(Friends)Giving 2015 Tips and Tricks

Welcome to November!  I cannot express how much I just love this eleventh month of the year.  It really is a wonderful time in our home and I hope that it is full of fun and festivities in yours as well.

Last Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving 2013

Every year on Thanksgiving my family travels to Boone, North Carolina for Thanksgiving Lunch and to get our Christmas tree at {Greene Tree Farm}.  To be honest with you:  this is a tradition I live for. 

All fall I have really longed to have our friends over to eat and hang out by a bonfire.  Unfortunately, with the husband’s work schedule it has been quite impossible to host our friends for a laid back fall evening.  With the season winding down later in the month, I felt like my opportunity was slipping away.

Then it hit me:  Friendsgiving!

So…Guess what we’re hosting this year? Ha!

I am super excited to host an evening for our treasured friends and their children!  I have been doing a lot of planning and researching as to how I can make this a relaxed and memorable time with the family we have had the pleasure to hand pick.  

Today I have compiled my ideas to make Friendsgiving (hopefully) a success.  I hope you can gain a bit from this post too!

1.         Choosing the Date

Thanksgiving is such a busy time of the year for so many people.  I decided the date for our gathering a month prior to the actual day we would all get together.  I did this for several reasons including:

*Traditional plans – This is a holiday truly based around tradition!  I wanted to make our event far enough out that we could get a good early head count on how many would be attending.  This also helps us to know if the date may need to be changed to an earlier or later time. 

*Public Service Jobs – Some of our friends are in public service and that means holidays are just another work day.  Many times schedules are made in three month intervals so I wanted to give them a chance to let us know if they wanted to attend and if they needed to try to get coverage for their shift. 

*Deals – I opted to have our Friendsgiving after Thanksgiving. Face it, when a holiday has passed prices drop significantly!  This isn’t just a perk for the host but also for those coming out.  You’ll see why as you keep reading.

2.         Invitations

Though I’m a sucker for handwritten anything slash cardstock with beautiful designs – I opted to use Facebook Events to create a private event and send out the invites through that portal.  But why?  It seems we all have Facebook on our phones and it is instant knowledge if someone can or cannot come out.  Plus, it saves you postage (which you won’t scrimp on for Christmas cards ha!).

3.         The Food

Per the invitation if you can come then you need to bring a dish.  This is what I love most about this style of event, it can be potluck! The host can be responsible for the main dish and bread but your friends pitch in and bring a side dish.  For those who aren’t very good in the kitchen then let them bring something store made!  It is ok you anti-betty-crockers! Remember what I said about saving money?  We will apply that principle here.  Festive foods will be on sale after Thanksgiving. We’ll all save some loot on the dishes we bring because of good grocery store sales.

4.        Decoration

Once again a huge savings here!  If your Friendsgiving is post-Thanksgiving then you can save major money on your decorations for the table.  Many places are offering Thanksgiving décor at 80-90% off one week before the holiday and then an additional savings the weekend following Turkey Day.  Take advantage of these sales and get good décor that will last for many Thanksgivings to come.

Don’t forget to step into your own backyard as well!  Acorns can be painted, leaves can be dried and placed in hurricane vases, sticks and twigs can be made festive with some spray paint. 

Remember that this holiday is played down when it comes to décor.  You may not want to have much if any out at all.  I think a pretty centerpiece is the key to a gorgeous time anyway!

5.        Dinner ware

I am going to share a crazy little factoid about myself:  I love the random dishes at thrift shops.  I know it is odd.  For our Friendsgiving I’m scouring the Goodwill, Salvation Army, and other thrift shops for fall themed plates and servers.  I am not a matchy-matchy person and if I can find a few vintage-esque plates I will be over the moon.  Also, this is way cheaper than buying a full set of new dishes.  You can even send home left overs on these cheap finds – for 25cents a plate that is an awesome takeaway gift from the dinner!

If you do not want to have dishes to wash after the dinner then you can probably score some cute disposable sets at Party City and Dollar Tree.

6.         Kids are welcome J

I have kids and many times I would rather have them go see Nana or get a sitter so I can enjoy some kid free time with friends.  Here’s the deal though, children are a huge blessing and Thanksgiving isn’t a time to ship them off!  With that being said: I’m not planning anything special to keep them occupied.  I am hoping that the weather is nice so they can be outdoors and I’m also going to make sure I have a movie on standby and plenty of popcorn! Remember it is dark by 6pm this time of year.

7.         Utilize the outdoors

Many of you may be going cross-eyed at number seven.  I understand that if you live in the northeast or upper Midwest you think I am crazy.  Remember guys, I’m in the South, and I consider that a huge blessing!  If you are able to – set up your dinner table outdoors!  It will do the interior of your home a huge favor.  My goal is that we can dine outside and then enjoy a little bourbon and cider by a fire while the kids watch a movie.  Of course I know I am dreaming as it will probably rain cats and dogs and the kids will be begging for something to tear up!  Let me dream!  And let me concoct a back-up plan!  (Maybe that’s a teaser for another post!)

8.         Enjoy your friendship

Keep this event low key and fun.  This is about relishing the friends you have and this season of your life.  Tomorrow will bring its own challenges. Just take this evening to be thankful for the wonderful people God has placed in your life and the way you all support each other through the years.  This event excites me so much because of all the wonderful things that have happened this year:  one couple welcomed their third (surprise) baby in May; another celebrated their first wedding anniversary, while another just met this year and are the cutest couple on the face of the earth!  Celebrations of friendships should never be put on the backburner!