Can’t make it home for Thanksgiving? There’s no need to deprive yourself of one of the most expected holidays of the year – instead, get some dear friends together and throw a Friendsgiving party.
|
Why Friendsgiving? Popular with millennials, Friendsgiving is an informal holiday, which is celebrated on or in the day leading to Thanksgiving. The concept is as easy as anything: friends (often, college students), who can’t fly to their families for the holiday or who just want to celebrate their “chosen family”, gather a few days before Thanksgiving for a boozy, potluck-style Thanksgiving meal. While you and your friends might not be new to Friendsgiving, its origin is still unclear, and there’re a few “official” theories of what or who started this feasting frenzy. Some might say that the Friends TV show brought it into mainstream – yes, that very episode when they almost burned down Monica’s apartment. According to Merriam-Webster, the first written mentions of the word was spotted in Twitter, in 2007. Anyway, there was a particular surge in 2011, when Bailey’s Irish Cream promoted an ad campaign with a slogan “Friendsgiving with Baileys”, which resulted in a national spotlight. |
|
Why Friendsgiving?
Popular with millennials, Friendsgiving is an informal holiday, which is celebrated on or in the day leading to Thanksgiving. The concept is as easy as anything: friends (often, college students), who can’t fly to their families for the holiday or who just want to celebrate their “chosen family”, gather a few days before Thanksgiving for a boozy, potluck-style Thanksgiving meal.
While you and your friends might not be new to Friendsgiving, its origin is still unclear, and there’re a few “official” theories of what or who started this feasting frenzy. Some might say that the Friends TV show brought it into mainstream – yes, that very episode when they almost burned down Monica’s apartment. According to Merriam-Webster, the first written mentions of the word was spotted in Twitter, in 2007. Anyway, there was a particular surge in 2011, when Bailey’s Irish Cream promoted an ad campaign with a slogan “Friendsgiving with Baileys”, which resulted in a national spotlight.
|
|
Food Though Friendsgiving is totally customizable, there’s one single rule – don’t overcommit the host. His or her only duty is to cook the main crowd pleaser, turkey (why? Because transporting the turkey doesn’t work!), and the gravy. So, if you’re a host, please keep in mind – if you want your bird to be ready when your friends arrive, start the process at least four days in advance. The sides (snacks, potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce, and desserts) is on your guests, all you need is just to coordinate everyone to prevent overlapping or someone getting starved. Once the food is there, make sure to provide proper dinnerware – putting the food your buds worked so hard on, on high-quality plates, bowls, and servers is not just a good way to make it look better but a nice gesture. Luckily, our collection of dinnerware has multiple options to offer – from clear plastic plates in bulk to set you free from washing to porcelain ones to add a sophisticated touch in a budget-friendly manner. |
Food
Though Friendsgiving is totally customizable, there’s one single rule – don’t overcommit the host. His or her only duty is to cook the main crowd pleaser, turkey (why? Because transporting the turkey doesn’t work!), and the gravy. So, if you’re a host, please keep in mind – if you want your bird to be ready when your friends arrive, start the process at least four days in advance. The sides (snacks, potatoes, vegetables, cranberry sauce, and desserts) is on your guests, all you need is just to coordinate everyone to prevent overlapping or someone getting starved. Once the food is there, make sure to provide proper dinnerware – putting the food your buds worked so hard on, on high-quality plates, bowls, and servers is not just a good way to make it look better but a nice gesture. Luckily, our collection of dinnerware has multiple options to offer – from clear plastic plates to set you free from washing to porcelain ones to add a sophisticated touch in a budget-friendly manner.
|
Decorations The customizability of Friendsgiving is a nice opportunity to get creative. You can take full advantage of fall and decorate your table with acorns, autumn leaves (or these leaf garland, for instance!), pumpkins, pine cones, and apples – arrange these alone, and your centerpiece (or nature table runner) is ready to go. If you are into woodland-style, we are at your service with our wooden stamp candle holders for your votives. For a refined, chic display, you can paint baby pumpkins all the shades of pink and add a few covered with our loose glitter to recreate this ombre runner. For a romantic ambiance, add a couple of our gold candle holders with white or red taper candles. To accommodate each guest, pull out our plain white plates, clear glasses, and pink disposable napkins. Add an element of fun in a trendy manner with our clear latex balloons filled with gold confetti and decorated with our tassels within your color palette. |
|
Decorations
The customizability of Friendsgiving is a nice opportunity to get creative. You can take full advantage of fall and decorate your table with acorns, autumn leaves (or these leaf garland, for instance!), pumpkins, pine cones, and apples – arrange these alone, and your centerpiece (or nature table runner) is ready to go. If you are into woodland-style, we are at your service with our wooden stamp candle holders for your votives.
For a refined, chic display, you can paint baby pumpkins all the shades of pink and add a few covered with our loose glitter to recreate this ombre runner. For a romantic ambiance, add a couple of our gold candle holders with white or red taper candles. To accommodate each guest, pull out our plain white plates, clear glasses, and pink disposable napkins. Add an element of fun in a trendy manner with our clear latex balloons filled with gold confetti and decorated with our tassels within your color palette.
|
|
Whichever decorations you choose, don’t forget about the proper banner – it is a budget-friendly way to set the tone of your celebration. Use our letter balloons or pennants to spell out something like “Happy Friendsgiving” or “Get Your Fat Pants Ready”. To keep your buddies laughing throughout the party, decorate our paper straws with fun printables. Top everything off with a fun photo-shooting with those Friendsgiving-inspired photo props. |
Whichever decorations you choose, don’t forget about the proper banner – it is a budget-friendly way to set the tone of your celebration. Use our letter balloons or pennants to spell out something like “Happy Friendsgiving” or “Get Your Fat Pants Ready”. To keep your buddies laughing throughout the party, decorate our paper straws with fun printables. Top everything off with a fun photo-shooting with those Friendsgiving-inspired photo props.
As you can see, Friendsgiving is not about rules. Whether you go above and beyond with the menu and decorations or opt for a simple disposable setup, no one will look down on you. Are you going to host Friendsgiving this year? Please let us know in the comments below.
