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In order to make throwing your Andy Weir’s The Martian parties a little easier, I’ve put together this post complete with a shopping list, what to make for drinks and food, what to talk about, and a special giveaway. Without further ado, here’s your guide for Andy Weir’s The Martian Theme Party.
Watch
If you crave more videos, check out this ARES: live YouTube channel, the official prologue series to Ridley Scott’s The Martian.
Shopping List
Here’s a shopping you can download and take to the store to get everything you need: Andy Weir’s The Martian Theme Party Shopping List
Read on for the recipes, pictures, and further notes on what to serve at your Martian theme party.
Drink
As you can imagine, I had to get a creative with ideas for The Martian themed drinks. Two main feature drinks in the book are reclaimed water and Martian coffee.
Reclaimed water is a large part of Mark’s survival during his stay on Mars. Here’s how to make your own!
Reclaimed Water
- Bottles of water
- Reclaimed Water Label Document
- Time: 5 minutes
Print the label by clicking the hyperlink above to download the label I’ve created. I’ve left the document editable so you can make any desired changes. Cut to size to your bottles. Tape on (bonus points if you use duct tape) and serve! This is a task that can be done in advance of your event.
In the book, Mark Watney talks about drinking what he dubs Martian coffee-hot water with a caffeine pill dissolved in it. I do not recommend trying that drink. You can try this much tastier version of Martian coffee.
Martian Coffee
- 1 shot Kahlua
- 1 shot Caramel Baileys
- 1/2 shot Grenadine
“They say once you grow crops somewhere, you have officially ‘colonised’ it. So technically, I colonised Mars. In your face, Neil Armstrong!”
Eat
What should you serve at your Martian theme party?
Clearly the most iconic food item in The Martian is the Martian potato. Mark Watney grows his own potatoes using night soil. I won’t go into the details of what night soil is here. Just…don’t think too much on that. 😉
So how do you make your own potato farm? You’re going to create your dessert and serve the appetizer off of the top of it. First, you’ll make your dessert. You can do this the day before your party to save on prep time.
Dirt Dessert
- Pick up the brownie or chocolate cake mix of your liking. I chose Ghiradelli’s Triple Chocolate Brownie mix
- A package of Snack-Saks mini Oreos (save the package-it will double as a NASA food container)
- A can of chocolate frosting
- Time to prep and bake: 45 minutes
Bake your mix according to the directions on the package. In the pictures shown, this is actually two boxes of the Ghiradelli brownie mix. You want it to be big and flat enough to look like the dirt in your Martian potato farm.
Take the Oreos out of the bag. Place it in a plastic bag and crush. Spread a very thin layer of chocolate frosting onto the dessert. You want just enough to let the crushed Oreos stick to it. Cover the frosting with the crushed Oreos for a dirt effect. Once you’re done, cover and set aside until you’re ready to place your Martian potatoes onto it and serve at your party.
Martian Potato Appetizer
- A frozen package of tater tots
- A package of mini cupcake holders
- Time to prep and cook: 30 minutes
Time to cook your tater tots! We used our FryDaddy. Fill the Fry Daddy with oil and plug in to heat. Fry the tater tots per the instructions on the bag. Scoop them out onto a plate with a paper towel to soak up the excess oil. You can also consider baking the tater tots. Instructions should be on the bag of tots you purchase.
Place individual tater tots into the mini cupcake holders on your dessert. I would recommend serving the rest in a bowl nearby, because these babies go fast! Also, consider having ketchup available for dunking your Martian potatoes.
NASA Food Containers
NASA food containers are another way to serve your theme party meal. Remember how I noted to keep the Snak-Saks Oreo package? That package is perfect to double as a NASA food container.
NASA Food Container Label Includes: Departure, Halfway, Arrival, Survived Something That Should Have Killed Me, and Last Meal.
You can consider serving your party chips, snacks, or the original contents out of your NASA food containers. Click the hyperlink above to print the label. Simply wrap around your packages and attach with tape. There will be about a 2-3 inch strip on the back not covered. If that bothers you, use the leftover strips from wrapping the labels on the water bottles to cover the back.
Other food considerations: NASA attempts to send Mark protein cubes. I did attempt this with hot dogs. They did not turn out so well, so I do not recommend using that as your protein. I would suggest cutting chicken, steak, or tofu into cubes to serve as your NASA protein cubes. In a party setting, I’d suggest having toothpicks handy for quick serving of the meat.
If you have purchased the e-book, check out the questions in the back of the book for a book club-esque discussion. Also, here are links to Andy Weir’s Q&A’s on Goodreads and Reddit.
If you don’t follow Andy Weir on Facebook, you might consider it. He often posts about the cool things he’s getting to do with NASA.
“Yes, of course duct tape works in a near-vacuum. Duct tape works anywhere. Duct tape is magic and should be worshiped.” -Mark Watney, Andy Weir’s The Martian
Alright, here’s a little extra for ya and I hope you enjoy the movie!