20 Wildly Underrated Friendsgiving Ideas That Everyone Will Actually Enjoy

Friendsgiving is such a fun tradition to start or keep going with your friends over the years! Arguably, it’s more enjoyable than regular Thanksgiving, and a lot more laid back.

So if you’re looking for ideas to spice up your annual Friendsgiving celebration, you’re in the right place! This post is all about the best Friendsgiving ideas that you can easily recreate.

Whether you want to go all out this year, or keep it more casual, these ideas will set you up for the perfect Friendsgiving that everyone will actually enjoy.

You’re going to learn about all of the best Friendsgiving ideas from Friendsgiving ideas decorations, Friendsgiving ideas food, Friendsgiving ideas games, and more.

Whether you need some inspiration to get you going, or you’re trying to throw together a last-minute celebration, I’ve got you covered!

This post is all about the best Friendsgiving ideas that will help you throw the best get-together without losing your mind.

The Best Friendsgiving Ideas:

Theme & Decor Ideas

1. Cozy Cabin Vibes

November is the perfect cozy-weather season. So, to bring that theme into your Friendsgiving party, use a plaid table runner, add some mason jar candles, and create a centerpiece with pine cones and fairy lights.

Friendsgiving is always more fun when there’s a theme to follow. It also makes it easier to plan when you know exactly how you want it to turn out.

So start with a few small details, and go from there. You can be as detail-oriented or laid back with a theme as you want.

2. Rustic Harvest

Incorporating autumn colors is always a good idea when it comes to anything to do with fall decor.

Add some mini pumpkins in the center of your table (Trader Joes always has the best assortment of mini pumpkins, and they’re super affordable!), with some eucalyptus sprigs, and add amber glass bottles with dried florals or wildflowers.

You can even take this one step further and use the pumpkins in the centerpiece as a craft or a contest where everyone gets to paint their own pumpkins and the winner gets a small prize. Winner winner, turkey dinner!

Especially if your friends are competitive, games will always get the fun started!

3. Golden Hour Glow

If you’re looking for a good Friendsgiving theme that is both chic and simple, add in some warm colors and accents (brass gold always elevates any fall decor theme) and some accent lights for some ambience.

This theme also never goes out of style, so you can reuse the same decor next year, and it will still look amazing! Your theme doesn’t have to be anything too extravagant to be cute. Sometimes less is more!

4. Potluck Chic

A potluck is always peoples favorite Friendsgiving idea! And it takes the stress off of one person to put everything together and make all of the food. It’s also a good way to make sure there’s a variety of different food that everyone will enjoy!

Just make sure you assign different people different items to bring. Depending on how big your group is, you can assign 1-2 people a dish. You can also be as specific, or vague as you want.

It’s always fun to give your friends some creative liberty, like telling them just to bring a dessert, and letting them do the rest. Or, if you think your group might need a little more guidance, you can always tell them to bring the classic Thanksgiving dishes.

5. Friendsgiving Photo Wall

Creating your own little photo wall is such a great way to get some fun pictures out of the night! All you need is a blank wall that you can hang some brown paper from. Add some faux fall leaves, maybe even a couple of props, and you’ll be set!

It’s a little cheesy, but that’s part of the fun! Don’t take yourself too seriously. 😉

Food & Drink Ideas

6. Mini Charcuterie Boards

Everyone loves a good charcuterie board! You can make a couple of bigger boards with fruits, cheeses, meats, crackers, and some garnishes like olives.

Instead of doing a big meal for Friendsgiving, you can just tell everyone to bring a different charcuterie board or snack tray.

Or, you can just make this as the appetizer, so people don’t get too hungry while waiting for the main meal.

7. Twist on Traditional

Friendsgiving isn’t your average Thanksgiving, so switching it up a little bit when it comes to the food couldn’t hurt. There are so many different recipes that still have that yummy and comforting Thanksgiving feel, but are a little more interesting!

Cranberry brie bites are always a fan favorite and get finished off by the end of the night!

8. Signature Cocktail

You can never go wrong with some fall-themed cocktails to get the night started. You can also have guests bring their favorite liquors to make sure it’s not on one person to provide the liquor.

And if you have a bar cart, even better! Set it up with all of the fix-ins and basics needed to make a few different tasty cocktails, and tell guests to help themselves to creating their own cocktails.

You might want to leave out a few recipes to give your friends some guidance. Or if there’s one person in the group who likes to bartend at the gatherings, let them create the cocktails for everyone.

9. Dessert Bar

A dessert bar might just be the best part of Friendsgiving. And the best part is, you can go as homemade or as store-bought as you would like.

If you plan on making the desserts yourself, go with a couple of simple recipes that are easy to make. It doesn’t have to be super elaborate to be yummy!

This is also something else you can have guests bring. Assign 3-4 people to bring desserts, and you can easily put-together a dessert bar after dinner.

Here are some easy ideas for a dessert bar:

• Mini pies
• Pumpkin spice truffles
• Build-your-own s’mores

10. Friendsgiving Leftovers Kit

If everyone brings different dishes, chances are, there will be leftovers. So give guests a small bento boxes so they can bring home some Friendsgiving leftovers and enjoy them the next day (the leftovers are always better!).

Fun Activities

11. Gratitude Jar

Even though you may not want your Friendsgiving to resemble a traditional Thanksgiving to a tea, there are some classic activities that are fun to do with your friends.

And a gratitude jar is super easy to get everyone involved! It also makes everyone appreciate each other and find the positive in life. You can really never go wrong with this one.

12. Friendsgiving Bingo

There is nothing like Friendsgiving bingo! It’s always a good time and it can be super funny, especially if you create your own bingo cards.

Fun Friendsgiving Bingo Card Ideas:

• Phone ate first (whoever took a picture of their food before eating)
• Burnt something
• Brought store-bought food
• Arrived late
• Finished dish (whoever’s food was finished by guests)
• A guest shows up with a bottle of wine
• Someone asks for a recipe
• A debate about pumpkin pie happens
• Someone brings up their work drama
• Someone says “This should be a tradition every year!”
• Someone spills a drink on the table

13. DIY Pie Tasting

Everyone brings a pie and ranks them, favorite to least favorite (no voting for yourself). After all, it is the holiday of pies haha. And everyone can bring home a slice or two of the favorites, so it doubles as a party favor (food is always the best party favor)!

14. Polaroid Guest Book/Bowl

Leave out a polaroid or disposable camera and have guests take picture throughout the night. If it’s a polaroid camera, guests can put their photos in a bowl by the camera.

If it’s a disposable camera, with all of the fun photos you can print them out and create a Friendsgiving 2025 Photo Album. Trust me, looking back at physical pictures is so much more fun than just scrolling through the photos app on your phone.

15. Board Games & Cozy Movie

It’s always fun to wind down the night with a classic board game or a movie everyone loves! Whichever direction you go in, pre-pick two options so there aren’t too many choices. Whichever one gets the highest vote wins, it’s as simple as that!

Otherwise it will take forever for everyone to agree on something (speaking from personal experience haha).

Host Tips for Smooth Planning

16. Google Sheet Sign-Up

So you don’t end up with five people all bringing the same dish haha. It’s super easy to create a Google Sheet and send it out to whoever is attending – and will take the stress off of you to get everything. It should be a group effort!

17. Make-Ahead Dishes

Prep casseroles and pies the day before so you’re not running around the kitchen trying to get everything ready before guests arrive. This also goes for decorating. Set up decor and add any extra seating you need to a day or two prior to Friendsgiving.

You want to be able to enjoy yourself when your friends arrive, so try to take care as much as you can ahead of time. This is the key to a smooth Friendsgiving!

18. Mix & Match Seating

You may not have enough seating at the dining table – and that’s okay! Part of the fun of Friendsgiving is that it’s more relaxed. So grab some floor cushions, maybe take the festivities outside to give you more space.

There can be multiple eating areas or tables, not everyone has to be crammed into one space.

19. Ambient Lighting

If you can, dim the overhead lights and incorporate candles and fairy lights for some warmer lighting to set the mood.

Lighting will instantly change the way everything feels and looks, so use it to your advantage! Nothing is cozier than some warm accent lighting (no harsh overhead lighting!).

20. Spotify Playlist

Create a playlist or two – one for dinner that’s more acoustic and relaxed so people can hear each other talk and just enjoy the conversations, and a more upbeat playlist for games and desserts.

You can also create a shared playlist with all of your guests so they can contribute to the music choices. Or if some of your friends have questionable music taste, you’re probably better off making the playlists by yourself haha.