Dorm Decor: Setting the Friendsgiving Table

Friendsgiving includes all the trimmings of a Thanksgiving feast, but with the focus on your chosen family. This fall tradition, created and defined largely by millennials, celebrates the ties between friends, classmates, and coworkers… It’s also a great excuse to connect with your inner decorator and party planner.

So if you’re tired of cafeteria dinners and watching friends eat ramen, then send out the invites and prepare your Friendsgiving table with these tips:

Decor Tips & Potluck Tricks for a Knockout Friendsgiving Spread

• Tablecloths are a must. Whether you get them from Etsy or Ikea or opt for burlap or lace, a tablecloth is to a dining event what a rug is to a room. They pull together the look of an event and create a more cohesive atmosphere.
• Add in some tea lights. Candles have a special way of warming up a space —
  

  Friendsgiving Candles from A Little Craft in Your Day

  and we’re not talking in a romantic way. Their flickering flames offer a sense of intimacy that’s central to sharing food and thanks with friends. Up the ante and incorporate fall decor with this tutorial for mini-pumpkin tealight candle holders.

• Set up an extra cooler with ice. An extra cooler with ice is almost always a good idea. More often than not, it’s essential. This offers your friends a chill place to store their extra drinks and makes grabbing those drinks a breeze. Plus it frees up space in your refrigerator for desserts and revolving dishes.
• Have a vote for “Best Dish”. If you are running your Friendsgiving dinner as a potluck — and we strongly suggest you do — consider giving an award for “Best Dish”. This can be won by a show of hands at the end of the meal and is a great way to show further appreciation for your friends.
• Use Google Spreadsheet to Organize Potlucks. Another note about potluck dinners, never underestimate the organizing powers of Google. Otherwise, you might find potluck organizing among friends to be a bit like herding cats. Start a public-access spreadsheet on Google about a week before the event and allow guests to sign up for dishes and fill in any menu gaps. You can also use this spreadsheet to request people bring serving utensils, plates, silverware, and even chairs as needed.

But Most Importantly…

Finally, keep in mind that your friends are the key ingredient of the dinner. So if the planning process goes awry, and it will, with a forgotten appetizer, burnt turkey, or botched pumpkin display, laugh it off.

Cheers to you and your friends and enjoy the post-dinner games!