'The Amazing Race'

The fact that we can't find our car in a parking lot has no bearing on how much we love The Amazing Race, airing Sundays on CBS. Even so, there is something awesome - nay, amazing - about watching teams want to strangle each other while sitting in the back seat of a Russian taxi while searching for a building full of ballerinas after an all-night flight. So if you love watching other people travel to exciting locations around the globe from the comfort of your couch, call your friends; we're throwing The Amazing Race party!

Setting the scene:
Since host Phil Keoghan rarely is in one place long enough to say anything other than "I'm sorry, you are the last team in, and you've been eliminated," a consistent theme is a little hard to come up with - short of making your home look like a Liberty Travel office. But there are things we can work with - the yellow and black flags and clue boxes, world maps, a Travelocity roaming gnome, and a life-size poster of Phil standing and waiting next to some ethnic caricature. (Waiting seems to take up a large part of Phil's life.) Now you need some terrific travel trivia games. For each leg, use questions from Quizmoz.com. Pair up teams, and have a board set up to show their position following each round. Since we aren't as mean as Phil, there won't be an "Elimination Station." Have posters of various locales around the planet (check out Wikipedia's Amazing Race page to find former stops), and hang them around the room. Party favors can include T-shirts, hats or calendars from the show.

Attire:
Cargo shorts, T-shirts, tank tops and button-downs with zip-up track jackets tend to be the most sensible options while globe-trotting. And don't forget the headbands: Someone is always wearing a headband, which, shockingly, are available at the CBS online store.

On the menu:
For this pit stop, we suggest enjoying the culinary delights of Bavaria. We suggest Schweizer wurstsalat with a nice leberknodelsuppe followed by some krustenbraten and steckerlfisch. For dessert you must try the munchner apfelstrudel (apple strudel). And don't forget the beer!

On the hi-fi:
Leaving on a Jet Plane by Peter, Paul & Mary, I've Been Everywhere by Johnny Cash, On the Road Again by Willie Nelson, Where the Streets Have No Name by U2, The Long and Winding Road by the Beatles, Back in the U.S.S.R. by the Beatles, This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie.

The showstopper:
Nothing says "global party" like a musical group from Peru. So hire Peru Negro, the "cultural ambassadors of black Peru," to come to your party and make it truly a international experience!