About four or so years ago, my husband and I decided to host our first Friendsgiving. I have no idea where I got the idea from, probably Pinterest to be honest, but it sounded like a great idea and I jumped on it. Over the years, I have seen it get more popular and I love that so many friends are gathering together!! For our first year, it was very small and we only invited some of our friends from high school that we stayed close to. But from the second everyone got there, I realized what an amazing idea this truly was.
We have no rules for Friendsgiving, except you need to bring a side dish. I provide the turkey (okay I have to admit … I buy a turkey from Rouses because this girl still hasn’t gotten that brave)! All of our friends bring a side or dessert of their choosing. It can be a dish you grew up with at your Thanksgiving table or maybe something you just want to try! I don’t know about you, but I was totally shocked that we didn’t all eat the same thing for Thanksgiving!! I expected the norms – sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, pecan pie. But y’all, it was so cool and yummy to see everyones favorite dishes.
Every year we have invited more and more people, and it has been cool to see our friends from different places interact and get to know each other too. It has become one of my favorite traditions that I look forward to each year. Our friends are truly amazing and we love celebrating how thankful and grateful we are with them each year.
One of my favorite parts is that this is something you can totally make your own. Our first few years, we literally sat on the floor or on the couch because our table wasn’t big enough! As the years have passed, it has evolved into a more normal seating arrangement, but those first few will always be my favorite because it showed me that it didn’t matter if I didn’t have all the fancy party stuff. We still eat on paper plates and use plastic utensils because I still don’t have enough plates and silverware. We also still don’t have a dining room table large enough, so we have to borrow plastic tables and chairs from family.
If you take anything from reading this, I hope this gives you the courage to plan your first Friendsgiving. Don’t let your situations stop you. Believe me, I have had many reasons to say no but it has turned into one of my favorite days of the year and it is a day I cherish so much.
