Operation Friendsgiving: How to Host Thanksgiving with Friends
Are you in charge of hosting this year’s Friendsgiving celebration? If so, planning meals, decorating the event space, and pulling together all of the small details can feel a little overwhelming. But the best part about spending this holiday with your closest pals is that you can spice things up and celebrate your own way.
Operation Friendsgiving is underway! Here’s how to host Thanksgiving with friends.
Send Festive Invites
As with most social events, you’ll want to give your friends a heads-up on the event date. The holidays are a busy time of year for everyone, so as you prepare for autumn, send out festive Friendsgiving invites to make sure everyone knows to keep their calendars open.
Luckily, being the perfect host or hostess no longer requires a trip to the post office—unless you absolutely love mailing paper invitations. You can send out digital invites from your desk and then focus on the most important part of any Friendsgiving—food.
Designate Dishes
The feast is what differentiates Thanksgiving from other holidays. You can’t have Thanksgiving with friends without turkey, a delicious serving of sides, and pie. When planning your event, it’s crucial to coordinate who will bring what to ensure the stuffing doesn’t go missing.
Create a shareable document or spreadsheet with categories like appetizers, side dishes, and desserts where all of your attendees can sign up for a dish. This allows your friends to pick food items they feel comfortable cooking, while also ensuring you don’t get any duplicate dishes.
Decorate for Dinner (or Brunch)
Holiday parties usually imply holiday decor. But one of the advantages of Thanksgiving with friends instead of family members is that you can create your own traditions. With no precedents set, that means the decor can be as simple or as elaborate as you like.
If you decide on a Friendsgiving brunch, your Friendsgiving table setting could consist of a simple harvest-colored tablecloth strewn with mini pumpkins. Or you could plan a formal dinner party with an elaborately decorated dining room table, glowing candles, and an assortment of gourds, pumpkins, and fall decor. How the event plays out is completely up to you!
Don’t Stop at Dining
As part of any celebration, you might want to implement a few activities to keep the conversation — and the party — going. Is your crew filled with problem solvers? Set up a board game or piece together a Thanksgiving-themed puzzle before or after dinner.
Are you a more active bunch? Organizing a scavenger hunt or a game of touch football before you chow down might be just the activity you’re looking for. And if a love of Thanksgiving crafts unites your friend group, an at-home painting kit with fall-themed paintings would be the perfect activity to round out your Friendsgiving feast.
Celebrate Friendsgiving at Painting with a Twist!
Trying to host the perfect Friendsgiving can be a little stressful, especially when you want it to be like a “Friends” Thanksgiving episode. So why not leave the planning to Painting with a Twist!
Book a private event at your local studio for a memorable holiday party. We’ll provide the painting supplies, festive atmosphere, and fun. All you have to do is grab your drinks and holiday snacks of choice, rally up your best pals, and show up ready to have a Friendsgiving event like no other!
