The Thanksgiving season is full of delicious food, friends, and family. While the actual day may be reserved for those closest to you, Friendsgiving might be a slightly more fun and less chaotic event. If you’re hosting your own Friendsgiving but have no idea where to start, don’t fret! With just a little bit of planning and a group chat that will respond to you, you’ll be able to pull off a night that’s curated personally to you and your friends.
Friendsgiving is all about creating a space where people can unwind and gather with friends. There’s no “right” way to celebrate; you could have an extravagant gala or a cozy get-together. Here are some of the best ideas to make your day unforgettable!
Food
The first thing that tends to go wrong with Friendsgiving is the food. We’ve all seen it go wrong — everyone shows up with a dessert, there’s no main course, and maybe a few cans of soda. My strategy to prevent this from happening is to create a spreadsheet, where everyone can write down their name next to one or two dishes to bring. That way, there will be lots of variety, and you can ensure everything will be covered.
Theme & Decor
Now, not every fun event has a theme. However, it can create some very entertaining moments as friends show up dressed in theme or with something to contribute. You could always make it a fashion show with a red carpet as friends walk in. Some fun outfit ideas could be Dinner Party Glam, Rom-Com Main Characters, or Cozy Autumn Chic. Theme ideas for the night in general include: Appetizers Only, Platter Night (where everyone brings food from one place), or Pumpkin Night (where everything has pumpkin in it).
Photo Wall
One of my favorite things to do when I’m with my friends is to pull out my Polaroid camera. I think having a way to remember the entire night with physical photos is so cute. You could also add a hanging photo wall to display the pictures as the night goes on. Everyone gets to leave with their favorite photos at the end of the night, making for a perfect parting gift!
Gratitude Notes
On a more sentimental note, we must remember that Thanksgiving is all about being thankful. Take the time to exchange little notes with each other that share your gratitude. You can spice it up and create a whole station for everyone to write notes and even address them to others instead of reading them out loud to make it more personal and help those who are shy about sentimental stuff.
Friendsgiving Awards Ceremony
As the host, I think it would be so entertaining to create an awards ceremony to end the night. You could create small certificates for each person attending with different awards on them. Some ideas could be “Best Dish,” “Went Back for Thirds,” “Best Fit Check,” or even the “Accidentally Used Salt Instead of Sugar” award. This could be such a cute ritual that happens each year at your Friendsgiving!
The holidays are such a wonderful time of year to celebrate and catch up with friends. I think some of these little tips will help to make your Friendsgiving run as smoothly as possible, but with a lot of laughs along the way. Grab your comfiest fall sweaters, all your friends, and start planning a wonderful Friendsgiving!
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