Host a gathering none of your friends will forget.
Whether or not you celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, there's no reason not to have a special night dedicated to your amazing friendships and the people who make them possible. Friendsgiving is a relatively new tradition, and the world is loving it. Not only is it a time to gather for one heck of a delicious meal with your besties, but it's an ample opportunity to throw the holiday party of the year that your friends will not soon forget. It’s time to pull out all the stops with decor, food, and games.
Luckily, Pinterest is filled to the brim with endless Friendsgiving party ideas for your dinner party. You can find ideas for all of your recipes, decor, and anything else you may need, but you don't have to do it all yourself. Friendsgiving is all about friendship and giving, so your friends will be sure to give you a hand in putting the big day together — which can double as a bonus Friendsgiving activity.
If you're hosting a Friendsgiving dinner this year, you may want to take a look at these Friendsgiving party ideas so you'll have the time of your lives. You and your buds will eat, drink, and be merry, and before you know it, you'll make some of the most precious memories you'll ever have together. And it's all thanks to you and your amazing party planning skills. Be warned, though — your party will be a hit, so you'll probably get asked to host again next year. From decor to music to food, here are eight Friendsgiving party ideas that are super simple and Instagram-perfect.
If you want to have an extra laugh or two (or 20), try out a silly dress code. Instead of dressing in your everyday fall attire, try out a pajama or costume theme. Or, make like the Kardashian/Jenners on Keeping Up With The Kardashians and have everyone dress up as each other. You'll be comfy and laughing in no time.
If you want to establish your stylish Friendsgiving aesthetic before the big day even begins, you can send out handmade (or store bought, no one will judge) invitations to your special group of friends. Practice your calligraphy or art skills for an invitation that doubles as a sentimental keepsake. Paper invitations are a little old-fashioned, which is exactly why you should send some. It’s a little touch that goes a long way.
If you want to make your Friendsgiving get-together super memorable, create your very own mixtape for you and your buds. You'll have jams to dance to, jokes to laugh at, and memories to reminisce over. If you're able to make copies of your tape, hand them out as favors at the end of the night. Now you’ll all be reminded of this special night each time you hear one of these tunes.
For a super personal touch, you can use your favorite photos of you and your squad to decorate your Friendsgiving table. Adding some fairy lights will help set a party mood. Not only is it super cute, but it'll be a great conversation starter for everyone. Plus, these make another memorable party favor idea that your guests would love to take home with them.
What’s Friendsgiving without a themed mixer? If everyone is 21 and up, a crisp fall cocktail garnished to the nines with on-theme trimmings like citrus wedges or cinnamon sticks will blow your friends away. For your PSL-loving buddies, just trade the L for something a bit more boozy and present them with an equally creamy — and tasty — pumpkin spice White Russian. If you can’t stand another serving of pumpkin — well, anything (understandable), go the fruity route and offer up some apple cider martinis or simple spiked apple cider.
A pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving classic, but Friendsgiving deserves a special twist on the ordinary, don't you think? Instead, get competitive with your pie and have everyone contribute to the dessert menu with a pie-baking contest. Have each guest pick a different type of pie to bring — be it apple, pumpkin, pecan, cherry, or whatever suits their fancy — and put it to a taste test to decide the winners. You can nudge up the stakes and factor pie aesthetics in to declare the best pie. For the ‘gram.
You need just a few materials to make your very own photo backdrop for your party. A tinsel table skirt or even a cut-up plastic table cloth will create a cool texture for you to pose in front of. For a trendy frame to install around the backdrop, blow up varied sizes of autumn-colored balloons and stick them to the wall with tape. Or, if you want to go all out, spell out "Friendsgiving" in mini balloons, and you're ready to snap away.
To make things a little easier on everyone (but especially on the host or hostess) make your Friendsgiving meal a potluck. Have everyone bring their favorite traditional or unique dish for the entire group to try. Plus, if you have any special family recipes, this gives everyone a taste of each person’s Thanksgiving traditions. Just make sure to have everyone communicate so you don't end up with 10 pies and no salad. Actually, that wouldn't be so bad…
Nothing will make your friends feel more special than thoughtfully-crafted DIY place cards with their names on them. You can go as simple or all-out as you want on this — it’s the thought that’s most memorable. It could be as easy as writing each person’s name out on a pretty, folded sheet of paper. It’s all about the little details. If you have a larger guest list and will be seating your friends at multiple smaller tables, you could take it a step further by borrowing from traditional wedding decor and setting up an escort card display to direct everyone to their table.
There’s nothing like stepping into a holiday evening and being greeted by the delicious, spicy smells of the season. Simmer a pot of DIY potpourri to fill your space with authentic autumn scents and create the coziest vibe for your guests. Drop a couple of orange peels and cinnamon sticks in a pot of water with cloves and spices and set it on the stove at low heat. The whole place will smell amazing, and bonus — you can even drink the tea from the potpourri.
Once you’re all good and full of turkey and pie, keep the fun going with some post-meal party games. Have a deck of cards at the ready for infinite potential or kick off the evening with some serious laughs with hilarious games like Cards Against Humanity or What Do You Meme? If IRL board and card games aren’t your style, go for a Mario Kart tournament — winner gets the leftovers. Just make sure everyone keeps the spiked cider consumption to a minimum before having to explain any new game rules.
Parties are infinitely better when there’s some buffet-style snacking options. Plus, waiting for Thanksgiving dinner to finally be ready is a very specific and cruel sort of punishment, so your friends might love you even more for preparing some readily-available grazing foods to tide them over. For a Thanksgiving-themed spread, lay out both fresh and dried seasonal fruit with thinly sliced turkey and ham on a nice platter (wooden boards look especially festive). Mix in various nuts, cheeses, and crackers, and top it off with a small bowl of cranberry sauce. Lucky for you, charcuterie boards are so pretty, they can also double as decor — a tasty centerpiece for the table, perhaps?
Pile up blankets and pillows and snuggle up together after the meal for a movie marathon featuring all the classics — or the latest cheesy holiday Netflix originals that you will absolutely be watching anyway. If you’re not already wearing them á la pajama-themed party — have everyone switch into their coziest pjs and go full-on slumber party mode. You can snack on chocolate-drizzled popcorn or simply wait to indulge in the desserts until movie time. Turn down all the lights save for a few strands of twinklers for the ultimate ambiance as you press play.
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