to recover. Ha!
I'll be buckling down on my best picture movie watching over the next couple weeks, but in the meantime, I'm excited to share this free printable 2017 Oscar Ballot! (Scroll to the end of the post to download the file.)
The Academy Awards are my favorite award show to watch. I love checking out the beautiful gowns and funny speeches, while crossing my fingers that my fave movie will take home top honors. This year I'm rooting for Moonlight ... have you seen it?
My Oscar Ballot makes watching the Academy Awards extra fun! I've includes all the nominees, and there’s a My Favorites page, too. So you can keep track of best/worst dressed, funniest speech, and more.
If you’re hosting a party and would like to give an award to the person who predicts the most winners, assign points for each category. I'd suggest:
- Best Picture = 10 points
- Best Actor / Actress = 5 points
- Everything Else = 2 points
I created a fun presentation that's perfect for a party, and I'm sharing my tutorial below. But of course, you can simply print out the ballots and watch the awards, too. No assembly required!
Scroll to the end of the post to download the free printable 2017 Oscar Ballot file or keep reading for my tutorial!
Tip: Looking for other game ideas for your party? Make sure to check out this Printable Oscars Bingo, too!
Here's what you'll need to assemble your free printable 2017 Oscar Ballots like I did:
- white card stock
- black card stock (or tag board)
- metal edge ruler
- utility knife
- self-healing mat
- pen
- ¼-inch hole punch
- ⅝-inch gold ribbon
- double sided tape
Print out the ballots (get the file at the end of the post) on the white card stock. Make sure to check your printers settings, and print the PDF at full size / 100%. Do not shrink to fit the page.
Then, use the utility knife and ruler to cut the pages in half horizontally. Make sure to protect your surface with a self-healing mat.
You should have 5 total pages for each ballot, plus one extra blank page. Use the blank page to create a template for punching the ribbon holes in the ballot. Start by measuring ⅝-inch down from the short edge, then draw a straight line parallel to the edge. Next, mark the center of that line; it should be 2 ¾-inch from either of the long edges.
Lastly, make a mark ⅝-inch from the center in both directions. Then, punch a hole over both of these last two marks. See below for my diagram ... hopefully, it's pretty clear!
Place the template over your printed ballot, then make a dot in the center of each hole. (I just marked the first page of each.) Then, use the hole punch to make holes in your ballots, using the marks as your guide.
I held all the pages of each ballot together, then punched the holes. It was pretty tough though. If your hands aren't strong enough or if the paper is too thick, just punch a few pages at a time.
Next, cut a 9-inch piece of ribbon. From the front, pull one end through one hole towards the back of the ballot, then repeat with the other hole / end of ribbon.
It should look like the image below when you're done.
Position the ballot so the back is facing up. Pull one ribbon end through the opposite hole (back through to the front of the ballot). Repeat with the other end of ribbon.
At this point both loose ends should be back on the front side of the ballot, like below. You can futz with the ribbon a little bit to get it to lay nicely.
Once you like how it looks, trim the ends. I cut the ribbon on an angle with the ends pointing in opposite directions. You could present the ballots just like this, and they'd look awesome. I wanted to make my Oscar Ballots really pop though, so I added a black backing, and it was so simple to do.
Simply trim a piece of black card stock or tag board to 9 x 6-inches (use the utility knife and ruler to keep your lines straight). Then, use double sided tape to adhere it to the back of the last ballot page, centering the ballot to create a black border. Make sure to use permanent tape (or it may peel apart) and be generous with the tape.
I absolutely LOVE how this free printable 2017 Oscar Ballot turned out. They are so perfect for a viewing party, although they'd be super fun for a quiet night at home with your family or friends, too!
If you use these ballots and share a pic on social media, make sure to tag me! I'd love to see how they turn out!
Click anywhere on the image below (except the "Pin Me!" button) to download the free printable 2017 Oscar Ballot. For best results, print at full size / 100% (uncheck "shrink to fit page" in the printer dialog box) on card stock paper.
Do you enjoy watching the Academy Awards, too? What was your favorite movie?
Love the updates from previous years
Thank you so much, Karen! I love doing this every year! 🙂
You're making me want to host a party, Ginnie! I've only seen a few movies for this year (haven't seen Moonlight yet, but want to). I really enjoyed Lion.
I'm so glad that Moonlight won ... what an ending though!