How to Host Friendsgiving

Written By The Avenue Magazine

By Jennifer Kang

Friendsgiving seems like it would be easy to host, but as with most event planning, it’s much more difficult than you would expect. Here’s some advice from a girl who has experienced first-hand the trauma that can arise when planning a Friendsgiving.

1. Two-words: Festive Decorations. Friendsgiving isn’t Friendsgiving unless there are fall-themed plates, fake leaves on the table, or pumpkin placemats. It’s always a good idea to decorate or print festive name cards for each of your guests to personalize your guests experience. In honor of the “holiday”, ditch your Solo cups for champagne glasses, which are always a plus in my book. The aesthetics can make or break a Friendsgiving- and let’s be real here, cute decorations are a must for Insta-worthy backgrounds.

2. To make life easier, make the Friendsgiving a potluck-style dinner. Sure, supply a dish or two, but don’t be afraid to assign each of your friends to bring an appetizer, dish, or dessert. This puts less work on you, and creates a good variety of different dishes to ensure every guest has something that they will enjoy. Just make sure to coordinate in advance so you don’t end up with four different pumpkin pies!

3. Plan out the event early and try to coordinate everyone’s schedules. It’s rare that you will be able to accommodate everyone, but Friendsgiving is about celebrating friendship, so the more people that can attend, the merrier. Ask around to find a date and time during which most people are free, and let everyone know to save the date a few weeks in advance. 

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4. Anticipate people coming at different times. There will always be guests that come before the food is even in the oven, and there will always be the last-minute stragglers who show up after everyone is already done eating. Don’t get frustrated or annoyed; Friendsgiving is a time to celebrate each other and just spread the love, man. Just give them a warm welcome, and always have extra food on hand.

5. Plan activities to do after eating or while waiting for food. This should be your backup plan just in case conversation somehow dies down. It could be anything from playing a movie in the background to playing a game like Cards Against Humanity.

Use these tips to help plan the event of the season! Even if you’re not planning Friendsgiving, you can use this knowledge in the future, or to help out a friend. Although it’s a lot of work, it’s worth it at the end of the night. Good luck on planning a great Friendsgiving, and just enjoy spending the time with good friends and good food.

The Avenue Magazine
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