Having a Friendsgiving?
Last year’s release of the frivolous comedy Friendsgiving led to the addition of the word to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary! And anyone who has lived in a city far-away from family, who was either stranded by weather or obligated by work and couldn’t make it home for Thanksgiving, knows this version of the holiday and how to celebrate with friends!
Like nearly everything else about this gratitude-centric holiday, you’ve got options! This year while many people are gathering, some won’t be traveling over the holidays, and will substitute with friends.
Start Early, Stay Late
If you choose to have Friendsgiving on Thanksgiving Day, make it an all-day affair! Gather early and watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade while sipping mimosas as you start preparing the food.
If you’re going for an evening meal, you can start later in the day. One of the best parts of Friendsgiving is that everyone helps prepare the food together throughout the day—maybe while watching a classic holiday movie like Meet Me In St. Louis or Holiday Inn.
Or plan a potluck-style dinner—assign each guest a category of food or drink that they bring ready-made, while you tackle the turkey and gravy. The Kitchn provides a countdown timetable to help you plan for the event—whatever day you want to have it! Some key moments on the timeline: 4 days before the event, thaw the turkey, and 4 hours before dinner, cook the turkey!
Table, Door and Wall Decor
Friendgiving has the potential to be much more glamorous than the traditional family meal—Elle Decor shows some fun and elegant ways to set a festive mood! Create a foliage-inspired table and don’t forget to decorate the front door with one of these autumn-themed wreaths from Ever Blooming Original!
Or you may want to go in a completely different direction and make it the most COMFORTABLE Thanksgiving anyone has ever had! Cosmo suggests hosting a PJ Party where everyone comes dressed in their most festive fall pajamas! This option also works well if you are hosting a virtual Friendsgiving (where it’s a given that everyone will be in their pjs!)
Zoom Your Holiday
If you decide you’d rather not gather a bunch of people together, you can still host a great Friendsgiving over Zoom. Real Simple offers some ingenious tips for pulling off a full-fledged virtual dinner! Divvy up the responsibilities, according to each guest’s abilities! Let a design-savvy guest create a fun display of Zoom backgrounds—maybe collections of photos from Thanksgivings past.
Let the bartender in your group come up with themed cocktails or mocktails that everyone can enjoy at the same time together, and then open bottles of the same wine for dinner. Make sure to give everyone the ingredient shopping list in advance so everyone will be ready to mix them up together.
Special Delivery
If some of the friends in your group lack basic skills in the kitchen, let the chefs among you make the food and pack it up for distribution to everyone. You can even opt for takeout from (24 Carrot)—what matters most is you’ll all be enjoying of the meal “together.”
And finally, consider creating a playlist and entertainment content. No doubt you know just the friends whose specialty this would be! Have them come up with a playlist of music that gets everyone in the mood to cook, eat, and clean-up! After dinner, enjoy some light entertainment to watch together—check out this list of 19 Thanksgiving TV episodes!
Thankful and Friendly in Colliers Hill!
Be thankful for the friends you have when you celebrate Friendsgiving together at the master-planned community of Colliers Hill, with features like spacious kitchen islands, brand-new appliances and walk-in pantries. Billed as one of the safest and fastest-growing communities in Northern Colorado, with dozens of floor plans from Richmond American, KB Home and coming soon — Boulder Creek — you’ll find plenty of variety to suit your budget and style, starting in the high $400s.
