This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at LMU chapter.
Thanksgiving is all about sharing gratitude with our loved ones, so why not include our friends in holiday traditions typically shared with family? After all, they do say that friends are the family we choose. Check out our 6 tips on how to throw a successful Friendsgiving potluck that will surely wow your besties!
1. Narrow Down Your Guest List: Do you want to host 5 people or 50? It’s up to you but the sooner you start inviting people, the better prepared you’ll be for the big day.
2. Assign Food Dishes: Ask each person to prepare a dish that will serve at least half of the people coming. Offer to prepare the turkey because it’s the most time consuming and doesn’t travel well. To avoid having 8 pumpkin pies and no biscuits or candied yams (although would 8 pumpkin pies really be that bad?), create a list of dish options and have people sign up for one with their RSVP. Make sure to list a wide variety of sides, appetizers, and desserts. If you’re hosting a large amount of people, not everyone needs to make a dish, so ask some guests to bring other items such as gravy, cranberry sauce, or plastic dishes and silverware.
3. Decide on Décor: There’s no need to decorate too much as the beautiful spread of food on the table will do most of the talking. If you’re feeling really festive, opt for fresh blooms and fresh Fall leaves to scatter on the table.
4. Follow Up: Contact your friends a few days before the event to make sure everyone has signed up to bring something to your Friendsgiving. A friendly reminder will avoid those “oops we have plenty of wine but no cups to drink out of” moments. It’s happened to us, and it’s not pretty.
5. Keep Your Oven Hot: Make sure you’re ovens on when guests come over so that you can reheat dishes before serving.
6. Be Thankful: Whether you want to go around the room and talk about what you’re all thankful for or not, take a minute or two to appreciate being able to share a fun night with friends and let them know you appreciate them.