There are a few ways to approach the 84th Annual Academy Awards. One option is to lay claim to your favorite sofa spot, pop some bubbly (or buttery popcorn), and settle in for a night of guessing who the Academy deems worthy of Mr. Oscar.

If you are the studious type, you need to get started now. Sign up for the AMC Best Picture Showcase Oscars 101, which gives you a chance to watch all of the films nominated for Best Picture. Here’s your class schedule: two days (February 18 and 25), three local theater options, and the nine films. (Packages range from $30-$60.)

After you attend the AMC Best Picture Showcase and realize your living room is nothing like the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, go pick out your most smashing duds and prepare to watch Hollywood’s big show on February 26 at the Oscar Night in America gala at the EXDO Event Center. The gala brings a red carpet entrance, cocktail hour, and award show to the Mile High City. As one of only 49 official watch parties sanctioned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the program on your seat will be the same one Brad Pitt and George Clooney get. Bonus: You could be celebrating an Oscar win first-hand with the Academy Award nominated Denver production team of Saving Face, a documentary about the abuse of Pakistani women that have had their faces burned with acid.

—Image courtesy of Paper Moon Photography