HOW TO HOST: FRIENDSGIVING

Friendsgiving can get overwhelming if you don’t have everything oganized

I love love LOVE Thanksgiving. Especially because I love turkey, carbs, my family, and of course the desserts. So in Dania land any excuse to have two Thanksgivings is a good enough excuse for me, and the concept of Friendsgiving sounds like one of those excuses. I’m hosting Friendsgiving this year! I’m a little nervous. I’ve had a lot of practice being the go-to Thanksgiving sides generator in my family, but being the only host of such a big feast sounds a little overwhelming. My Friendsgiving is coming up soon, so I thought I’d share my process of how to make this event actually happen successfully.

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Alright so first things first, you gotta figure out who you want at your party. This sets the precedent for everything else you need to do. Once you have all of that in order, then you have to brainstorm the menu. Personally, I don’t like having the same exact foods that I would have at Thanksgiving and that’s because it makes it less fun to have them the following week. I like to make variations of the meals. So for example, I’m thinking about having fried chicken instead of turkey or even like a stuffed Spanish Cornish hen. These types of dishes give off the same vibe as a home cooked meal, but gives some variety so you don’t have to eat the same thing twice. I apply that rule to all the other things on menu as well. So instead of mashed potatoes, maybe potatoes au gratin or instead of mac & cheese, maybe a fettuccine dish. Which brings me to my next point. The most important components of dinner include a protein, sauce, carb, vegetable, & dessert. Here’s my brainstormed list so far:

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Now it’s time to assign the responsibilities:

You know your friends better than anyone, so reassign based on their personality. The only one I recommend to stick with is the protein and the host. You don’t want something to go terribly wrong in between the transportation of the main dish, so it’s probably best to have the host prepare the protein. I don’t know how you all feel about desserts, but I’m probably going to recommend everyone BYOD (bring your own dessert) so we can all share from each other. If you end up having every component of the meal assigned with some people left with nothing to make, tell them to bring dessert. I mean, why not?

Some of my favorite table settings

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If you’re into doing things yourself, then stop by a local florist and create a few centerpieces just to make it a little more festive. I don’t like going too all out because my friends are low-maintenance. They will probably be watching football as they are eating, but it’s still nice to have a designated area for those who do want to sit and talk. You can always keep it casual too… around this time of year Party City & certain grocery stores have Thanksgiving themed paper plates (I mean, that will save you a lot of clean up time, right?) As for after dinner, grab a few games that you and your friends love to play (we love mafia & Taboo!) and have them sitting aside just in case the game ends or you want a change of pace. & of course the last step is to have fun! The entire point of Thanksgiving is to be thankful, and spending some extra time with friends is also something to be thankful for. Give Friendsgiving a try… you never know, it may become a new annual tradition.

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