My Favorite Friendsgiving Ideas
Have you ever thought about hosting a Friendsgiving dinner? Today I am sharing some fun Friendsgiving ideas and DIY’s so you can host one too.
Every year I host Friendsgiving for our closest friends. It is one of my favorite evenings of the year because the food and friends are the best! I hope you will reach out to your friends and decide to have a Friendsgiving this year. Today I am sharing some of my favorite Friendsgiving ideas.
Thanksgiving is about following traditions; Friendsgiving is about making new ones.
If you do the math, hosting Friendsgiving means you will likely have two Thanksgiving Dinners. As far as I am concerned, that’s a win-win, and everybody is thrilled. Especially me!
What is Friendsgiving?
Friendsgiving is exactly what you might think. It is a blend of the words “friends” and “Thanksgiving,” and as the name suggests, it’s a celebration of Thanksgiving among friends.
Sometimes it takes place on Thanksgiving for friends who aren’t able to be with families. Recently, like in our home, it’s become a secondary Thanksgiving celebration.
What does Emily Post have to say about Friendsgiving?
I found some crucial information on her site.
When, for example, is a Friendsgiving supposed to take place? The weekend before Thanksgiving or the weekend prior, usually.
Is it an imposition to ask everyone to gather for a Thanksgiving meal a week or so before they’ll have another? Not necessarily, but Post recommends deviating a little from the traditional Thanksgiving menu to avoid stealing the real Thanksgiving’s thunder.
And what’s the most polite and egalitarian way to organize a Friendsgiving? Hands down, potluck-style, with dishes and supplies assigned via a Google spreadsheet. “From everything from organizing parties to lending out camping equipment, shared spreadsheets are amazing,” Post says.
Friendsgiving Ideas
This table is from one of our Friendsgiving dinners. The colors in our dining room work so well with our painted walls.
I like to have some fun with my Friendsgiving table ideas and have used these amazing maple leaf stems for a few years now. I am so in love with the colors.
Adding some fun decor, such as these small adorable fall acorns, are perfect to hold the place cards I made with my Cricut machine.
On my blog, I may sometimes use affiliate links, which means a small commission is earned if you make a purchase via the link. The price will be the same whether you use the affiliate link or go directly to the vendor’s website using a non-affiliate link.
I used some colorful wreaths in the center of the table and used them to decorate the table candles.
I also bought a small bag of fall leaves and placed them in the center of the table.
Are You Ready to Host Your Own Friendsgiving?
Where do you start?
You might want to start with this stress-free guide with lots of Friendsgiving ideas.
The Friendsgiving Handbook
Next, put together a guest list and a basic menu to use so you can make sure you have everything covered for your potluck dinner. I always cook the turkey, and make the stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce. My guests bring mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans, desserts, appetizers, lots of wine, and anything else they want!
That’s the fun thing about Friendsgiving. You get to learn about everyone else’s traditions and taste their favorite recipes!
These Friendsgiving plates are from Rae Dunn. I am so happy I bought them when I did!
Here is a link to Friendsgiving items such as cocktail naplkins, banners, plates, and everything you might need!
I made two really fun items and I am so excited to share them with you. I cut out placemats from cork fabric and also made the polka-dot napkins.
Cork Place Mats
I happened to find this Natural Cork Fabric By the Yard. There are lots of colors. Natural cork is amazing and I knew I could just cut it with scissors and I wouldn’t have to do anything else.
I love the texture and the peek of color underneath the plates and chargers.
All I did was cut the cork into 14″ circles. For the circle pattern, I bought a cardboard cake circle.
I just love how the cork peeks out from under the plate.
Polka Dot Napkins
Have you ever made decorative napkins before? They are so easy to make and are “no sew”. I am obsessed with these polka dot napkins and I fully intend to make a lot more for all of the seasons.
These polka dot napkins add so much color and fun to my table.
I based the width of the napkins on the width of the fabric. (Although I don’t suggest making napkins smaller than 18″ square.) This fabric is 45″ wide which meant I could make them 22″ wide and get two napkins for every 22″ of fabric. To make eight napkins I used 88″ of fabric which is two and a half yards.
I tore the fabric and frayed the edges so there was no sewing involved!
Look how much fun these napkins are on my table! Imagine how many different sets of napkins you can add to your collection.
Friendsgiving Menu Ideas
Gingersnap Pumpkin Tart
I own a lot of these mini springform pans and knew I wanted to make a fun dessert for my Friendsgiving table.
I came up with a recipe for a tart using gingersnaps and pumpkin and love how they turned out.
Gingersnap Pumpkin Tart
This pumpkin gingersnap tart is very flavorful and the best. It's a holiday favorite in our home.
Ingredients
- 2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
- 1 TBL sugar (palm, coconut, or brown)
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice seasoning
- 1/2 stick of melted butter
- 1 can (15 oz) puree pumpkin
- 3/4 cup palm (or coconut or white) sugar
- 1 tsp ginger, minced
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 13.5 oz can of coconut milk
- 1/4 cup sugar (coconut or cane sugar)
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Coconut Sweet Condensed Milk
To make the coconut sweetened condensed milk, add the coconut milk and 1/4 cup of sugar to a saucepan over medium heat, mix together and bring to a low boil. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat, and let the mixture simmer rapidly for about 45 minutes. Make sure you stay nearby and stir frequently as you don't want it to boil over. Let cool in the refrigerator in an airtight container before using.
Crust
Melt your butter in a small pan over medium heat.
Place the gingersnap cookies into a food processor and pulse them in the processor a few times until they’re chopped evenly. Add the butter, and then pulse a few more times until it’s all combined.
Next, press it into a 9-inch springform pan or mini springform pans. Put about 1/2" of gingersnap crust in the bottom of each pan.
Preheat your oven to 350° F. O
Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl (including the cooled coconut sweetened condensed milk) and whisk together.
Pour the filling into the crust, cover the crust with tin foil, and bake it in the oven for 50 minutes. The tart is done when the center is mostly set and slightly jiggly.
Remove from oven and cool in the refrigerator for a few hours before serving.
I love this table.
I cannot wait to host Friendsgiving this year again. We have scheduled it for the weekend before Thanksgiving and we are doing a potluck dinner. I provided a few recipes (upon request) to my girlfriends and we are all set.
I am so excited!
Shop This Post
Amazon Prime Early Access Sale
I wanted to remind you Monday is the Early Amazon Prime Big Deal Days.
The Prime Big Deal Days Sale is Tuesday and Wednesday.
We have so much to share and I want to make sure you don’t miss out. We have had the full list of the items for sale and we have curated hundreds and hundreds of items that I think you will love.
Everything will be posted on my blog, Instagram and in my Amazon Storefront on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
So start putting your holiday gift lists together becuase the deals really are amazing.
You might want to start your holiday shopping next week so you don’t have to wait to shop the day after Thanksgiving!
Watch My Amazon Live
Click here to watch any of my Amazon Live shows. All shows are recorded.
This live show is titled Everything You Need to Host a Friendsgiving Dinner.
Pin the image below to your Thanksgiving or fall decor boards on Pinterest (just click the Pin button in the top left corner). You can also follow along with me on Pinterest!
For more real-time updates, follow me on Instagram @My100YearOldHome
I’ve never met a polka dot I didn’t like so this table setting is just fabulous! I might have to do them in red for Christmas. Thanks for the inspiration!
Beautiful tablescape! Where can I find the Friendsgiving plates? Thanks!
Beautiful and whimsical tablescape! Yes, where can the Friendsgiving plates be found? Thank you.
Your recipe for sweetened condensed milk looks much healthier than the original!! Love the idea of using small springform pans; will definitely put mine to use with the pumpkin tart!
I am glad you like it!
Could you please share the source for those cool birchbark vases?
Any idea where u got the acorn place card holders? I love them!
Hi Gina – I got them last year at JoAnn. Fingers crossed that they still have them!
Your decor looks beautiful. Thanks for all the tips. And where did you get your table from, its such a pretty color? Thanks!
Hi Cathy! I love my dining room table is from Pottery Barn. It is the Toscana dining table in Seadrift. Thank you for reaching out!
Where did you get the maple leaves. Table.is stunning
I can’t find those maple leaves anywhere. Please share where to buy them
Leslie,
Great inspiring ideas! Haven’t given a dinner party for just friends in a while. For the past couple of years it’s just been family. Hopefully things will change.
I hope you are able to do that soon, Debra!
Leslie you always have such wonderful gatherings around your table. We don’t have a large dining area nor a large table for setting up so what would be some ideas for just gathering around a beautiful island or smaller antique wood table and bench seating? The goodies would have to be a grab, walk and chat style with maybe a place to set up a wine/drink station. We’d love to meet some of our neighbors we haven’t met yet but a sit down meal for a large group is out as most our family doesn’t visit so we have no need for a dining room with large table. The outdoors for the colder months is also out so inside it is.
Your table is beautiful I love all of the layers and texture, thank you for the recipe too!
Thanks for these Friendsgiving tips, Leslie! I’m wondering where you purchased the “Friendsgiving” oval plates?
They are Rae Dunn but I don’t think they’re available anymore unfortunately!
Such a great idea. Now, I’m thinking that I may host one. Thanks for the inspiration
It is so much fun- a great pre thanksgiving festivity! ☺️
Anything special about the fabric you used for the napkins? The fabric looks muslin-y?? Since there weren’t craft instructions involved, I am assuming you bought it with the dots on it already?
Dittos on “never met a polka dot I didn’t like!”. I find them “Happy!” I’d love a red one for Christmas too!
We did Friendsgiving one year w/ our Fun Bunch. We all decided to make things NOT like traditional Thanksgiving dinner so it was great! And a LOT of fun! Keep up the wonderful content.
Oh that’s so fun! Love that idea. Thanks so much 🙌🏻☺️