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Friendsgiving is the holiday tradition with no rules. No assigned seating chart, no 6 a.m. parade on TV unless you want it — just your people, a crowded table, and whatever chaos your friend group brings. Whether it’s a deep-fried turkey or an entire meal of mac and cheese variations, it can be perfect.
But “no rules” doesn’t mean “no planning.” The best Friendsgivings have three things: something to look at (decor that took ten minutes), something to do after dinner (games), and a host who isn’t stuck in the kitchen all night. These twelve picks cover all three. Hosting this year or just bringing the dish everyone remembers, start here.
12 Friendsgiving Ideas: Decor, Games & Hosting Picks
1. Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza Card Game
If your friend group hasn’t played this yet, you’re in for a loud night. It’s fast — rounds take ten minutes — it’s easy to teach even after a glass of wine, and the slap mechanic gets surprisingly competitive. I’ve watched quiet dinners turn into absolute mayhem within one round. It plays up to eight, works for all ages, and it’s cheap enough to gift the host. The rare game that suits both your rowdy friends and your friend’s polite parents.
2. Herd Mentality Board Game
This one’s genius for Friendsgiving because it rewards knowing your friends, not being clever. Everyone answers a question trying to match the majority — think “best Thanksgiving side” — and the odd one out gets the dreaded pink cow. It handles up to twenty players, which is rare, so nobody’s sitting out. The debates it starts (“stuffing is objectively better than mashed potatoes, fight me”) are half the fun. Easy to learn, endlessly replayable.
3. What Do You Meme? Core Game
The classic adult party game for a reason: pairing caption cards with photo cards to make the funniest meme never gets old, because the comedy comes from your friends, not the box. The rotating judge keeps everyone involved, and the new edition added GIF cards that freshen it up. Fair warning — it’s designed for adults, so know your crowd. For the right group, this is the game that keeps people at the table until midnight.
4. Buzzed Drinking Card Game
For the 21+ Friendsgiving crowd, Buzzed is the low-effort, high-laugh option. Draw a card, do what it says — most are silly dares and “most likely to” votes rather than heavy drinking, so it stays fun instead of sloppy. It’s compact enough to toss in a bag, needs zero setup, and works as the second game of the night when everyone’s already warmed up. Know your friends’ limits and keep water on the table; the game even encourages it.
5. Fujifilm Instax Mini 12 Instant Camera
Everyone takes phone photos; nobody looks at them again. An Instax camera on the side table changes the whole dynamic — people pose, laugh, and stick the prints on the fridge or take them home. The Mini 12 is dead simple (twist the lens, shoot), the prints develop in about a minute, and the credit-card-sized photos are perfect for a little string-and-clothespin display. Buy an extra film pack. You will run out, and the night’s best photos always happen after you thought you were done.
6. CEWOR Artificial Eucalyptus Garland
Want the table to look decorated without actually decorating? Drape one of these garlands down the center of the table and you’re 80% done. Eucalyptus reads “fall elegant” without being theme-y, it never wilts, and you can reuse it for every dinner party through spring. Layer it over a plain runner, tuck in a few candles, scatter the Instax photos from pick #5 — that’s a centerpiece. Ten minutes, zero floral skills required.
7. Zyozique Friendsgiving Photo Booth Props
Photo booth props sound cheesy until everyone’s wearing a foam turkey hat and laughing too hard to pose properly. That’s the point. A props kit gives your Friendsgiving an activity that runs itself — set them in a jar near the Instax camera and let people go. The “thankful for my friends (and wine)” signs write their own Instagram captions. It’s a ten-dollar purchase that generates half the night’s memories. Totally worth it.
8. Bright Creations Kraft Paper Table Runner Roll
This is my favorite Friendsgiving hosting hack: cover the table in kraft paper instead of a tablecloth. It looks intentionally rustic, cleanup is literally rolling it up and throwing it away, and — best part — you can put out markers and let people doodle, write what they’re thankful for, or play tic-tac-toe between courses. It turns the table into an activity. Way more fun than a white tablecloth everyone’s afraid to stain.
9. Crock-Pot 7-Quart Oval Slow Cooker
The Friendsgiving host’s secret weapon is food that cooks itself. A 7-quart slow cooker handles the mashed potatoes, the mulled cider, the queso, or a whole pulled-pork shoulder while you actually hang out with your friends. Set it in the morning, forget it, serve straight from the crock. If you’re a guest instead of the host, bringing a slow-cooker side that stays warm is the most useful contribution you can make. Every kitchen should own one.
10. Ivation Electric Wine Bottle Opener
Somewhere around bottle three, the manual corkscrew becomes everyone’s least favorite object. An electric opener takes the wrist-work out of it — press a button, cork’s out, move on with the evening. It feels like a small luxury until you’ve used one at a party, and then it feels essential. It also saves that one friend who always shreds corks with a waiter’s key. Charge it before the party and you’re set for the night.
11. Royal Imports LED Flameless Tea Lights
Friendsgiving lighting should be warm and flattering, not overhead fluorescents. Scatter these flameless tea lights down the garland, inside mason jars, around the bathroom — anywhere you want glow without worrying about an open flame near the photo props and the kraft paper. They’re cheap in bulk, the batteries last for ages, and they make every photo look better. Lighting is the fastest way to make a regular apartment feel like an event.
12. Yankee Candle Autumn Wreath Scented Candle
Never underestimate what a scent does for a party. Autumn Wreath — apples, cedar, a little spice — smells like fall without smelling like a candle store exploded. Light it an hour before guests arrive so the place smells amazing when the door opens, then blow it out once the food’s out (you don’t want it competing with dinner). It’s the kind of detail guests notice subconsciously: “your place always smells so good” is a compliment worth chasing.
How to Host a Friendsgiving People Actually Remember
Keep the menu potluck and the schedule loose. The fastest way to ruin Friendsgiving is treating it like formal Thanksgiving with assigned dishes and a seating chart. Let people bring their signature thing — someone’s mac and cheese is always better than yours anyway — and you handle the turkey or the main plus drinks. Potluck also means dietary restrictions sort themselves out, which they never do when one person cooks everything.
Plan exactly one structured thing. That’s it. One game after dinner, one toast where everyone says what they’re thankful for, one group photo. The rest should be organic — the best Friendsgiving moments are unplanned. But having zero plan leads to that awkward 8 p.m. lull where everyone’s on their phones. One anchor activity carries you through it.
And make it easy to say yes. Friendsgiving competes with everyone’s actual Thanksgiving travel, so send the invite early, keep the ask small (“bring a side and yourself”), and don’t take it personally when half the group can only come for dessert. The people who show up are the party. Everything on this list is designed to make their night — and yours — effortless.
FAQ
When should you host Friendsgiving?
The weekend before Thanksgiving is the sweet spot — most people are still in town, and it doesn’t compete with family plans. I’ve also been to great ones the weekend after, when everyone’s sick of leftovers and happy to eat anything else. Send invites two to three weeks out; friend groups need lead time.
What should guests bring to Friendsgiving?
A side dish or dessert plus whatever they drink is the standard deal. As a guest, the highest-value move is bringing something that doesn’t need oven time — a slow-cooker side, a salad, rolls, or a pie. And always ask the host what they still need before defaulting to another bag of chips.
How do you decorate for Friendsgiving on a budget?
A garland down the table, tea lights everywhere, and kraft paper as the tablecloth will run you under thirty dollars total and look genuinely good. Add the photo props and the Instax camera and you’ve got decor that doubles as entertainment. Skip the themed disposable plates — plain white or kraft looks better and costs less.
What games are best for a big Friendsgiving group?
Look for games that handle 8+ players without anyone sitting out: Herd Mentality plays up to twenty, Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza plays eight and takes ten minutes to learn. Avoid anything with long turns or complicated rules — after dinner, attention spans are short and the wine is flowing. Quick, loud, and easy to join mid-game wins.