We usually spend Thanksgiving around the dinner table with family enjoying the spread of Thanksgiving dishes that have been made. Thanksgiving is focused more around family and close friends.
In recent years, more and more people are celebrating what they call Friendsgiving. Our friends are like family so coming together to celebrate our friendships is something that should be done.
What is Friendsgiving?
Friends + Thanksgiving = Friendsgiving. Friendsgiving, in simple terms, is what we call a party that you have with friends on or around the Thanksgiving holiday. It is a time for friends to come together and enjoy each other as they celebrate their friendship and love for one another.
Think of it as a celebration that combines the best parts of Thanksgiving but includes a guest list and setup that isn’t as stressful as Thanksgiving. You know what that means right, no family drama that has to be dealt with! Just friends, good food, and fun.
When is Friendsgiving Celebrated?
The best thing about Friendsgiving is that you can celebrate it anytime throughout the year. There is no official date set in the calendar or a certain day that it is celebrated.
Since it is typically celebrated around the Thanksgiving holiday, most celebrate it on the weekend before Thanksgiving or the weekend after. However, you can do it on any day and at any time that works best for you and your guests.
What Do You Serve on Friendsgiving?
What you serve during your Friendsgiving celebration is really up to you and your friends. Typically, you’ll see a lot of the same things you would see at your traditional Thanksgiving feast, but you have the option to mix it up a bit if you want.
More and more Friendsgiving celebrations serve their food potluck style. Everyone can bring their own dish for all to enjoy. You can stick with the original Thanksgiving holiday foods we all love or get a little creative with flavors and do something unique.
While some do potluck-style dinners, many stick with some of the original rules or guides that are out there. For instance, if you are going with the traditional Thanksgiving menu, the host makes the turkey. This is because transporting a turkey isn’t easy so if you are hosting, you get to provide the turkey. Since the host makes the turkey, they also make the gravy.
With the traditional Friendsgiving way of doing things, the host is only responsible for the turkey/gravy or main dish and nothing else. Appetizers, side dishes, desserts, and other menu items are created and brought by the guests.
Another great thing about Friendsgiving is that everyone helps clean up. It is not just an eat and run kind of deal, everyone at the Friendsgiving dinner typically takes more responsibility and helps the host clean everything up.
Best Foods to Serve at Friendsgiving:
Depending on how you want to celebrate can help you determine what kind of food to serve. If you want to go with more of a traditional Thanksgiving meal you can include the following:
- Mashed potatoes with gravy.
- Corn
- Salad
- Cranberry Sauce
- Stuffing
- Pumpkin pie and other traditional desserts.
- Turkey
- Veggie dishes
- Your favorite appetizers.
Do We Have to Serve a Whole Thanksgiving Meal on Friendsgiving?
Nope! You can serve a whole spread of goodies if you want, but you certainly don’t have to. You can go as simple as serving some appetizers and filling dishes for guests too much on throughout the party while taking part in the activities.
You can also talk it over with a group and go out to eat at your favorite restaurant to celebrate. Or, order in so you can focus more on your time together without worrying about the food.
Are There Activities You Do to Celebrate Friendsgiving?
Many times, yes but it isn’t necessarily something that is expected or done. I mean, who wants to get together with their friends and just eat dinner? Why not make a fun party out of it and enjoy some games or activities with your friends since you are already together?
Some popular Friendsgiving activities include:
- A friendly game of tag football or outdoor sport.
- Board games
- Card games
- Enjoying a special Thanksgiving movie together.
- Play gratitude games.
- Play drinking games.
- Dance the night away.
- Arts and crafts.
These are just a few examples of activities that can be done on Friendsgiving. You know your friends best, what kind of activities would they enjoy doing? This is a great opportunity for you and your friends to start some new Friendsgiving traditions!
Friendsgiving is set to focus on your friends and the friendships that you have. It’s meant to be drama-free so set any negative feelings that you have aside and just enjoy your friends that have taken time out of their schedules to celebrate those friendships.
