Want to celebrate your wonderful friends like the brothers and sisters they are? Host a Friendsgiving to let your girls and guys know how thankful you are to have them in your life.
Before the Party
If you are planning on hosting the event rather than co-hosting with several friends, take some time to consider the guest list. Though you can’t choose your family, you can choose the friends you have at your dinner table. Choose friends that bring you up and that you enjoy being around, not acquaintances you may feel obliged to invite. Friends that will enrich the conversation and not try to have a round table debate are the ideal guest to have over. There is a time and a place for heated intellectual discussion, but this gratitude-filled holiday is not one of them.
If you want to go the extra mile, rather than just setting up a GroupMe or Facebook Event to contact your friends, write some invitations on cute stationery to mail or hand deliver to the guests of honor. Everyone loves to receive mail, and if the card is cute enough it can serve as a memento for the party long after it is over.
Crafts
Setting up some time to do a relaxed DIY project is the perfect activity to release any pre-exam tension. For guests that may not know each other very well yet, this is the perfect opportunity to mingle. You could go old school elementary crafting and make pilgrim hats and hand turkeys, or you can go the fancy Pinterest route and make a seasonal wreath or centerpiece with synthetic leaves. You can’t go wrong with crafting, because in the end it is a fun way to bond, and the goodie ends up being a party favor.
Name Cards
To honor your friends and show you spent time putting this party together, make name cards for every spot. By folding over scrapbook paper and writing the name of each person on an attached card, you elevate the event from pot-luck to soiré. Pro-Tip: If you are worried some guests may not get along, organize your seating with subtle strategy.
Decorations
Let your interior decorator instincts run wild here. If you’re a minimalist, setting out some candles to establish an inviting and calm atmosphere can do the trick. For those in a rush who forgot to set up decorations, grab some colorful fall foliage and place it in clear vases on the table- this gives the impression that you spent all day planning the arrangement. Adjust your table setup to time and ability. The forks and place mats don’t have to match, but if that is your thing then more power to you and your organized mind.
Food
There are a number of ways to go about planning the food. As the host, you already have a lot on your plate so you don’t necessarily have to take care of baking each and every item. To ease the time and expenditure burden, it’s a good idea to ask each friend to contribute their own favorite dish or dessert. Provide the main entree and refreshments and let your friends fill in the gaps with sweet potatoes, rolls, and green beans.
Trying to cook full meals, or even a single dish, sometimes is not feasible in the dorm setting. If cooking materials are limited, take the opportunity to explore your town to find where you can get the best turkey, bread, and cranberry sauce. A take-out Turkey Day is sometimes the best way.