• The average American spends 2.8 hours a day watching television, reports the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics in a survey on how United States citizens spend their leisure time. With so much exposure to television, people interested in throwing a party can look to their experience with "the tube" to "channel" inspiration for their next event.
  
  

Kitchen Kraze

• Your guests may never have seen shows like "Hell's Kitchen," "Top Chef," "The Chopping Block," "DC Cupcakes" or "The Next Food Network Star," but they can get wrapped up in a reality TV competition-style event at your party. While these television shows often feature a rude, insulting emcee or judge, your party can take things nice and easy by separating guests into small groups and giving each a set of ingredients to work with. Consider a theme such as all desserts or all muffins, then challenge the groups to come up with the most creative (and delicious) result. The party can culminate in a taste off. Episodes of these television shows are available on DVD (they also play extremely frequently around the clock on many television channels); keep some on in the background for extra inspiration.
  
  

Jesting Jeopardy

• Party guests may be surprised to learn that Jeopardy, according to the long-running game show's official website, is the number two syndicated series in the world and its daily game secures 9 million viewers each day. The game features a selection of wide-reaching categories such as geography, history, grammar and song lyrics. You can use the game as inspiration for your party but make your own categories. If your party is in honor of a special holiday such as Halloween, consider categories such as "Haunted Houses," "Ghosts," "Sweet Treats" and "Scary Movies." You can also make the game much more personal by creating categories about the partygoers themselves, such as "Hobbies," "Personalities," "Family" and "Special Interests." Guests may enjoy answering questions about themselves and competing against each other to see who knows the others best.
  
  

Festive Fashion

• Reality shows about fashion have taken over many spots on the television channels, where you'll click through shows such as "Project Runway," "America's Next Top Model," "The Fashion Show" and "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Let the spirit of fashion serve as the theme for your next TV party by asking guests to bring bags of clothes they're not interested in wearing again; the crazier, the better. As guests arrive, have them sort clothes into piles of accessories, tops, shoes and bottoms. Then, let attendees' creativity run wild trying to come up with outfits. Keep the television theme up by downing your lights and clearing the room to create a "runway" for people to strut their creations. Give prizes to the most stylish, the most outrageous, the most businesslike and other categories. Let guests take home the clothes they want and donate any leftovers to a local charity.