Holidays

33 Wholesome Friendsgiving Dinner Party Ideas for 2024

by: Ashley Reut

Last Updated on Sep 12th 2024

It’s never too early to be grateful for amazing friends, and these Friendsgiving dinner party ideas will have you in the mood for a party. As the temperatures drop and the leaves begin to change, that means Halloween and Thanksgiving are around the corner.

For many, the time around loved ones and the incredible Thanksgiving food ideas make this a day to look forward to all year. But practicing gratitude as much as possible is important, and one day just isn’t enough. According to Positive Psychology, gratitude has a domino effect throughout your day and your life, starting with your social well-being and extending to your psychological well-being.

Sounds like the doctor ordered Friendsgiving dinner parties to become a more regular part of your life! But what is a Friendsgiving party exactly? Just as it sounds, Friendsgiving is a Thanksgiving celebration with your friends as opposed to your family.

Give yourself something to look forward to by curating the perfect party games for adults along with some seasonal Thanksgiving charcuterie board bites as part of the best Friendsgiving dinner party. The best part is, this event is typically done potluck style so everyone gets a hand in making an enjoyable afternoon or evening together. Read on to discover what food is served at Friendsgiving and how to plan a Friendsgiving dinner party.

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Friendsgiving Dinner Party Themes

1. Friendsgiving High Tea

High Tea for Friendsgiving Dinner Idea — *High tea (via Canva)*

For many, the food coma that ensues after a Thanksgiving day meal can lead to a slump that lasts for days or even weeks.

Your Friendsgiving dinner party doesn’t have to be heavy with this creative take. Make it an afternoon tea party and offer turkey finger sandwiches and petite bites of sweets along with some cinnamon Rooibos tea or pumpkin spiced lattes.

2. Donate Your Food Instead

This is sort of an un-Friendsgiving dinner party idea, but it will warm the hearts of many. You can still get together and share a charcuterie board and some fall-themed drinks, but instead of spending money to create a big buffet of food that might go to waste, put that money towards shelf-stable donations to a local food shelf.

You can make the occasion fun by grocery shopping together and dropping the items off as a group. Nothing makes you feel more grateful for what you have than spending time around people less fortunate.

3. Wine Tasting

This Friendsgiving dinner party idea is best done with a small to medium-sized group, and when everyone has multiple hours to stay and drink and relax before catching a cab home. Have your guests bring a bottle of their favorite wine, along with a side dish that pairs well with it and host your very own makeshift wine tasting.

Each person will stand up and present their wine, stating the name, vintage and some tasting notes. With the right amount of people, everyone enjoys just a couple of sips of each bottle. You can easily make this theme lean towards Fall with wine and side choices.

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4. Gratitude Board

Welcome your guests with an easy Friendsgiving dinner party idea: a gratitude board alongside the rest of your festive fall table décor. Put together a quick, rustic chalkboard made fancy with a recycled frame, and leave your board out where everyone can see it and add to it.

The buffet line, along with the food, is a great spot so people can hang around and read other people’s answers. This helps to shift the focus back to what the day is really about, and it doubles as a festive decoration.

5. Pie Making Competition

Pies are a Thanksgiving classic at almost every celebration. Give the people what they really want at your Friendsgiving dinner party: lots and lots of pie. Hosting a friendly pie competition is a win-win because you get a built-in activity (the tasting and judging) and lots of delicious Thanksgiving sweets.

You can go about this one of three ways. One, let everyone make their family recipe for the same type of pie; two, let everyone make the pie of their choice and decide which one is best; three, provide ingredients but no recipe and see who has the best baking intuition.

6. Make it a Brunch

Everyone is used to their Thanksgiving meal being a mid-afternoon or evening affair. Switch it up and make your Friendsgiving dinner party menu into a brunch theme.

There are tons of mouthwatering Fall breakfast dishes to enjoy instead of the traditional items you’re likely to see on the real Turkey Day. This is one of those Friendsgiving ideas that is pleasantly unexpected.

7. Roll Out the Orange Carpet

There’s nothing wrong with a casual and cozy Friendsgiving dinner party theme, but it can be a fun excuse to go all out. Make it a glitzy Hollywood-esque event with an orange carpet and photo booth. Encourage friends to wear their sharpest outfits and don’t forget a tray of champagne or sparkling apple juice when they walk through the door.

8. Skip the Fall Color Scheme

Of course, you can always stick with the traditional tones if you love them that much, but there’s no rule that says your Friendsgiving dinner party has to be in shades of red, orange and yellow.

Depending on where you live, you could incorporate hues from outdoors, so if you live somewhere beachy, try soft blues and tan or if you live in the mountains, gray and teal or gray and burnt red. If you want to stay somewhat traditional, consider using shades of rose gold and deep blush pink for a Fall-ish spread.

9. Make it a Costume Party

Costume Friendsgiving Dinner Party Idea — *Party costumes (via Canva)*

There are so many directions to take this Friendsgiving dinner party theme. You can open it up as a free-for-all, choose a theme (maybe something based on a movie or TV show?) or have everyone dress up as turkeys.

This just adds a little extra fun to the function and gives everyone something to talk and laugh about. You can truly do this with any dinner party idea.

10. Channel Celebrity Chefs

Take your costume party a step further and have everyone dress up as their favorite celebrity chef. From Guy Fieri to Martha Stewart or even Chef Remy from Ratatouille, guests must dress up and bring along a dish by their chef of choice.

Stay in character for as long as possible and enjoy the delicious dishes from the Food Network or the Cooking Channel. You can also go the Chopped route with a smaller group and challenge your friends to use random ingredients in their Friendsgiving dinner party dishes.

Friendsgiving Dinner Party Food Ideas

11. Take a Cooking Class

Cooking class for Friendsgiving — *Friendsgiving cooking class (via Classpop!)*

Take the pressure off of those who don’t know their way around the kitchen or simply explore new cuisines together when you book cooking classes in Baltimore, cooking classes in Fort Worth or cooking classes in Seattle. Wherever you live, there are cooking classes near you that make for a perfect Friendsgiving dinner party.

Skip the grocery shopping and clean-up while still enjoying the camaraderie of cooking together. Plus, you can learn professional techniques to create dishes from all over the globe, so you can leave the turkey for another day and try spicy Thai street food, Mexican delights including hand-pressed tortillas or keep things light and fresh by rolling your own sushi.

12. Home Town Representation

Everyone has a different tradition for Thanksgiving, and attending or hosting a Friendsgiving dinner party or your partner’s family Turkey Day celebration might be one of your best chances to experience new dishes.

While other countries may not have a Thanksgiving, you can encourage friends to bring their favorite celebratory dish that represents their culture. You’re almost always going to have the classic turkey, cranberries and potatoes on the real holiday, so enjoy some more unique dishes with this idea.

13. Seasonal Ice Cream Bar

Believe it or not, pie is not universally loved. But do you know what is? Ice cream. Skip the traditional selection of pies and create a festive seasonal ice cream bar for your Friendsgiving dinner party.

Offer vanilla ice cream and a cinnamon or sweet potato pie flavor for the base. Swap chocolate fudge sauce for salty caramel and sprinkle with coffee cake crumbles. Instead of the cherry on top, use a cinnamon sprinkle apple wedge.

14. Themed Cookies

Everything is just a precursor to dessert anyway, so why not make it the star of your Friendsgiving dinner party? You can take this in multiple directions, from classic shortbread cookies made with festive cookie cutters that double as décor or place cards to offering a cookie decorating station as an activity. Or, get your baking-loving friends on board by bringing a few different flavors of Fall cookies to enjoy.

15. Bake a Cake

Baking a cake as a Friendsgiving Dinner Party Idea — *Baking a cake for Friendsgiving (via Canva)*

With plenty of pie in the forecast, there’s nothing wrong with making your Friendsgiving dinner party your own. Instead of the usual pumpkin, pecan or apple pies, have your favorite cake instead.

You can still be festive with a Friendsgiving cake topper, and can even channel Fall flavors by making a maple, pumpkin or cinnamon-forward cake.

16. Group Effort Charcuterie

This Friendsgiving dinner party idea works best if you can count on your people to show up on time. Pool together your favorite snacks and create the ultimate Thanksgiving appetizer: a giant snack board.

Each guest can bring their favorite cheese, cured meat, dried or fresh fruit or savory bites like olives or cornichons. Cover your countertop with butcher paper and set out supplies to chop, slice or break off chunks of cheese, fruit and other goodies. Work together to create a gorgeous grazing table and enjoy.

17. Chips and Dip Shooters

Everyone loves chips and dip, and it’s a fantastic dish to feed the crowd. For your Friendsgiving dinner party, make cute shooters of chips and dip using small cups or shot glasses. Fill the bottom with a creamy French onion dip, add a sprinkle of bacon and cheese and stick a few chips in the top.

Place them on a nice serving tray and these can be passed around and enjoyed while people mix and mingle. You might want to save this idea or your Super Bowl party too.

18. Fall Baked Brie

What’s better than a nice wedge of brie cheese? A gooey, melty wheel of brie! There are several ways to dress up this appetizer for your Friendsgiving dinner party.

Wrap it in puff pastry dough and add a layer of raspberry, cranberry or fig jam. Top it with sweet and spicy pecans or pumpkin butter and bake at 350 until soft and melty.

19. Make a Group Cocktail

In less classy terms, you can make communal jungle juice with whatever your guests bring. You can make it risky by telling guests to bring whatever they want, or offer some direction and have a guaranteed delicious bowl of punch.

Make it fancy with a giant ice cube made in a bundt pan, adorned with citrus slices or herbs. This is one of the easiest Thanksgiving cocktails to serve a lot of guests.

20. Turkey Meatballs

Skip the whole roast bird and keep it finger-food-friendly with turkey meatballs. You can stick to Thanksgiving flavors by adding sage and dried cranberries or go completely outside the box with Asian or Italian flavors.

Your Friendsgiving dinner party can be cocktail-style with passed-around bites like this one for a less labor-intensive prep.

21. Thanksgiving Hoagies

If you live on the East Coast anywhere near a Wawa, then you likely look forward to their world-famous Gobbler hoagie around Thanksgiving.

If you’re not familiar, it’s a sandwich made with all the best Thanksgiving leftovers, and you can recreate it with ease for your Friendsgiving dinner party. Hoagie bread or mini rolls, layered with turkey, cranberries, stuffing and a drizzle of gravy.

22. Pumpkin Bread Challah

Test out your Thanksgiving goodies with a Friendsgiving dinner party, like a stunning handmade loaf of challah bread, shaped like a pumpkin. Don’t forget the cinnamon stick stem! This is a labor of love, but it’s more than worth it when you slice into light, fluffy bread straight out of the oven.

23. Mac and Cheese

Mac n Cheese Friendsgiving Dinner Party Idea — *Mac and cheese for Friendsgiving dinner (via Canva)*

Mac and cheese is a polarizing dish when it comes to the holidays– for some, it’s commonplace, but for others, it doesn’t belong anywhere near a holiday spread.

Whatever side you fall on, it’s a crowd-pleaser and pretty easy to make for your Friendsgiving party. Take it up a notch by adding bacon or toasted bread crumbs. And maybe serve a healthy Thanksgiving salad on the side.

24. Try Different Stuffing Recipes

There are so many stuffing recipes out there, many that have been passed down year after year. But there are also tons of modern recipes that might tantalize your tastebuds, and your Friendsgiving dinner party is the perfect chance to try something new.

Try a crunchy pecan and cornbread stuffing, or go way out of the box with a cheeseburger stuffing recipe. This would be an easy dish for a little friendly cooking competition.

25. Dessert Cocktails

You can hit two birds with one stone by serving up some sweet, dessert-themed cocktails at your Friendsgiving dinner party. A chocolate espresso martini or pumpkin-spiced cocktail can be pretty filling and negate the need for a slice of pie altogether. Lighter options like a caramel apple shot or apple pie spritzer still hit the sweet mark without being quite so heavy.

Friendsgiving Dinner Party Games

26. Paint and Sip

Turn your Friendsgiving dinner party game into a creative workshop with canvases and paints. Snack and sip on wine or cocktails as you gather around and create a festive Fall art creation.

You can all paint your own version of the same masterpiece or make it a free-for-all. You can even book into online paint and sip with a professional guide.

27. Thanksgiving Bingo

Bingo is one of the only party games for Thanksgiving that requires absolutely zero skill but will still send people into a competitive frenzy. Make up your own holiday-themed bingo game for your Friendsgiving dinner party.

Play it during cocktail hour or dessert with a simple and free downloadable template or put some time into it and customize it with friends’ faces. This is a great Thanksgiving activity for the real day, too.

28. Work Together to Make a Portrait

If you love to get crafty, then this Friendsgiving art idea is something you’ve got to try. Before the big day, settle on a photo for the group to re-create. Something like a pet, a landscape shot or a close-up shot works best.

Take it to a printer to blow the image up, then use a ruler to divide it into equal parts. During cocktail hour or after the meal, each person is assigned one square to paint and given a blank canvas and a cut-out square of their piece of the photo.

When it’s all over, put your hand-painted pieces together for an artistic final product. This Friendsgiving dinner party activity can turn out to be a beautiful piece of hanging wall art or transformed into a unique tray. If you want to go on a smaller scale, just paint your Thanksgiving nails with the colors of the season.

29. Group Crafts

Channel arts and crafts time from your childhood by assembling a big craft station at your Friendsgiving dinner party.

From gluing feathers on your hand-print turkey to more adult crafts like beading, quick-dry clay or stitching, this is a great way to relax and unwind after the big meal. You can find ways to add a competitive element to some crafts if that’s something you just can’t live without.

30. Have a Game Night

Game night Friendsgiving Dinner Party Idea — *Friendsgiving game night (via Canva)*

Pull out the old-fashioned board games for a fun post-Friendsgiving dinner party activity. Depending on the size of your group, you may need to have a few game stations going at once.

You can even include virtual games like Murder Mystery, where you can throw the whole party around that. Other board games like Monopoly, Sequence and Sorry! are always popular too. Attending as a guest? Bring your favorite game with a bow on top as a lovely Thanksgiving gift idea or hosting gift.

31. Play Trivia

There are so many fun ways to include a round or two of trivia in your Friendsgiving dinner party plans. From pop culture to sports or friend-group-specific questions, everyone loves trivia. Form small groups or play individually and see who reigns supreme.

32. Make Wreaths

Get hands-on with your holiday crafting and make decorative wreaths. You can pick up supplies at your local craft store to create faux floral and greenery wreaths or live greens from a greenhouse. This is a fun post-Friendsgiving dinner party game or activity to keep the holiday cheer going. There are tons of tutorials online to guide you if you’re a beginner.

33. Yard Games

If you’re lucky enough to live someplace that’s mild during the month of November, take advantage by bringing the games outside. Classic games like cornhole (also known as bags), bocce ball, or Kubb are a fun addition to your Friendsgiving dinner party before or after the big meal.

Friendsgiving dinner parties can end up being even more fun and memorable than actual Thanksgiving. Spending the day with your best friends as you cook, eat and make memories sounds a lot more fun than making awkward conversation with your weird cousin. And with so many amazing ways to throw a Friendsgiving dinner party, you might want to throw or attend more than one.

Share the work and responsibility by asking friends to bring a dish or help you cook, and don’t put too much pressure on yourself to go all-out with decorations or details. The day is all about friendship and gratitude.

For even fun Friendsgiving ideas, check out other experiences on Classpop!