Thanksgiving is right around the corner, so ‘tis the season to spend time with family. But what about passing time with friends? Holidays typically aren’t centered around spending quality time with companions, but there is an unofficial holiday dedicated to that: Friendsgiving.  

It doesn’t have a set date so you can celebrate it before, during, or after Thanksgiving at your will. Although family holiday traditions such as food, games, and so on can be nostalgic, it can be fun to start your own traditions that diverge from traditional expectations. If you’re not sure where to begin, here are a few ideas to get you started: 

1. Perfect Potluck 

While traditional Thanksgiving dishes are always delicious, they can get a little boring when you eat them year after year. However, with Friendsgiving you can start from scratch. To cater to everyone’s tastes, you can welcome your guests to submit potluck requests for certain types of food or specific dishes. Or, if you want to be more spontaneous you can pick a theme and invite everyone to bring surprise dishes. 

2. Dress up and Decorate 

Calm, earth-toned colors like browns, burgundy, oranges, and forest green and sweaters are always nice. On the other hand, picking a theme such as aliens, country, a tv show, or some other theme of your choice could spice things up. This provides you and your guests the opportunity to dress up in costumes, use unusual decorations, binge watch your favorite movies and tv shows, play games, and so on. Additionally, you can invite your guests to take part in decorating by organizing arts and crafts activities that can be proudly displayed in your home. 

3. Cozy Cornucopia 

If there’s a lull in the excitement and you don’t want to resort to just asking what everyone is thankful for, try playing a game together. A great way to grow closer to your friends is by playing Cozy Cornucopia; a game where everyone writes something they are thankful for, their favorite singer, or an answer to some other question on a slip of paper and puts it in a basket. Once the answers are mixed together, everyone takes turns picking out a slip of paper and guessing who wrote that answer. This can also be done in teams, where one team of friends try to guess each other’s answers, and the team that knows each other best wins.  

4. Collaborate with your Companions 

If you’re worried about keeping everyone busy the whole evening, you may want to pick some projects to collaborate on. There is a wide array of activities to choose from, such as scavenger hunts, time capsules, arts and crafts, baking desserts, the list goes on. Also, try to plan a mixture of indoor and outdoor activities so everyone can remain active and lively. For instance, a scavenger hunt could easily be organized so that your guests can enjoy the outdoors and never remain sitting for long. Plus, autumn arts and crafts are the perfect opportunity to incorporate leaves, twigs, and other aspects of nature into your work. Regardless of what you plan, make sure it’s exciting and promotes synergy between your guests. 

5. Skip the Formalities 

Sometimes Thanksgiving expects a bit too much propriety for our comfort. Since Friendsgiving has no rules, why not throw one huge slumber party to ward off the chilly weather? Tell your guests to wear their pajamas, bring snacks and plushies, and make a blanket fort to snuggle up in while you watch classic Thanksgiving movies like A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, the Thanksgiving Parade, or whatever else floats your boat.  

Remember, Friendsgiving has no rules! Don’t worry about traditions, and only engage in activities that will make you and your guests happy. This is an opportunity to be creative, foster relationships, and try new experiences. Whatever you choose to do, I hope you have a happy and healthy holiday.