Can you believe it – we are so close to the holiday season of a year that has felt like it might not ever end. I personally love the holiday season and begin planning my Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving dinners in early October, this way you can be sure to snag everything you need to make your table look perfect! Have you thought about what your Thanksgiving plans are this year yet? If you are anything like me you have probably been missing your friends and family a little extra this year, so why not throw a Friendsgiving Feast?
First, the most important planning step – figure out how many guests you are going to have in attendance. Once you have done that you can decide just how the table layout is going to go and what kind of supplies you are going to need. If you are having a larger crowd I suggest using disposable plates and silverware, otherwise, you are going to be drowning in dishes from all of the cooking.
The Party Place actually offers some really beautiful plastic silverware that comes in silver and gold that really looks like the real – I would definitely suggest splurging on that! When it comes to the plates that is all your choice, you can keep it simple with solid colors or choose a fun seasonal print. I personally normally stick with a generic plate and get a fun napkin, I am a sucker for a cute napkin! I would also suggest grabbing some of the cute plastic wine/champagne glasses and a few other shapes and sizes of plastic cups for whatever drinks you will be serving.
Now that we have the guest list ironed out and the essentials taken care of we can start working on all of the little extras. As far as decorations go you honestly can’t go wrong with any of the warm fall colors. I really like using brown paper to line the table to create a little something special for each guest. For the last few years on the paper at each seat, I have written “I am thankful for” and provided a pen for each guest to reflect and fill out – after dinner is over they can rip it off and take it home.
This can also work with paper placemats as well. This is a perfect way for everyone to really reflect on the good and what they are thankful for in such a trying year while being a fun way to add some personalized touches to your table decorations.
Another way to use your food as a design element is to highlight the pies with a pie bar.
Really all you need to do this is a designated area in the kitchen area with several cake stands to give your pies some different heights for displaying. Finally you can finish it off with a sign that can easily be crafted that states “Pie Bar.” One great way to get the guest involved is to have everyone bring their favorite pie to be displayed.
Lastly, the menu! All you need to do now is get your turkey in the oven and decide who is bringing what side dish. Oh, and don’t forget to head on over to The Party Place for all of your design and decoration needs — they have everything from the tableware and serving dishes to fun fall decor accents.
