Can Friendsgiving please become an official holiday already? Because it’s kind of the best. Not only does it give you an excuse to eat double the stuffing and turkey you normally would, but you also get to spend a cozy afternoon sipping spiced wines and ciders with your best pals. On top of that, it’s easier to host than the traditional Thanksgiving where you have to deal with a micromanaging aunt and your passive-aggressive sister-in-law. (Collar tug.) We’ve come up with some solid tips to help you host the best Friendsgiving dinner ever, and with total ease.
Make it a potluck
Friendsgiving should involve friendsbringing. Make your event a potluck so everyone pitches in. Whether by casserole dish or portable slow cooker, sides are easy to transport. Take care of a pre-dinner mingle cheese plate, the main, gravy, and a side, and let your pals bring the rest. You can even specifically ask people to bring a bottle of wine.
Keep it intimate
As much as you want to introduce your hilarious co-worker to your BFF, and your single cousin to your charming new pal, chill out with the invites. The idea of hosting a huge get-together seems fab at first, but you’ll thank yourself in the end for keeping your guest list short and sweet. Just think: less food to prepare, less dishes to clean-up, and more time for good conversation and catching up with your faves. After all, you don’t want to be bustling between the dining room and the kitchen all night — you deserve some lax time too!
inventory + timeline
Thinking ahead is imperative, so get your planner out. You need a headcount in advance so you can make sure you have enough plates, silverware, and, most importantly, food and drinks. Then take a look at what you’re dishing up and note how much time each item will take to prepare and cook. Create a timeline for the day so that you can stay on top of things, be organized, and avoid the nightmare of forgetting something because you were in a tizzy. (It happens to the best of us.) Additionally, make a list of food your guests are bringing in case you need to fill in any blanks — you don’t want to end up with all carbs and no veggies. (Or do you?) Finally, double check with your guests for any food allergies or dietary restrictions and make sure that your menu has something for everyone.
Set a cozy, casual tone
Going overboard with kitschy decorating or getting overly fancy for a simple dinner party isn’t a great idea, especially when you’re hosting. Casual and cozy is what you should be aiming for so people can feel relaxed and at ease as they sip toasty drinks with their feet curled up on the couch. If you’ve got a fireplace, fire it up. A slow cooker filled with mulled wine is also a great idea — not only does it offer your guests a warming drink, but it’s also aromatic so you don’t have to light any headache-inducing scented candles.
Take advice from the experts
Loads of people in this world are natural-born hosting mavens, and some of them have been kind enough to write books about it in order to lend us their expertise; we should be taking *full* advantage of this. Alexandra Shytsman is one of those experts and, in her 100+ page book titled Friendsgiving, she outlines *everything* you need in order to be the host with the most. We’re not just talking recipes here — we’re talking meal-prep timelines, cheese board essentials, useful tools to have on hand, a music playlist, and even a universal conversion chart for easy measuring.
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