(From top) Wife Rajeshwari Sachdev watches as Varun Badola tries his hand at balloon shooting; Aamna ?Kashish? Sharif has something to say; Jeetendra, Dheeraj Kumar and Peter Mukerjea share a laugh; Rakshanda Khan plays anchor

It?s that time of the year when the TRPs just keep climbing thanks to all the members of the STAR Parivaar coming together under one roof. It?s difficult to switch to another channel when the Kashishes and Sujals brush shoulders with the Tulsis and Shannos at the same place at the same time. And, of course, the favourites of the year get picked by audience voting.

What?s more, this time, the STAR Parivaar Awards just got bigger and better. While the eventual awards ceremony is some time away ? in end-March, the nomination party, titled Aa Taiyaar Hoja, took place recently at the Goregaon Sports Complex in Mumbai, to be shown at 7 pm this Saturday on STAR Plus.

While the invitation card said 6 pm, it wasn?t before 8 that the STAR stars started twinkling at the venue which had been turned into a fair to announce and celebrate the all-important award nominations. Games of all kinds from shooting balloons to hitting matkas blindfolded made sure that everyone was kept busy even as the performances rolled out one after the other on the makeshift stage.

The showstopper of the evening was, of course, Rakshanda Khan who was also the host for the nomination party. As the nominees were announced it was jubilation time for the Favourite Beta and Patni, Maa and Bahu.

While Ektaa Kapoor?s serials featured in every category, the telly queen was missing in action. Father Jeetendra did make a fashionably late entry and was ?delighted? with the K-wave getting the nod in all categories.

The Kahiin To Hoga stars demanded maximum attention with everyone from Aamna Sharif to Shabbir Ahluwalia looking striking in their very Indian outifts. It was great to see these much-in-demand small-screen stars slipping out of their shoes and trying everything from baraf ka gola to merry-go-rounds.

The more serious people walked in, too. If STAR CEO Peter Mukerjea had wife Indrani in tow, Siddharth Basu was in usual animated discussions. Producer Dheeraj Kumar was the man to meet, what with his Jodee Kamaal Ki replacing Kaun Banega Crorepati on the Saturday STAR Plus airwaves.

The on-stage games were fun too, save for the special pati-patni jig, where husbands had to carry their screen wives and race against each other. All three couples ? Eijaz Khan and Natassha, Vikas Bhalla and Divya Dutta, Hussain and Juhi Parmar ? fell down, seconds into the race. Some laughs and shrieks later, they did get back on their feet.