Thanksgiving is just around the corner. While many go home for a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with their families, others stay at school to get their turkey on. It may be because of distance, or because the Clemson game is on Saturday and you have to prioritize, or because it’s something you like to do in addition to Thanksgiving with your family. Whatever the reason, we’ve put together a list of essentials for hosting the perfect Friendsgiving.
1. A List of Who Is Bringing What
This is so important! Friendsgiving is normally a potluck affair. While the host is responsible for the turkey or main dish, guests should bring side dishes, desserts or whatever you need them to bring. To make sure that all your bases are covered and that everyone brings someone different, throw together a quick spreadsheet in Excel or a Google Doc. It will make everyone’s life that much easier.
2. Wine
Wine is great for all occasions, and, thanks to Trader Joe’s “Two Buck Chuck,” we can afford to make our Friendsgiving classy. Encourage guests to bring a bottle of wine, especially if they can’t contribute a food dish. You can also try sparkling cider, which is a fun and yummy fall drink that is perfect for Friendsgiving.
3. Family Recipes
For a lot of people, there are certain recipes that it just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without. It could be something traditional, like mashed potatoes, or it could be something super specific to your family. Bringing those family recipes not only changes up the menu, but it will make your Friendsgiving feel that much more like Thanksgiving, without the family drama.
**Side note – there is absolutely NO ROOM for any drama at Friendsgiving. Why settle for beef when you can have turkey?
4. All of the Desserts
Make sure you leave room on your spreadsheet and in your stomach for dessert. You obviously have to have pumpkin pie, but it’s nice to have a couple of other options too. You can have apple pie, pecan pie, pumpkin cheesecake, or get creative and make cute cookies or turkey-shaped desserts. Also, try to throw in something chocolate because chocolate is never not appropriate.
5. Paper Plates and Utensils
We’re college kids. We’re broke, we’re messy and we really don’t have nice dishes. It is totally okay to use paper plates. You don’t have to worry about anyone breaking them, and they make cleaning up way easier. If you’re balling on a budget but still want to impress your guests, pick up some cute paper plates and napkins at Target. If you’re serving your guests buffet style, roll the utensils up in the cute napkins and have them at the end of the serving line so that your guests can grab them easily. (Functionally cute is the best kind of cute, especially when you’re talking about food.) If you do happen to have nice dishes, then YGG. Go on and get fancy.
6. Seating for Everyone
You should know ahead of time who is coming, and you should do your best to make sure that everyone has a place to sit. It’s really hard to eat a big meal while sitting on the floor, so plan ahead. If your table isn’t big enough to accommodate all of your guests, then get creative. Shift your furniture around; borrow patio chairs; just do whatever you have to do to make sure that everyone feels welcome and comfortable.
7. “Let’s Get Basted” Playlist
Pick the friend who has the best taste in music, and ask them to put together a playlist instead of bringing food. Or put one together yourself. Have it playing right before people start arriving, so that everyone can relax while you’re getting the food ready. Music makes every situation better. Having a killer playlist is a great way to keep everything fun and casual.
8. Games
Once everyone finishes eating and helps clean up (if you’re a guest you should 100% do that – do not leave everything to the host to clean), bust out your favorite game. Whether your friend group prefers board games, cards or front-yard football, games are a great way to keep the party going and make some fun memories while you’re at it.
9. Movies
There always comes that point in the night when you hit that post-feast, sleepy phase when all you can do is collapse on the couch and marvel at the sheer volume of food you ate. When this happens, grab all of your pillows and blankets, and turn on one of your favorite movies (Christmas movies are totally acceptable at this point) or a football game. Everyone can crash, recover and chill together before calling it a night.
10. Friends
None of this works (or matters) without friends. So unless you plan on sitting at home all alone with all this stuff, get your group of friends together and enjoy a ton of great food and even better people. We all know that Thanksgiving is meant to be a time to reflect on the things we’re thankful for, so surround yourself with the people that mean the most to you and take the time to tell them how thankful you are for all of them.
Happy Thanksgiving, Collegiettes! We’re thankful for you!