I had my first “Friends-giving” EVER this year with my gal pals and it was a blast, not to mention that Friendsgiving gives you an excuse to get more than one Thanksgiving dinner! In this post, I will show you how to host a Friendsgiving and you will also be able to enter to win a giftcard to my FAVORITE boutique!
TABLE SETTING
A friends-giving is different from a regular Thanksgiving. It is more of a holiday social party rather than a cozy afternoon with the family. This type of affair calls for an extravagantly festive table setting to set the vibe.
Two things to focus on here, The overall setting and each individual setting.
OVERALL SETTING |
First, call your local nursery and order a fall centerpiece for your table. Be sure to tell them that it will be used during a dinner so that the centerpiece is made at a height that you can still see your guests while sitting at the table. If you have a smaller list of RSVP’s but more chairs at your table than needed, You can do what we did and order a taller table piece to put at the end of the table. (table piece from Millstone Nursery) This helps to shorten the area of table down to the amount that is actually used to give off a more intimate setting.
You can also hit up your local pumpkin patch to snag an array of unique colors and pumpkin shapes to make a shorter centerpiece down the center of the table.
INDIVIDUAL PLACE SETTINGS |
This is super simple. Get mini pumpkins from the patch or your local grocery store and pull out some striped or white table napkins for a little plate design. You can also put a little pumpkin tea light candle by each setting or in between settings for an evening intimate mood. (see the image above for pumpkin tea light candles)
WHAT TO COOK
Well Turkey of course! If you are the host, you are in charge of the turkey and stuffing, but the best thing about Friendsgiving is that everyone is required to bring a side! This means you don’t have to slave over tons of different dishes, you just have to get the turkey right!
Assign sides categories to each friend and make a list of what they decide to bring. Examples of “side categories” : Veggies, Fruits, Rolls, Desserts
WHAT TO WEAR
Since this IS a social gathering, you will want to be mindful of your attire. I recommend festive casual. This means choosing colors, knits, and textures that compliment the Thanksgiving season. Since the weather in Memphis is still mild, I chose to wear a light-weight, sleeveless mustard sweater tank and cream trousers from Beautiful Soul Boutique. I accented my outfit with a handcrafted Rust and Revival cuff and a beautiful gold dipped crystal statement necklace. I loved the dyed acrylic geo earrings and grey slip on open toed flats as well!
HOSTESS GIFT
If you have ever hosted Thanksgiving, you know that it is an all day cooking session. Why not say thank you for slaving over the stove with a special little gift? Seasonal candles are always a nice touch to brighten up a kitchen, or you can give your host a special spa bag with lots of little goodies for an evening of relaxation! I have listed my favorite hostess gifts from The Ivory Closet below!
Meet my Blogging Gal Pals
Bluff City Lights is the name and we are a group of Memphis blogging gals who want to help support our community with group blog posts on small business insights, monthly happenings, and our favorite finds! The four ladies in the group are, Yours truly…ME, Collins Thouy of Collins Closets, Megan of Pretty in Pink Megan, and Mary Conley of Living Lereve. I would love to invite you to check out each of our blogs to learn a little more on how we are so different individually, but harmonious together!
This post was originally published in November 2018 and has been updated as of November 2019.
