Happy FRI-YAY, everyone!! It’s officially November, which means it’s time for THANKSGIVING season to begin. I fully believe in celebrating October, November and December separately with their respective holidays, so I am in the full swing of things for Thanksgiving. We have a lot of traditions in our family for this day because Adam’s fam are BIG Thanksgiving people. It’s the holiday when ALL of my in-laws get together with the kids (and chaos ensues). We go down to celebrate in Louisiana, and it’s always warm (both in weather and fuzzy feelings). 🙂 Last year we had the brilliant idea of putting brown paper down on that table and the whole family was able to draw on the table during dinner – which was a lifesaver with busy kids. BUT the only downside to spending a week in LA with the fam, is we miss being able to celebrate with our dearest friends, too! So, 2018 is the year of the first FRIENDSGIVING in the new Mobley house – and I need all the tips I can get to making sure it goes off without a hitch. Let’s dive into this.
How To Host Your First Friendsgiving (The STRESS-FREE Way)
Bring friends from all areas of your life together.
This is the time to invite ALL of the friends you love – even if they aren’t from the same circle. It’s an awesome time to bring everyone in your life around the same table, laughing at the same things, together. I love that there isn’t a limit to who you can invite. SO. Go crazy with your guest list. Invite your friends, your couple friends, your significant other’s friends, your neighbors. Anyone you can think of that you’d want around your table this time of year.
Delegate kitchen tasks OR host it potluck style.
Do NOT – I repeat – do NOT try to cook everything yourself (unless, of course, that is totally your thing). That literally sounds like my worst nightmare so I would never do that BUT I would delegate cooking tasks (so you don’t end up with an underdone turkey – find out how to avoid that here) and/or host it potluck style. Potluck is always best in my opinion because you have WAY less dishes, everyone is responsible for only one thing and it’s all ready to go by the time everyone gets there. If you are all cooking together – make sure you are up to date on keeping yourself safe in the kitchen!
Make sure you know about dietary restrictions.
Grab any dietary restrictions ahead of time and pass them out to your guests if you are doing it potluck style. There is nothing worse than being the only one at the party who can’t enjoy any of the food. Don’t let your guests feel left out by not providing ANYTHING for them to eat. Do your best to make sure there is at least some of the main course (and dessert) they can partake in.
Have a timeline sent out ahead of time.
Don’t rush yourself at the last minute. Plan out who is arriving when, and if you are sharing the kitchen, who is cooking when. There isn’t any reason to rush yourself so much that you don’t even enjoy the afternoon. Let everyone know what time activities are happening and when to show up and you won’t have any issue!
Keep the conversation flowing.
I love the tradition of putting “thankful” cards underneath plates at Thanksgiving. Everyone gets a card, and they have to write one thing they are thankful for – and then at dinner, you go around and say your thing. It’s an awesome way to find out what is most important to your friends, and can start some really awesome and meaningful conversations.
Create a nature-inspired table scape.
I love this. Pull from nature around you to create a beautiful table scape. Keep it simple (the food is what is important here) and go for a simple garland down the center. Avoid tall centerpieces, because you’ll miss the faces of your friends surrounding you. Go for pretty name cards and place settings instead!
Keep your priorities in check.
At the end of the day, remember, you are here to be with the ones you love. Don’t let anything get in the way of that. Mishaps will happen, and if you are me, sometimes your dishes don’t always work out. But that shouldn’t ruin your afternoon or evening. What is important is that you are with your friends and they love you no matter what.
PIN THIS FOR LATER:
Friendsgiving is such a fun tradition and one that I really feel is important this time of year (much like Galentine’s Day is to Valentine’s Day!!). Family is SO important to me – but family isn’t just blood in our house. Adam and I believe if you are there for us, and show up in our life, you are family. However, we totally get not everyone can fit around my mother-in-law’s dining room table. 😉 So this is such a fun way to get everyone together, eating good food and enjoying each other’s company.
Do you celebrate Friendsgiving? What is your favorite way to do so? Let me know in the comments below!
Great tips, thanks for sharing.
These are awesome tips! My friends and I always do a Friendsgiving – so much fun! Love your set-up!
These are all such great ways to destress the organization for many dinner parties! Thanks for the suggestions and wishing your friendsgiving this year goes as smoothly as possible 🙂 xo, Suzanne http://www.suzannespiegoski.com
This post is incredible! I’m favoriting it for sure. So many great tips, especially on the not trying to take on too much yourself. I also agree on the separation of holidays. It allows each of them to have their own moment instead of smashing them in to one season.
Taylor your innovations and designing styles with apparels are mind blowing. I was wondering as you a fit girl, you must do take care of your diet as well. Mind doing a blog regarding which healthy food and nutrition should one take to stay slim?
These are excellent tips! I haven’t hosted Friendsgiving before but my best friend is hosting this year and I know she’s a bit stressed about it. I’ll forward this post to her. I’m sure she can use it!