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We’re sharing 12 Friendsgiving party ideas.
As soon as Halloween is over and November hits, we are in full on party planning mode for Friendsgiving. It’s such a fun way to host your friends and celebrate the community we’ve developed over the past year — some new friends and old friends coming together to eat amazing food and have a good time.
We’re all about making things easier for when the day comes, so having an outline, plan or checklist of things we need to get done before our friends arrive is a must. Today, we’re breaking down 12 Friendsgiving party ideas that will not only make party planning easier, but will also make you feel more relaxed day of.
12 Friendsgiving Party Ideas
1. Send Invitations
First things first, you’ve got to send invitations to your friends. Whether that’s a simple text message e-vite or paper invitation, this is one of the best events of the year and your friends need to know well ahead of time.
We personally love the idea of seeing paper invitations to our friends. It’s a special way to ask your friends over and you can have a lot of fun making and printing the cards.
plaid friendsgiving invitation
friedns friednsgiving invitation
2. Ask People to Bring Things for Potluck
To make things easier on you, as your friends to participate in a potluck style Friendsgiving. Have each member bring one or two dishes to contribute to the dinner party. Not only will this lighten your cooking load, but it will give your guests an opportunity to contribute some of their favorite holiday foods as well.
thanksgiving charcuterie board
cheesy pumpkin lasagna
garlic thyme mashed potatoes
salted chocolate pecan dessert bars
easy pumpkin tiramisu
caramel apple bars
3. Add Friendsgiving Balloons
Letter balloons are a super simple way of decorating your dining space, kitchen or entryway for Friendsgiving. Plus, it could make a super cute backdrop for a photo too.
friendsgiving balloons
in my thankful era balloons
4. Decorate the Table with a Table Cloth
With a bunch a friends gathered in your dining space for the evening, we recommend decorating the table with a table cloth. This will make your table festive for the holidays and protect it from any food dropped while feasting.
norvelle block print table cloth
boho plaid table cloth
5. Add Your Favorite Pumpkins and Florals as a Centerpiece
A fall centerpiece is such a fund way to decorate your table for Thanksgiving festivities. Creating a centerpieces with different sizes of pumpkins and fall florals will create such a beautiful centerpiece. Add some candles for a cozy glow!
6. Make Personalized Name Plates
While name plates aren’t necessary, we do think they are a fun touch to add to your table fro Friendsgiving. There are so many cute ways you can do this. A couple of our favorites are:
- Creating a cute name tag or plate that’s festive for the holidays
- Placing a polaroid picture of every friend at their respective seat
thanksgiving place card template
photo polaroid cards
7. Set the Table with Fall Setting
One of our absolute favorite parts of hosting parties is setting the table with dishes, plate chargers and glasses that match the occasion. For a Friendsgiving party, we look for woven chargers, fall-inspired dinner plates and beautiful drinking glasses.
plaid thanksgiving plates
round rattan charger
orange atwell glass
clear alma glass
8. Burn a Fall Candle
Nothing sets the mood in a space that burning a candle. We always like to have a candle burning in our home, and during the fall it’s filled with pumpkin scents, apple notes and sweet vanilla. Pretty much anything sweet and cozy, we love to have burning during a party as well. Your guests will also feel warm and invited into the space too.
friednsgiving homesick candle
spiced pumpkin latte
9. Turn On a Fall Music Playlist
Soft music in the background is always a great way set the mood of the evening and to diffuse moments of silence throughout the night. We always opt for fall jazz playlists or some chill pop playlists on Spotify.
fall feels playlist
autumn jazz playlist
10. Have Pie-Making Competition
If you love a little festive competition, then invite your guests to participate in a pie-making competition. Have your guests make their pie of choice to bring to the Friendsgiving dinner. When dessert time rolls around, it’s time for competition.
Place the pies in random order on the counter. Give each guest a slice of a pie at a time. Then have them vote on their favorite pie. As a fun treat, gift the winner a $10-$15 gift card to a restaurant or store of choice.
P.S. We always like to get a couple of gift cards on hand for competitions — just in case two people tie.
11. Play Fall Games or Trivia
Whenever we invite our friends over, we always love to play a game or trivia with them. However, for a Friendsgiving party, it only makes sense to have some sort of fall theme to the activities. Here are a couple of our favorite fall games to play:
I should have known that! trivia game
pass the pumpkin riddle game
12. Send Your Friends Home with Leftovers
At the end of the night, you’ll probably have some leftovers. Send your guests home with a contianer or two full of food to feast on the next day.
To be honest, this is probably one of the best party favors to send home with your guests!
thanksgiving leftover containers
