Are you hosting a Friendsgiving party this year? There’s less pressure for everything to be perfect when you’re just hanging out with your friends, but you still want to make the day special. Most importantly – you want everyone to eat well and have fun. If you’re not sure where to start with planning your gathering, these Friendsgiving party ideas will inspire you.
10+ Friendsgiving Party Ideas to Celebrate This Year
1. Send Awesome Invitations
Invitations make your Friendsgiving official. Whether you’re planning a small gathering or a big Friendsgiving party, one fun place to start is with your invites.
There are so many awesome invitations out there. You can find funny and adorable invitations on Etsy or even on Amazon. You can find free invites, too, like the one in the Pin above.
You can send your invites digitally or in the mail. You know your crowd, so choose the delivery method they’ll prefer.
2. Make Cute Place Cards for the Table
If you want to make your dinner a little more formal, you can create cute place cards for your table. Place cards let everyone know who’s sitting where.
You can set the place cards yourself and assign seats for your guests, or your guests can grab their name cards when they arrive and choose their own seats. It’s up to you.
Places cards have a practical use, but they also make your table look fancy.
You can use a design tool like Canva to make your own design, or you can find printable place cards online. There are plenty of free options out there, but you’ll also find sellers on Etsy and Amazon.
You can also get creative and use Thanksgiving-themed items as place cards. For example, you can write each guest’s name on a mini pumpkin and use them as name cards for your table.
3. Have a Buffet Style Dinner
One of our favorite Friendsgiving party ideas is to have a buffet-style dinner. Serving your food buffet-style makes the event feel a little more casual, but it also allows everyone to serve themselves at their own pace and keeps your table clean.
If you have a bar or island in your kitchen, you can set up the buffet here and even decorate it with fall-themed decor:
- Pumpkins
- Artificial leaves
- Candles
You can even add a chalkboard menu listing all the dishes at the buffet.
Don’t forget to add plates, silverware, napkins and other essentials to your bar.
4. Have Everyone Write What They’re Thankful For
Friendsgiving is not just about the food – it’s also about spending time with your besties. Planning a few activities will make your party memorable and fun.
One simple activity you can plan is to have everyone write what they’re thankful for. You can hang a large sheet of kraft paper on the wall and have everyone write what they’re thankful for, like in the Pin below.
Or you can use kraft paper as a table runner and give everyone a Sharpie to write what they’re thankful for on it.
We love this party idea because everyone should stop and appreciate all of the great things in their lives. It’s an activity that embodies the spirit of Thanksgiving.
Related: 15 Inspiring Thanksgiving Table Setting Ideas To Make Your Guests Feel Special
5. Set a Beautiful Table
We love Friendsgiving games and activities, but let’s face it – this party is mostly about sharing a meal together. It’s a dinner party.
So, make your table beautiful.
What makes a table beautiful? That depends on your personal style and the size of your table, but here are a few elements you should have:
- A nice table runner like one of these
- Pretty fabric napkins
- A centerpiece – here are a few amazing ideas
- Place settings for each guest (plates, silverware, glasses, etc.)
- Place cards
- Candles
You can add or remove whichever elements you want. If you need a more visual guide on how to set an elegant table, check out the tutorial below.
6. Play Games
Planning a few games will help keep everyone entertained while the food is finishing or after dinner. Games are a great way to get your guests laughing and making memories.
You can play a board game if that’s what your friends are into. If you’re not sure what to play, here are a few Friendsgiving party ideas for games:
Family Feud
Here’s a fun game to play with a bigger group of friends. The game family feud asks each “family” or team to name certain things, and if their answer matches the most common answers, they earn points.
To play this game, you’ll need a set of family feud cards and to break the group into two teams. You can find Thanksgiving-themed Family Feud printables on Etsy, or you can get the official Family Feud game.
The team with the most points wins a prize.
Fact or Fiction
Here’s a fun, simple game. Print out a list of Thanksgiving-related statements and have everyone write down whether each statement is fact or fiction.
The person with the most correct answers wins.
Riddle Game
Another fun printable Friendsgiving game is the riddle game. Create a list of riddles and a key with all of the possible answers. Everyone writes down their answers, and the one with the most correct answers wins.
7. Set Up a Photo Wall
Friendsgiving is an event to remember, so make it fun and easy to capture those memories. Set up a photo wall with:
- Friendsgiving balloons – like this ones from Amazon
- Pumpkins
- A backdrop
- Props – like this set from Amazon
You can get as simple or extravagant as you want. The most important thing is to make sure that everyone has fun when taking pictures together.
8. Give Party Favors
Everyone loves party favors. Send your friends home with something to remember the event and enjoy. The Pin above has an adorable favor idea: little jars of mulling spices.
It’s so easy to make these favors. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Mini jars to fill with your mulling spices
- A big bag of mulling spice mix – like this one from Amazon
- Spoons
- Twine
Fill the jars with the mulling spice mix, and use the twine to attach a spoon to each jar. Attach a tag with instructions on how to use the mix.
If mulling spices aren’t your thing, you can give:
- Jars of apple cider mix
- Jars of apple butter
- Bags of simmering potpourri
- S’more kits
Find a favor that you know your friends will love. You can DIY the whole thing, or find items from the store to repackage as a favor.
9. Make it a “Bring a Board” Party
Throw the whole potluck and traditional “Thanksgiving” meal idea out the window. Instead, host a “bring a board” Friendsgiving.
Everyone loves a good charcuterie board, right? Take this idea to the next level by asking everyone to bring their own board to share.
Here are some ideas:
- Fresh fruit and dipping sauces (chocolate, yogurt, etc.)
- Dessert with cookies, brownie bites, donuts and other sweets
- A variety of chips and dips
- Sushi board
- Bruschetta board with different toppings
- Appetizer board with tasty finger foods
The idea is similar to a potluck in that everyone brings a board to share. If you don’t care about eating traditional Thanksgiving food, then a board party is a great idea. You’ll have more food than you’ll know what to do with and so many different kinds of foods to try.
Related: 25+ Fancy Friendsgiving Finger Food Ideas on a Budget
10. Make a Killer Friendsgiving Playlist
We’ve shared so many fun Friendsgiving party ideas, but here’s one that you absolutely can’t forget: music. Every good party needs a good playlist, so make sure that you have one for your Friendsgiving party.
You can add whatever kind of music you and your friends like. Your playlist doesn’t necessarily have to be festive, but we still recommend sneaking in a few Thanksgiving or holiday songs for fun.
11. Set Up a Pie Bar for Dessert
Dessert is the best part of a party, right? And pie is the obvious choice for Friendsgiving dessert. So, why not set up a pie bar?
Food bars are a fun way to serve food, and you can decorate it however you want.
- Add a “pie bar” sign
- Set up a few pie stands
- Add signs for each pie, so your guests know what you’re serving
- Add some garland and other fall decor
Don’t forget to provide your guests with plates, forks and flatware. You can also offer a pot of coffee or tea to go with your dessert.
Related: 20 Insanely Good Pumpkin Dessert Recipes We Absolutely Love
12. Send Everyone Home with Leftovers
We all love Thanksgiving leftovers. There’s a good chance you’re going to have plenty of leftovers after the party, so why not share?
If you’re feeling creative, you can print out these adorable leftover bags and give them to your guests to take their leftovers home in. The tutorial above will show you how to print on paper bags.
You may also want to make sure that you have food storage containers for your friends to put their food in, or ask them to bring their own.
