How To Throw A Friendsgiving
The holidays are coming up and sometimes heading back home to be with your parents isn’t the particle choice. That doesn’t mean you have to miss out on the holidays completely; just means you have to change it a bit. Friendsgiving, whether you are throwing it because you can’t be with family or because you want a time to spend specifically with friends for the Thanksgiving, can become a great tradition. Here is what you need to know to throw a Friendsgiving that your friends will be talking about for the rest of the year.
Invitation
Friendsgiving should a classier than a night of put together hang out but less formal than cocktail dinner party. Depending on the size of your place, you don’t want to over invite and have a crowded venue. There should be enough seats for everyone to sit down and eat if you are doing a more formal dinner or space to set down their plate to eat if less formal. Make sure to invite your closest friends, and if there is room, make sure to invite your favorite coworkers and neighbors.
Setting The Right Date – Not on Thanksgiving
Make sure to pre-invite your guests (a simple Facebook invite should do) with a couple of weeks of notice. Also consider not having Friendsgiving actually on Thanksgiving Day; you will have a lot of no shows because of other engagements.
Asking Friends To Bring Dishes
Depending on what you are planning the menu to be (traditional, or less traditional) it’s absolutely ok to ask your guests to bring something to share with everyone. You can provide the main dish, whether it be a turkey or ham, and your guests will bring the sides. Also, makes sure someone brings the pumpkin pie! You can ask in your invitation that everyone bring a tupperware container to take home leftovers if you are worried to being stuck with tons of food afterwards.
Decor
First of all, do a full house cleaning; especially the bathroom. You will also want to make sure there is enough seating; borrow chairs and card tables if need be to make your guests feel comfortable. It’s also nice to have a little bit of Thanksgiving decor; you can go grab some pumpkins and gourds from your local grocery store. Flowers are also an easy to put together decoration, along with cheap tealights. As your guests arrive, you can have some great background music. Easy background music is always best, not something too loud or distracting.
Other Activities
Grab any of your board games and have them out if your group feels up for a game of jenga or Candyland after pie. This is a great way to continue the night and having your guests feeling comfortable to hang out and go back for seconds. If you don’t have any games, make sure to ask on your invitation for others to bring those along to the party. If you are not the group to play games, you can always throw on a movie, or if you are feeling frisky, suggest a drinking game. Just make sure everyone is safe to go home afterwards.
