Sharing Friendsgiving ideas, planning tips, and essentials to make your party unique and memorable.
Thanksgiving is often overlooked because it’s sandwiched between spooky season and the most wonderful time of the year. However, Thanksgiving happens to be one of my favorite holidays, 1) because it really brings people together, and 2) because of the food, obviously!
Because everyone’s family situations are different and Thanksgiving is not for everyone, that’s what’s so great about the invention of Friendsgiving. If getting together with family is not your thing, this “holiday” is a perfect way to still celebrate the beauty of Thanksgiving. If you do enjoy Thanksgiving, then Friendsgiving is a great way to celebrate it more than once!
Especially if you live far away from home or can’t spend the holiday with family, you may want to have a Friendsgiving with your buddies. Whatever the case, there are many ways to go about throwing this gathering.
You can go traditional and have all the classic food dishes, or you can be creative for this special holiday. I’m sharing some fun Friendsgiving ideas to make your gathering a hit! From theme ideas to food and decorations, you’ll be ready to give thanks and enjoy the company of friends.
But first, let’s talk steps to planning and essentials for your gathering…
Planning + Essentials for Your Friendsgiving
- Get Planning: First, decide if you’re hosting or if it’s a group effort. If you’re taking care of most things yourself, you’ll probably want to get organized. Think about who you’re going to invite, identify a good date and time that will work for everyone, plant out your shopping lists, recipes, and cooking, and find cute decorations and finishing touches to set the vibe. Make a spreadsheet, use your notes app, or hand write on some paper to organize your thoughts. You can also send out a poll to gather peoples’ input and use Pinterest to find and compile inspiration. If it’s more of a joint effort, group plan! Brainstorm ideas with friends to figure out all the logistics and elements. Make a shared document so people can add ideas, sign up to bring food, and take charge on certain aspects of the gathering.
- Pick a Theme: Decide if you want your Friendsgiving to be a classic Thanksgiving vibe or if you want to do something a bit different. From a Friendsgiving brunch to a side dish cook-off, there are so many possibilities.
- Food: Arguably the most important part of this gathering, you’ll have to decide what’s going to be on the menu. Depending on the theme, you may make the traditional turkey and sides, or you may opt for something different.
- Activities: Thanksgiving, and consequently Friendsgiving, is about coming together and being grateful for having one another’s company. While activities are certainly not necessary and can be as simple as watching a football game or the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, it could be fun to find/plan some specific things to do that will help bring you and your friends together.
- Special Touches: To make any gathering extra special, think of some unique touches to add to the gathering. Whether that means being a little extra and sending out invitations or giving a party favor, every little touch can make a big difference and will make your gathering unforgettable!
- Decorations/Decor: Set the mood and up the vibes by putting up decorations and decor. Through things like the table settings, lighting, and dishware, you can really elevate the space for your gathering.
Now that you have an idea of things to think about when planning your gathering, let’s get into some specific Friendsgiving ideas you can implement! This list includes everything from theme ideas to activities to special touches.
21 FRIENDSGIVING IDEAS
1. Friendsgiving Brunch
Instead of the classic Thanksgiving dinner, try hosting a Friendsgiving Brunch. Make brunch/lunch foods like french toast bakes, eggs benedicts, cinnamon rolls, quiches, sandwiches, or bagels. Put a Thanksgiving twist on these dishes by incorporating ingredients like sweet potato, turkey, ham, pumpkin, or cranberry.
Related: 30 Fun and Unique Fall Bucket List Ideas to Romanticize This Season
2. Friendsgiving Scrapbook Party
Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks and coming together with loved ones. Scrapbooks are a physical keepsake to represent just that; they exhibit fond memories and sentimentality. What better way to celebrate gratitude than to reminisce about good times with good friends? You and your buddies can bring pictures, stickers, washi tape, memorabilia, cute paper, and whatever else you want to stick in your scrapbook. Don’t forget any tools you need like scissors, glue, craft knives, and paper cutters. Make finger foods/appetizers and bust out a bottle of wine or bubbly to enjoy while you’re scrapbooking.
Scrapbook from Amazon: Potricher 8 x 8 Inch DIY Scrapbook Photo Album
Fall Washi Tape from Amazon: ADXCO 12 Rolls Fall Washi Tape Set
Craft Knife from Amazon: X-Acto No 1 Precision Knife
3. Send Invitations
Sending an invitation can be a great touch to your Friendsgiving. Make digital ones on Canva or any other platform of your choosing, or send handmade ones in the mail. Not only will your guests have a digital or physical keepsake to remember the gathering by, but they’ll also have all the information they need in one place.
Related: 9 Unique Fall-Themed Gathering Ideas the Whole Group Will Love
4. Make Menus/Place Cards/Dish Labels
This is a wonderful way to add a special touch to your Friendsgiving gathering. Assuming you’ll have lots of food, making a menu of all the dishes or labels for each dish is a perfect way to let your guests know what everything is! There are so many templates on Canva that you can use to make these really easily. If it’s potluck style, determine what everyone’s bringing so you can make the labels. Additionally, you can make name cards for the table! Everyone loves a personal touch with their name on it. If you don’t necessarily want to assign seats, leave the name card at a separate table or near the entrance for guests to pick up and place when they take their seats.
Card/Label Holders from Amazon: Toncoo 24 Pcs Premium Mini Table Number Holders
5. Host a Friends Thanksgiving-Themed Friendsgiving
Everyone knows Friends, right? The popular 90s sitcom? Well what better way to celebrate Friendsgiving than to pay homage to a show all about friendship. Rewatch all the Friends Thanksgiving episodes and gather inspiration; from Chandler being in a box in season 4 to Rachel’s trifle in season 6, there is so much you can do with this theme. Dress up like the characters, play games related to the episodes, and make foods inspired by their crazy Thanksgivings – you and your friends will have an unforgettable time!
6. Flower Arrangement-Making Friendsgiving Party
This is a unique Friendsgiving idea that may be perfect for a girls night. Buy a bunch of flowers, stems, and branches from your local grocery store or farmers market (ideally fall themed!) and create beautiful bouquets! Not only is this a fun activity to do with your friends, but then everyone will have a wonderful arrangement to bring home. Make appetizers like antipasto skewers, a charcuterie board, spinach dip, or flatbreads to munch on while you’re putting together your masterpieces!
7. Put a Friendsgiving Twist on TikTok Gathering Trends
There have been many party ideas floating around TikTok that have become quite popular. These include “board night” where you bring food on a charcuterie-type board, and bringing a food dish that begins with the first letter of your name. Put a Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving twist on these ideas, or any other trend you come across. For instance, specify that your guests have to bring a Thanksgiving-inspired dish that starts with the first letter of their name, not just any food.
8. Do Friendsgiving Superlatives
Superlatives are always a fun activity and cause friendly debates amongst your group. Do this game with a Thanksgiving twist by incorporating questions like: most likely to…
- Sit in front of the couch watching football instead of at the dinner table
- Buy their Friendsgiving dish instead of make it
- Get 3+ servings of food
- Spend 10 hours making a dish
- Arrive over an hour late to Friendsgiving
- Drink a little too much at the gathering
- Go Black Friday shopping the night of Thanksgiving
- Overlook Thanksgiving and only think about Christmas
- Make a Thanksgiving sandwich with the leftovers
- Try a “unique” recipe that just doesn’t work out
You can do this activity as a poll style where you send out a survey and project the results on a screen during your gathering, or you can print out sheets to hand out to your guests. Be creative with these questions and add questions related to inside jokes/your own lives to give the game a personal touch.
9. Pie Bake-Off
Pie is a staple at Thanksgiving gatherings. For your Friendsgiving, consider having a pie bake-off! You and your guests can all make and bring a different pie and determine which one(s) are the winners! You can even make categories like “most creative” or “best presentation”. Not only will there be some friendly competition, but your group will have a whole buffet of wonderful pies to devour. If you want to go the extra mile, get some fun prizes to hand out to the winner(s).
10. Make Your Space Smell Amazing
A simple Friendsgiving ideas is to make your space smell amazing! Of course you can do this by cooking up some delicious dishes and baked goods, but supplement these smells by lighting a candle, putting out a diffuser, or plugging in a wallflower. There are tons of delicious fall scents out there.
Candle from Anthropologie: Small Glass Gourd Gourmand Pumpkin & Sweet Vanilla Candle
Wallflower from Bath & Body Works: Sugared Snickerdoodle
NEST Diffuser from Nordstrom: Pumpkin Chai Reed Diffuser
Related: 10 Essentials to Make Your Fall Night in Super Cozy
11. Set up a Photo Booth/Put Out Disposable Cameras
You have to capture this wonderful occasion! Set up a photo op with a backdrop, props, and polaroid camera. Or, maybe you want a less staged look; put out disposable cameras for your guests to pick up and use throughout the gathering! People can capture pictures of the food, group pictures, selfies, and candids. You can share them with your friends after, and this is a great way to make this Friendsgiving unforgettable.
Photo Booth Props from Amazon: Big Dot of Happiness Fall Pumpkin Glasses
Polaroid Camera from Amazon: Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Instant Camera
Disposable Camera from Amazon: Kodak Funsaver One Time Use Film Camera (2-pack)
12. Countdown to Christmas Friendsgiving
Christmastime basically starts right after Halloween (sorry…) but if we’re being a bit more “official,” Thanksgiving is the last big day before Christmas begins. If your Friendsgiving happens to fall on actual Thanksgiving day (or even if it doesn’t), consider having a “countdown to Christmas” Friendsgiving! Make your party half Thanksgiving, half Christmas. That might mean having both Thanksgiving and Christmas themed foods, playing Christmas music at your gathering, wearing fall clothing and a santa hat, or having a countdown when the clock strikes midnight. There are so many possibilities here – be creative!
13. Side Dish Cook-Off Competition
Everyone knows that side dishes are the STAR of Thanksgiving. From sweet potato casserole and mac and cheese to stuffing and scalloped potatoes, nothing beats all the sides. That being said, host a side dish cook-off competition! You and your friends can all cook up your favorite side dishes and decide which one(s) reign supreme. Whether you bust out old family recipes or search up some new, creative ones, this Friendsgiving idea is sure to inspire some good eats and friendly competition.
14. Set up a Paper Table Cloth
This is a fun Friendsgiving idea that will make your gathering extra unique. Get some kraft paper and roll it over your table instead of a normal table cloth. Put out some crayons and markers, and you and your guests can revisit your childhoods by doodling and playing little games throughout the meal. Not to mention, the brown paper matches the fall vibes perfectly.
Kraft Paper from Amazon: IDL Packaging Brown Kraft Paper Roll
15. Play Minute to Win It Games/Drinking Games
What better way to bring your friends together than playing fun, silly games? Minute to win it games are a classic, and you can find an extensive list here: 200+ MINUTE TO WIN IT GAMES FOR KIDS AND ADULTS. Or, if your group is into getting a little tipsy, find some fun drinking games and put a Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving twist on them: Beyond Beer Pong: Drinking Games For Grown-Ups.
16. Write Heartfelt Cards to Each Other
Thanksgiving time is about gratitude and love, after all. If you’re hosting, write your guests a heartfelt letter to express your love and appreciation for them. Or, have all your friends write letters to each other. This is a sweet, wholesome touch to your Friendsgiving that will make your gathering extra memorable!
17. Get Cute Dishware/Paper Goods
You’ll need some cute dishware to serve your food in and paper goods to feast from! From serving bowls and pie stands to festive plates, napkins, and cups, these touches can really make a difference in your Friendsgiving.
Serving Dish from Anthropologie: Nathalie Lete Pumpkin Serving Bowl
Cake Stand from Amazon: Rotating Cake Stand with Clear Acrylic Dome Lid
Paper Goods from Amazon: Homlouue 200 Pcs Fall Paper Plates and Napkins
Napkins from Amazon: DII Cotton Plaid Napkin Set
18. Powerpoint Presentation Friendsgiving
Having a powerpoint presentation night for your Friendsgiving is great way to bring your friends together and share some laughs. You can think of a Thanksgiving-related topic, or choose one that’s completely unrelated. Here are some ideas:
- Best show/movie to watch during fall
- Friends’ superlatives
- Goals and ambitions for the new year
- Ranking friends’ Instagram posts or TikTok videos
- Celebrities you would recruit for a dodgeball tournament
Find more fun ideas here: 75 Mind-Blowing Ideas for PowerPoint Night
19. Set up a Bar/Drink Station
Set up a fun beverage station for your guests! Make delicious cocktails, mocktails, mixed drinks, hot cocoa, or coffee for you and your friends to enjoy. If you have a handful of drinks, create labels so people know what everything is.
Beverage Dispenser from Amazon: Style Setter Beverage Dispenser w/Stand (Set of 2)
Cups from Amazon: Munfix 100 Glitter 12 Oz Clear Plastic Cups
20. Get All the Cutest Decorations
This may be an obvious Friendsgiving idea, but decorations are a must at your gathering! Besides your dishware and paper goods, get things like garland, pumpkins, and candles, as well as a table runner, flowers, and other center piece knickknacks for your dining area. Depending on your theme, you’ll probably have more inspiration to go off of.
Table Runner from Anthropologie: Autumn Botanicals Runner
Placemats from Amazon: Feuille Round Fall Placemats
Fall Garland: Artiflr Fall Garland Maple Leaf Decoration
21. Prepare Takeout Boxes for People to Bring Home Leftovers
I’m sure you’ll have tons of leftovers. Instead of scavenging for extra containers and Ziploc bags, get ahead of the game and have takeout boxes ready to go. This will make all the difference when cleaning up after your gathering!
Takeout Containers from Amazon: AICHEF 50 Pack 70 oz Large Take Out Food Containers
Have an Unforgettable Friendsgiving!
There are countless fun ways to come together with your friends. Use these Friendsgiving ideas to make your gathering unique and memorable! And most of all, enjoy each other’s company and express your gratitude.
