The holidays are a time to be thankful for not only family but also friends. In addition to having wholesome meals with families, friend groups all over are getting together to celebrate Friendsgiving. Perhaps you want to partake in the fun tradition as well, but don’t want to fret over having to make another elaborate Thanksgiving meal. Don’t worry, you don’t need a fancy holiday meal to celebrate friendship! Here are 7 Friendsgiving themes to celebrate how thankful you are for your friends while being a little more low maintenance than a full-blown Thanksgiving meal:
- Bring A Dish That’s First Letter Is The Same As Yours
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I saw this trend on Tiktok, and I think it is such a fun idea. For example, my name is BriannaRose, which starts with “B”. Therefore, I would bring a dish that also starts with the letter “B” such as broccoli and brussels sprouts (very unlikely) or bread pudding (highly likely). This theme is a great option because it allows your friends to be as elaborate or creative as they want. There is no pressure or strings attached, and people can either bring dishes they find in the grocery market that are already made or actually cook the dish if they are into that. Personally, I will be ordering the bread pudding I’m bringing if I ever throw or am invited to this type of Friendsgiving.
- Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
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A Thanksgiving tradition of mine is watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving with my family. For those who have not seen it (spoiler alert ahead), one of Charlie Brown’s friends invites herself over. Charlie Brown and Snoopy are forced to put together a spontaneous Thanksgiving dinner for Charlie Brown’s friends. Being only a kid and a dog with limited resources, Charlie Brown and Snoopy are unable to cook a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and serve toast, popcorn, pretzels, jelly beans and ice cream sundaes. If you are like Charlie Brown and have limited resources in the kitchen, this could be a fun theme option. A bonus is that it is very easy to dress up like the characters from Charlie Brown and can even make it a costume party. Of course, if Charlie Brown’s well-rounded Thanksgiving meal is not enough for you, you can supplement it with snacks of your choice.
- Fast Food Friendsgiving
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Fast Food Friendsgiving: super cheap and super easy. Have each friend go to the fast-food restaurant of their choice and order a couple of items from the menu. Some fast-food restaurants even have cheap catering options where you can get a tray of a specific item. To help with the aesthetics and vibe of the gathering, you can challenge your friends to arrange the fast food they bought for the event onto a charcuterie board. If there is anything Gen Z loves, it’s getting cheap food and showing off charcuterie boards, so why not combine the two?
- Island Time Friendsgiving
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It’s fall, the temperatures are starting to drop, maybe you and your friends are reminiscing about summertime. Therefore, have an island-time-themed Friendsgiving. You can have tropical-esque foods like chunked pineapple, some easy grilled fish, anything that reminds you of vacation. If you and your friend group are 21+, you can add some pina coladas and tropical cocktails into the mix. Capri sun and fun juices (guava, mango, pineapple, etc.) are some great non-alcoholic options as well.
- Dessert Only Friendsgiving
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Dessert is the best part of any meal, so I think we should automatically skip to it. Ask your friends to bring the dessert of their choice whether it’s cookies, pie, cake, cobbler, ice cream or even bread pudding. The options are endless. Also, this option still gives your friends who love fall baking the opportunity to show off their skills. Plus, hanging out with your friends on a sugar high is always a good time.
- Trader Joe’s Friendsgiving
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As a college student who cannot cook, Trader Joe’s is a second home. The best part about their store is easily the frozen section and novelty snacks, and right now, they have a bunch of seasonal Thanksgiving items. Ask each of your friends to bring the Trader Joe’s item(s) of their choice and you’ll see everything from mashed sweet potatoes to cornbread stuffing mix to gingerbread sandwich companies to pumpkin cobbler, and even some regular items like their dumplings and mac and cheese. You’ll have a meal that is relatively close to a regular Thanksgiving dinner.
- Bring a Dish Inspired By A Song Lyric
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To be completely honest, I had this idea at two in the morning after scrolling Tiktok and seeing a friend group have a “WAP themed” Friendsgiving. All the dishes were named after lyrics in the Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion song. For example, the turkey was called “Gobble Me, Swallow Me.” I thought it was such a fun idea, especially for a friend group who likes to be creative, to take inspiration from this and expand it to all songs. Pulling from the WAP example, you could bring “macaroni in a pot.” However, there are so many possibilities outside of Cardi B. For example, bring a plate of watermelon or some watermelon dessert and call it “Watermelon Sugar.” Think of all your favorite songs. I’m sure you’ll find one with a food reference in the title or lyrics.
Happy Friendsgiving, Her Campus family. There are so many things to stress about this time of year, but celebrating Friendsgiving should not be one of them. Therefore, get together with your friends, relax and have a good time no matter what is on the table.