Friendsgiving is a celebration of the friends who we’ve been blessed to call family. This modern tradition is a way to celebrate connection in all of the best ways. Creating space to come together for the friends who answer your 3am calls, the ones that listen to you rehearse your presentation over and over again pretending this is the first time they’ve heard it, and friends who are so close that they know what’s in your fridge better than you do.
As the holiday season nears, there’s no better time to gather to appreciate one another whether it be over a meal, drinks, or a shared activity. The best part about friendsgiving is that it’s a tradition filled with versatility yet rooted in spirit.
These fun and intentional friendsgiving ideas for adults are worth the read as you prepare to host the most connected gathering for those who hold a special place in your heart.
Friendsgiving Ideas for Adults
Cozy Candlelight Dinner
Nothing beats a traditional candlelight dinner. Setting the tone for a relaxing and intimate evening is a gift in itself. With the world in a constant state of rush, this dinner party invites every guest to instantly slow down. A candlelit dinner is not only easily achievable, but it can also even influence everyone to be present in the moment putting away devices. Although the conversation will be rich and plentiful, your budget doesn’t need to be. A simple dinner with an appetizer, a main course, and dessert is all you need to have your guests leaving full both physically and emotionally. A really simple, yet elegant dinner trifecta is a soup or salad + pasta dish + a rich mousse.
Soup/Salad: a soup or salad can be as simple or extravagant as you’d like it to be while still being oh so tasty! A nice caesar or squash soup paired with freshly sliced bread is truly an understated pair.
Pasta: the options with pasta are truly endless. From creamy to brothy, white or red, pasta is always a universal “yes please”.
Mousse: The joy of mousse is the it’s a unique and delicate dessert, yet surprisingly easy to make. A simple dark chocolate mousse will have your guests begging you to make it at every gathering.
Dinner & Game Night
The only thing better than an amazing meal shared together among friends, is the joy of realizing the night is not over yet. Making the seamless transition from comfortable conversation reminiscing and catching up to laughter and intense competition is an amazing way to fit heartfelt moments and deep belly laughs all into one evening. Whether it be a classic game of murder mystery or a heated and intense game of uno, gathering on the couch or around the table to enjoy fun, harmless (hopefully) games makes for the most magical evening.
Potluck Style Dinner
As a host or hostess a potluck dinner is an amazing way to make everyone feel included, and to also take the pressure off of creating the perfect amount of all the right dishes. More than that a potluck add so much character and versatility to your dinner. The best part, kissing the last guest goodbye and walking past a sink free of dishes. A potluck dinner says community, in dishes of all color and sizes.
Show Up & Deliver
When your focus is to gather and connect over a shared meal, sometimes it matters not who took the time and care to make it. This is another fun, and unique way to gather together fostering inclusion that is still low pressure. After each guest arrives take a moment to decide a budget and allow each guest to order takeout from a restaurant of their choosing. This is a great way for many hands to make light work, but also still allows variety and personality in the choices that they find. By the time dinner is over everyone might walk out with a new favorite restaurant, making memories that linger long after your goodbyes.
Tip: Communicate this to guests ahead of time so that they can have time to brainstorm some ideas, and so they are also aware of the timeline of dinner.
Potato Bar Dinner
If you’re hosting friendsgiving for a group that loves simplicity and uniqueness, then a potato bar might be a great option. Whether it be sweet potato fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, this unique take is simple and really fun. Once you’ve prepared all of your potato bases, each guest can choose from all the fixins’ like meats, sauces, and whatever toppings you’d like. This is a great idea to add variety without needing a six course meal.
Dinner & Vision Boarding
As the year comes to close you and your friends have probably already started looking ahead. Dinner is perfect for celebrating the milestones that you’ve accomplished this year, and all of the joys that were found. A great post-dinner activity is to get a head start on mapping out goals, and aspirations, and even better you get to get creative and inspired with some of the people you cherish the most. You could do an old fashion vision board session with VOGUE magazines, glitter sharpies, and scissors, or you could even take a digital approach, inviting everyone to bring their laptops or iPads so that they can keep it safe and easily look back for frequent check ins as the new year unfolds.
The beauty of friendship is not just about the laughs and adventures shared, but it includes equal parts cheering each other on, and this is a great time to be intentional about doing so. Not only will your guests leave full, but they’ll also leave inspired.
Secret Recipe Exchange
This approach to friendsgiving is rich in nostalgia and storytelling. Each guest is not only bringing a dish, but they’re bringing something that’s special to them that has a personal memory attached. It’s a beautiful way to honor their story and your friendship. Whether they choose to divulge their Nana’s timeless secrets, or choose to sit back listening to everyone share what they get a hint of and offering guesses of what they suspect is included in the dish. Not only is it a fun conversation for the table, but it is an intimate moment, exchanging parts of each other’s history, getting to experience something important to them.
Whether your group is more traditional and intimate, or lively and boisterous, theres a gathering for everyone to share fond memories and create new ones and hopefully you’ve gained a little more inspiration from this list of friendsgiving ideas for adults. Friendsgiving is about connection and setting aside time to cherish one another.
Check out these game-changing hosting essentials before you go!
For inspiration for the perfect cozy drink to serve at your Friendsgiving this year check out this post!
