A wonderful way to spend a holiday when you can't see your family: Friendsgiving!
Thanksgiving has traditionally been a time to travel back home to see extended family members while indulging in comfort foods that make you nostalgic for childhood. However, modern singles and families don’t always have the time or desire to make that long-distance trip, which is why Friendsgiving has become such a popular alternative to the standard Thanksgiving holiday. After all, it only makes sense to be thankful for all of our amazing friends too, right?
Whether this is your first time celebrating Thanksgiving or it’s become your yearly tradition, here’s how Potluck can help you pull it all together!
Friendsgiving Party Checklist
1. Divvy Up Food Responsibilities
2. Get Organized with Potluck
3. Decorate Your Table and Home
4. Set Up a Playlist
5. Plan Some Games
Divvy Up Food Responsibilities
Whether it’s Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving, this holiday is all about the food. Unless you’re a master chef, you’ll likely want some help preparing all the delicious dishes This is why Friendsgiving is the perfect opportunity for a potluck! You can go as traditional or as unique as you like with your Friendsgiving feast, especially if each of your guests is bringing a favorite dish.
Friendsgiving Tip #1: Don’t forget about the cocktails! Fall-themed drinks with the flavors of pumpkin, nutmeg, and apple are perfect for a Friendsgiving party.
Get Organized with Potluck
The Potluck app is perfect for Friendsgiving party planning because it ensures that everyone will bring something different so you don’t end up with four bowls of mashed potatoes and no gravy. The best part is that neither you nor your guests have to download anything to use the party planning tool and all get on the same page.
Decorate Your Table and Home
Friendsgiving decorations don’t need to be elaborate, just tasteful and fun to get everyone in the mood to celebrate. Many people embrace fall colors and themes with their Friendsgiving décor, but you can take a more eclectic approach if your group of friends has something really unique in common!
Friendsgiving Tip #2: For a natural touch, bring elements of the outdoors to your Friendsgiving dinner table with fall gourds, pumpkins, fresh herbs, and pine cones.
Set Up a Playlist
What makes a good Friendsgiving song? One that inspires nostalgia and coming together around good times with great people!
Friendsgiving might not have a built-in playlist in the way that the Halloween or Christmas holidays do, but there are still plenty of ways to fill your party with festive music for the occasion. Consider building your playlist around music from the era when you all first met, such as your high school or college days. If your guest list includes people from people from different social circles or newer friends, keep the music light and chill so it doesn’t get in the way of conversations.
Friendsgiving Tip #3: Use the chat box in the Potluck event page to ask for music suggestions from the group!
Plan Some Games
After you’ve finished your meal and cleared the dishes, the next step on your Friendsgiving checklist is to host a game night to keep the festive fun going on for a little longer. Card games, board games, and drinking games are always fun options. Bonus points if you have a pool table, ping pong table, or some yard games (if the weather isn’t too chilly outside).
Friendsgiving Tip #4: iPhone party games(like Heads Up) are always a big hit, but also consider renting a karaoke machine or hitting around a turkey piñata!