I want to host a Friendsgiving but need it to be in a budget and need to admit this is out of my comfort zone. Any tips? Trying to bring together this wonderful community we live in and not get hung up on a beautiful decorated home.

Question

What Would Caroline Cook · Answer

What Would Caroline Cook: Do it! I’m sharing a Thanksgiving Series over on Substack and Instagram! Join along and make your party what YOU want! Delegating out food and drinks can help bring the cost down and my number one suggestion is ask around for any tableware, decor you might be looking for! Friends, neighbors, family! Most people are very willing to share as long as you get it back to them clean and promptly! No need to overspend! Good luck and have fun! I admire you for your interest in hosting even when you don’t have much experience…YET!!

Kath · Answer

Assorted Friendsgiving / Holiday Get Together Tips: I am passionate about homegrown community gatherings like this, so I have a lot of thoughts. Take what applies and leave the rest. Sry if this is overwhelming <3

If your community has a variety of cultures represented, it could be fun to ask everyone to bring a celebration food from their culture. You might get a few traditional Thanksgiving dishes plus a bunch of more unique offerings, and people tend to enjoy sharing about beloved cultural foods.

If that isn’t the vibe, having a shared list where everyone can sign up to bring something (and all items are visible to the group so that folks can fill in the gaps well) can be helpful. I typically use a Google doc, Google sheet, or email chain for this. I like to get it started with what I’ll provide as the host (e.g., turkey, rolls, and sparkling water) and let it be open ended from there, and people generally choose items that round out the meal nicely. You can provide as much or as little structure as you think is helpful for your group.

In your invite, you can even include a little message outlining the “this is a first for me so I’ll need some support, but I can’t pass up the chance to get this cool group of people together” sentiment. If it’ll help you be more present, you can assign tasks ahead of time to friends who are willing – someone to make a playlist and bring a Bluetooth speaker, someone on ice-in-the-cooler duty, etc. People love to pitch in when given the opportunity. Unless they’re losers. Which it doesn’t sound like your community is.

Worth checking Goodwill for any dishes you’ll need. I’ve found great assorted stemware, plates, and serve ware in the past for parties like this for super cheap! Also no shade if you want to go the paper plates route.

Lower the bar in terms of aesthetic expectations you set for yourself. If sourcing secondhand decor like colored candles and autumnal place settings is fun for you, go off! But if it’s stressful, then rock with what you already own or make a quick trip to Walmart or the Dollar Store for any basics. Remind yourself that people will remember an interesting conversation they had or delicious dish they tried or the joy of being in a bustling apartment sooner than they’ll remember bangin decor or the lack thereof.

You rock for coordinating this! It is so nice to give people an opportunity to be together.