The holiday season is a wonderful time for gathering with family and friends, and if you’re planning to host a Friendsgiving in your home, I want to share a few tips to help you make sure it’s the best one ever. Now, some of my tips are actually coming from that of a guest’s point of view, so while there won’t be any food recipe tips, these tips coupled with whatever is on the menu that night are a recipe for success.
Don’t overthink your day.
Friendsgiving is supposed to be fun, NOT stressful, so don’t overthink what you need to do or wait til the last minute to get ready. Prep your home as much as possible beforehand (but don’t try to do a super deep clean 3 days before) and give yourself a cut-off time the day of. You don’t want to spread chaotic energy over to your guests, so when that alarm goes off, stop what you’re doing, turn some music on while you get ready and have a glass of wine. What’s done is done and it’s time to be the hostess with the mostess!
Be cognizant of the personalities of the friends you invite.
We all have different friends groups: friends from college, friends from work, friends from blogging, etc., so before you send out that invitation, really take a moment to think about each person you’re inviting to make sure that everyone can mesh well together. I learned at a really young age that all friend groups should NOT mix, and if you’re not careful, it can ruin the night. This doesn’t mean that everyone should already be friends as well or even know each other, it just means that if you know you have a friend that wilds out after 1 cocktail while everyone else is really conservative, this might not be the best time to have them over together. Save yourself the drama and curate your guest list (but make sure to mix up there seating so that everyone will mingle with each other).
Have fun with your menu.
If you decide to have your guests bring a dish, have fun with the menu assignments. I attended a Friendsgiving a few weeks ago and the host assigned everyone a dish based around a main ingredient. This lead to an interesting mix of (delicious) food, and it also made for a great story time moment when we went around the table explaining what our dish was (and if we made it from scratch or “cheated” and picked up something from a restaurant). Don’t be such a stickler to a menu that you feel that every dish has to be a traditional Thanksgiving one. This makes things much more fun!
Keep the cocktails flowing.
Whether you’re pouring champagne all night or decide to let someone else be responsible for festive drinks, keep ’em coming. Cocktails help people relax, so when guests arrive, have a station set up (or designate a “bartender”) so that guests can come in, grab a glass, and immediately get in the mood.
To-Go containers FTW!
Forget giving away all of your Tupperware-stock up on some to-go containers for your guests to use when the night ends! Most people tire of eating “holiday food” after about 2 days, so to make sure that you’re not stuck with leftovers (and have an easy clean up process), have some ready for your guests to use so that they can take a serving for the road.
There are so many other great tips out there, but I’ve found that these 5 will really help you before, during and after your guests arrive. Above all else, have fun, give thanks, and enjoy your friends!