What the heck is Friendsgiving?

We are coming into that time of year, where we are so busy with holiday obligations. I find the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. It always goes by so quickly that a few years ago I decided to slow it down a bit and be more deliberate in my celebrations m. 

Let’s face it there are only so many days and so much time that we have to spend with friends versus family. There are so many obligations, depending on the ages of our family that wear us out! So why not plan a launch to the holiday season with an event with your friends? That was the birth of Friendsgiving for me. 

Why Friendsgiving?

Why do I like Friendsgiving so much? There are many reasons, but let me break it down for you. 

1. You get to throw a party! You know me! I love a reason to throw a party. 
2. It’s a great way to work out the kinks of upcoming holiday entertaining. I do not usually recommend trying a new dish for a dinner party, but testing out some thing that you might’ve tried once or twice to see if it is “holiday worthy” is a great thing to share on your friends. 
3. Your menu can be “fallish”, but not a traditional Thanksgiving, if that makes sense. My family prefers to have the same thing year after year after year for Thanksgiving. While I love and embrace traditions, sometimes you just want to try something else. This is a great way for you to try that dish or have a little twist on a theme. You will still be able to do your traditional dishes that your family requests. Here is an example of what I mean. Last year when I did Friendsgiving, I did a south west theme. I am a Midwestern girl, with a southern soul, who lived in New England most of her life, so southwest is something that’s new to me. I really love the flavors of the southwest, but my family would be very upset if that is what I served on their traditional Thanksgiving day. 
4. You don’t have to serve turkey! You can do whatever you want for Friendsgiving. Friendsgiving is an opportunity to create an environment for fellowship, laughter and bonding over a meal. It does not have to be your Thanksgiving-ish type foods. If you really love making lasagna, then you make lasagna. If you want burgers on the grill, then do burgers on the grill! This is a made-up holiday that you can do whatever the heck you want to. 
5. You also have an occasion to dress up if you’d like. I’d love a reason to get dressed up and especially since I no longer have a W-2 job. I don’t mean in a tuxedo, but the opportunity to wear a certain dress, or that fancy sequin blouse that’s been sitting in the back of your closet. You set the theme!

Sounds great! Now what?

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be sharing ideas for a Friendsgiving menu on my Instagram page. I will share reels and the recipes will be located here on my blog. I will also share some fun table styling ideas for fall entertaining.

If you are interested in hosting a Friendsgiving, I highly suggest setting a date now and get those invites out! The perfect time to do it is a week or two before Thanksgiving just before the crazy hits. I promise it will get you in a celebratory mood for the rest of the year.